The Rotary “Day of Service” (Aired on April 9, 2023)
Fishkill Rotary Vicki Kessler joins co-hosts Jonah Triebwasser and Sara Claitor-O’Conner to present the Rotary Day of Service, an idea developed by Robert Friend of the Madison (CT) Rotary Club, who previously had created the Million Mask Project for Rotary Clubs to donate face masks during the covid epidemic. On one day each year (May 20 in 2023) all the Rotary clubs that are participating will perform an act of community service. Participants this year include Rotarians from more than 500 Rotary clubs and 14,000 Rotarians across 5 states and 3 countries, from Connecticut to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and New York in the United States, plus the countries of Bermuda and Brazil—Bermuda because it is joins part of New York State in Rotary District 7230, and Brazil as one of the countries with members in the Eclub of District 7210.
Learn More:
Rotary 2023 Date of Service: https://rotarydayofservice.org/
Rotary District 7210: https://rotarydistrict7210.org/
Fishkill Rotary: https://www.fishkillrotary.org/
Robert Friend: https://rotarynepets.org/page/robert-friend-2024
Comedy Night to Support Polio Eradication (Aired On February 12, 2023)
Hyde Park Rotarians Richard Mattocks, 2022-23 club president, and John Vanderlee are interviewed on Radio Rotary about their club’s activities, focusing mainly on a comedy night at Coppola’s Hyde Park restaurant to support Rotary’s Polio Plus program, which is making great strides toward eradicating polio completely throughout the world. The comedy night program will feature two well-known stand-up comedians, Kendra Cunningham, and Katina Corrao. Dinner at Coppola’s is included. Proceeds of the event will benefit Polio Plus and also other activities of Hyde Park Rotary such as scholarships, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), and “Little Libraries.” The “Little Libraries” are available day and night—residents can take a book and/or leave a book for
others to read,
Learn More:
Hyde Park Rotary: https://rotarydistrict7210.org/clubinfo/hyde-park
Hyde Park Rotary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RotaryHydeParkNY/
Kendra Cunningham: https://www.kendracunningham.com/
Katina Corrao: https://www.katinacorrao.com/
PolioPlus: https://www.rotary.org/en/our-causes/ending-polio
Coppola’s Restaurant: https://www.coppolas.net/coppola-s-of-hyde-park
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/
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