Hudson Valley Helps Refugees (Aired on January 15, 2023)

          

Highland Rotarian BJ Mikkelsen returns to Radio Rotary to report on the progress of his efforts to help refugees from the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Mikkelsen was in Berlin on the day after the invasion, where he observed thousands of Ukrainian refugees crowding the main Berlin train station. He quickly raised money for food and other supplies, and in October traveled
with a truckload of relief to Lviv, Ukraine. Since then he has created the nonprofit corporation “Hudson Valley Helps Refugees,” which by the end of 2022 had collected and delivered some $40,000 in aid. The key elements in getting the aid to those in need are a Rotary Club in Warsaw, Poland; another Rotary in Helmstedt, Germany; and St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church in Berlin. One of the main projects needed for refugee help in Ukraine is an additional ambulance, and Hudson Valley Helps Refugees is working toward providing that, but there are also many other ways that the organization provides aid.

Learn More:
Hudson Valley Helps Refugees: http://www.hudsonvalleyhelpsrefugees.org/
Rotary Club Warszawa Fryderyk Chopin: http://rotaryfryderykchopin.org.pl/
Rotary Club of Helmstedt: https://helmstedt.rotary.de/
St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church: https://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and-sights/3559961-3104052-st-nicholas-church.en.html
Highland (NY) Rotary Club: https://highlandrotaryclub.com/

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January 26, 2023 · Posted in Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Service, International Programs, Rotary Club Projects  

Pleasant Valley Food Pantry (Aired on January 8, 2023)

           

Radio Rotary interviews Steve Gessner, Chairman of the Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Food Pantry. This is a local community food pantry sponsored by the four local churches in the hamlet of Pleasant Valley, NY. We serve the hungry and needy families in the district surrounding my local community. The Pleasant Valley Food Pantry is an agency the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, purchasing most of the food it distributes from the Food Bank at a discount. It distributes free food and items of person hygiene to about four hundred persons during a ninety-minute window each Wednesday. Families can choose the foods or supplied they want from a menu, although all get a package of fresh produce and bread along with their order. While 80% of the food distributed is from the Food Bank, the remainder is donated by individuals and groups such as the Pleasant Valley Rotary Club, which runs a food drive to fill a bus or truck with donations several times each year. The food pantry is an entirely volunteer effort with fifty or more local residents volunteering each week.

Learn More:
Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Food Pantry: https://www.nyconnects.ny.gov/services/pleasant-valley-ecumenical-food-pantry-sofa34725
Food Bank of the Hudson Valley: https://foodbankofhudsonvalley.org/
Pleasant Valley Rotary Club: https://rotarydistrict7210.org/clubinfo/pleasant-valley

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January 26, 2023 · Posted in Nutrition, Rotary Club Projects  

Vassar-Haiti Project Accomplishments (Aired on January 1, 2023)

         

Sarah O’Connell-Claitor and Kathy Kruger learn the latest development of the Vassar-Haiti Project (VHP) from Lila Meade, Executive Director of Vassar-Haiti Project (VHP), and Laury Senecal, Vassar senior who is president of the Vassar Rotaract Club and co-president of Student Executive Board. For twenty-one years, VJP the has improved the lives of Haitians in the remote mountaintop Haitian village of Chermaitre and its surroundings. Today Chermaitre and the surrounding area is served by a 200-student school, a clinic that treats 3,000 patients annually, solar-power system to bring electricity to the clinic. and a system bringing clean water to the community. A new project is adult education, teaching illiterate patients to read. Education, health, community economic improvement, and clean water are all Rotary goals as well, and 14 Rotary Clubs from District 7210 as well as three others from other districts, have been one of the main supports of VHP, along with annual sales of works by Haitian artists.

Learn More:
The Vassar Haiti Project: http://www.thehaitiproject.org/
The Rotary Foundation Global Grants: https://my.rotary.org/en/take-action/apply-grants/global-grants
Rotaract: https://www.rotary.org/en/get-involved/rotaract-clubs
Rotary District 7210:https://rotarydistrict7210.org/

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January 9, 2023 · Posted in Education, Health, International Programs, Rotary Club Projects, Rotary Foundation, Water Projects