Uniting Communities, Making a Difference Locally & Internationally
From providing medical supplies to war-torn Ukrainians and winter coats to Westchester homeless people to giving the polio vaccine to children in third-world countries and improving literacy locally, members of Rotary Clubs throughout Inside Press’ circulation areas and beyond have been a catalyst for positive change worldwide for more than a century.
Rotary Club, an international organization founded in 1905, has 1.5 million members in more than 46,000 clubs. Its mission is to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.” Among its most significant international endeavors have been supporting education, ensuring access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene, and playing a pivotal role in reducing polio cases by more than 99 percent worldwide.
On a local level, Rotarians address the needs of communities through myriad service projects and initiatives, and by sponsoring events that are fun and build strong local relationships. Some of the most highly visible and popular events in the area are sponsored by Rotary Clubs.
New Castle Community Day, hosted by the Rotary Club of Chappaqua has been among the most prominent and popular events in the area for decades. “It’s something people look forward to all year,” said Holly McCall, New Castle Town Council Member and President of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua. Scheduled this year for September 14, Community Day at the Chappaqua train station is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year and features local bands, food and activities. “The timing is perfect because it’s at the beginning of the school year, which gives new residents who moved to the area over the summer an opportunity to meet their neighbors and learn about things to do in the area,” said McCall. Booths feature dozens of community groups, such as schools, camps, businesses, political and religious organizations, and town departments.
This past May, Rotary Club of Chappaqua hosted another popular event – its second annual Drive-In Movie Night, a festive party featuring music, food trucks, a costume contest and a showing of Star Wars – A New Hope.
Local clubs host an array of such large-scale events, as well as smaller ones like pancake breakfasts, and book, toy and coat drives. Funds raised benefit dozens of organizations throughout Westchester, including 914 Cares, A-Home Housing, Ronald McDonald House, the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Pantry, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Ossining Food Pantry, Lifting Up Westchester and Northern Westchester Hospital. Clubs also regularly provide college scholarships to graduates of local high schools, and members get together for hands-on service projects, like filling food bags for Feeding Westchester and building benches in area parks.
For club members, there is a huge sense of satisfaction garnered from giving back to the community. “I was raised with the spirit of service, and it has become my passion,” said McCall, whose parents have been active Rotarians in Massachusetts since she was a child.
Rotary Motto: Service Above Self
One of the oldest Rotaries in the area is the Pleasantville Rotary Club, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, and includes members who have been Rotarians for 50 years. Over the years, this club has actually helped launch several of other local clubs, including Chappaqua, Armonk and Briarcliff Manor.
“I’ve formed wonderful friendships and been able to do a lot of good for the community,” said Helen Grishman, Immediate past president of the Pleasantville Rotary Club. Grishman, a former assistant district attorney, joined Rotary when she retired 24 years ago and has served as president three times. “I believe that people sincerely see in Rotary’s motto of service above self an opportunity to give back in both small and large ways.”
Funds raised by the Pleasantville club were used to purchase medical equipment for eye surgeries in Egypt and enhance literacy in Myanmar. Last year, in just two weeks, members collected $10,000 for the Rotary Club in Kiev, Ukraine. They also worked with another local club to purchase and ship an ambulance to Afghanistan. And each year on Arbor Day, “we give trees and educate kids about their value to the planet, not just aesthetically, but by providing oxygen and shade and food,” Grishman said.
The club has also had a strong presence at the annual Pleasantville Day organized by the Village of Pleasantville. “We try to make a meaningful impact at our booth,” she said. “This year, we wanted to show children with special needs what it’s like to go into an ambulance, which can be very traumatic. So, working with the Ambulance Corp, we had an ambulance onsite that kids could explore.”
Funds for these initiatives are raised through the club’s signature event – Hudson Valley Fermented, which takes place each Spring at Pace University and is cosponsored with King’s Crown Wines and Spirits. The festive event features local breweries, vineyards, restaurants and music.
Rotary International’s global network enables it to address pressing humanitarian issues on an international scale by enabling Rotarians to partner with each other. “In the case of a major catastrophe somewhere, we can connect with the local club to get funds and materials to the right place immediately,” said Abbott Fleur a software company owner and President of the Bedford-Armonk Rotary Club. Fleur joined in Mt. Kisco and started the Bedford-Armonk Club about 12 years ago. For the past several years, this club’s signature event, co-sponsored with the Lions Club, has been a Blues and Barbecue Festival.
“Even though it’s a large organization, the local groups have complete control over what projects they work on, and members are encouraged to come up with ideas,” Fleur said. Clubs can tap into funds from the Rotary Foundation for overseas projects.
Being part of the bigger solution is exactly what convinced Jeff Cadge, an independent video producer and photographer, to join Rotary in 2019. “When you’re born in this country, you’ve won the lottery… We have so many opportunities and it’s great to be able to make the world a little more equitable. You can sit back and watch the news every night or you could try to get involved,” said Cadge, President of the Briarcliff Manor Rotary Club, whose signature fundraiser is an annual event featuring the world-famous Magic Masters basketball team.
Among the Club’s projects was an effort to stress the importance of having a visible street number to help first responders. The club also offered street number signs and guidelines for displaying them.
As part of the Rotary, Cadge is working with officials to build a local Micro Forest – a dense area of indigenous plants and trees designed to attract native insects and small animals, thus restoring biodiversity and fighting climate change.
The Briarcliff Manor Rotary Club is also contributing to The Cookstove Project, which aims to eliminate preventable deaths in developing countries that are caused by cooking with an open fire in homes – an issue that exposes nearly three billion people to dangerous pollutants. The organization helps families in Nepal and Uganda build and maintain their own clean cookstoves using locally sourced materials. “We’ve been able to show people that contributing just $10 can build one cookstove and change the life of a family on the other side of the world,” Cadge said.
Rotary’s impact transcends borders and makes a lasting difference in the lives of countless individuals. It is a testament to what can be achieved when people come together with a shared purpose: to make the world a better place.
The clubs welcome new members. Information is available on the club’s websites and social media.
Bedford-Armonk:
bedfordarmonkrotary.org
Briarcliff Manor:
portal.clubrunner.ca/7405/
Chappaqua:
rotaryofchappaqua.com
Pleasantville:
pleasantvillerotary.com
