Our stirring Flags for Heroes display of more than 200 U.S. flags honoring heroes in the lives of area residents and businesses is flying proudly on the grounds of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton. Stop by and read the heartfelt messages on the big boards and on the individual medallions attached to each flag. And join us on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. for the field dedication and Veterans Day celebration with featured speakers Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton and Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin. A huge thanks to our generous corporate and individual flag sponsors. Proceeds benefit Rotary’s local charities, including the Mercer County Military Action Council.
We heard from an amazing group of Students of the Month at our meeting on November 1. The students - Bethany Marusky, Steinert; Anoop Singh, Hamilton West; Logan McGuire, Nottingham; and Vasanth Babukannan, Robbinsville - showed great poise at the podium in front of a full house of Rotarians, parents and guests. They impressed us with their activities in school, their volunteer work in the community and their plans after high school. As program coordinator Greg Blair said, the students remind us that our future is in good hands.
The Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) serves about 12,000 meals a week to patrons at its Escher Street location in Trenton and at satellite sites in Mercer County. But as TASK Donor Engagement Manager Dana C. Jones explained to Rotarians on November 1, TASK offers a lot more than hot meals. Dana informed us of services TASK provides to encourage self sufficiency and improve the quality of life of patrons. Among them are adult education, creative arts, a culinary academy, warm clothing, help with preparing for and finding a job, hygiene products, and connection to vital resources.
We are pleased to welcome Vitale Inspection Services as our newest corporate member. The company is represented by owner Carlo Vitale and Justin Girard, director of business development and creative marketing. Located on Klockner Road in Hamilton, the company offers professional home inspection services and believes in putting the “unity” in community through its extensive charitable works, including Happy Smiles, Inc. Our Rotary Club now has 44 members, including nine new members in the past seven months.
Our Rotary Club presented Mercer Street Friends with a check for $714, representing the funds given to us by the customers of Foley’s Family Market during our two food drives this year. The check was presented by Rotarian Paul Neu, chair of the Send Hunger Packing food drive, prior to our monthly activity at the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank where Rotarians and others packed 3,840 meals on Friday morning.
Great businesses make great communities in creating jobs and giving back to local causes was the message New Jersey Business & Industry Association President and CEO Michelle Siekerka shared with Rotarians this morning.
Michelle outlined NJBIA’s policy and hands-on efforts to help ensure an affordable and regionally-competitive business climate in the state.
In her remarks, she highlighted a partnership between NJBIA and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges - NJ Pathways to Career Opportunities - for students to prepare for in-demand jobs like manufacturing, technology, logistics and distribution, and health care. For info, visit https://www.njcommunitycolleges.org/initiatives/nj-pathways/
For the second time this year, shoppers at Foley’s Family Market in Hamilton showed their generosity as Rotary Club volunteers collected food for the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.
Shoppers on October 12 bought items from our wish list, filling carts with more than 1,000 pounds of food and donating $473.42 in cash that will be used to purchase more food. Amazing!
We appreciate the 14 Rotarians (and 8-year-old Arianna Howard) who helped with the Send Hunger Packing food drive, especially event organizer Paul Neu, who along with Nev Greenough worked the full 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. collection period. And, as always, a big thanks to Joe Foley, owner of Foley’s Family Market, and to all those who donated.
Our Rotary Club had an opportunity to shine on October 11. We were able to showcase our strong momentum as we welcomed the leader of our 74-club Rotary district - District Governor Jeannie Tsukamoto. Club President Joe Cavone reported our gain of eight new members over the past six months (with more in the wings) and he outlined a busy schedule of community service activities, including our upcoming Flags for Heroes display. Jeannie thanked the club for its “impressive work” in the community and for its success in growing membership. “Not all the clubs are doing what you’re doing,” she said, offering additional strategies for introducing others to the rewarding aspects of joining Rotary.
Our club celebrated its partnership with the Miracle League of Mercer County on September 13, holding our meeting this week at the league’s baseball complex for players with special needs in Hamilton. Rotarian Dan Sczweck, Commissioner of the Miracle League, gave us the history of the league, its progress, and the club’s involvement, which started nearly 20 years ago when the club raised more than $300,000 to build the initial field. “This is our biggest legacy as a club,” Dan said, noting that as the league has added new features and programs and expanded to 236 active families from 10 counties “we’re watching our child grow before our eyes.”
The guiding principle of our Rotary Club is “service above self.” We’re certainly not alone in that mission. We heard at our September 6 meeting about the work of Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County (ICGMC) - an incredible network of more than 240 volunteers providing FREE services to homebound seniors and adults with disabilities. The volunteers provide such assistance as friendly visits, grocery shopping, transportation to medical appointments, light household chores, telephone reassurance and even short-term respite care. If you need assistance or would like to consider volunteering, visit www.icgmc.org or call 609-393-9922.
Our club delivered 150 backpacks filled with school supplies to the Wilson Elementary School in Hamilton on August 30. The drive was one of our most successful thanks to the generosity of our communities and club members. School officials were all smilies in receiving the student backpacks containing notebooks, crayons, pencils, folders and other donated essentials. The annual drive was coordinated by Linda Gearren with special efforts from fellow Rotarians Jodi Stephens whose collection box at the Robbinsville Municipal Building yielded 30 backpacks with supplies, and Toni Perilli and Angela D’Andrea who gave customers at Ivy on Main a discount if they donated backpacks or supplies. Thanks to all who contributed, including Lindsay Franicevich of Wilson’s EarlyAct program who donated many filled backpacks and other materials.
A big thank you to Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy for serving as our guest speaker on August 30 and presenting the club with an Assembly proclamation for our decades of work in the community. Assemblywoman McCoy gave us an update on her key legislative actions, including working with her 14th Legislative District colleagues to secure grants for public safety needs in Hamilton and Robbinsville. Another highlight of the meeting was the swearing in of our 6th new member in the past five months - Mark Talbott. Welcome, Mark!
Another fun night of fellowship for the Rotary Club - this time at the Philadelphia Phillies Strike Out Hunger game against Miami. A grand slam. A comeback victory. And even better, for every ticket we bought to the game, the Phillies donated half of the proceeds to Rotary programs, including our work with UNICEF and the World Health Organization to eradicate polio. That’s more than $1,000 from our club alone. The Phillies also collected non-perishable food at the entrances.
A bevy of guests at our August 9 meeting heard Rotarians offer their thoughts on what it means to be a member of the club. Said one, whether you’ve had a good week or a rough one, there’s something comforting about coming to a Friday morning meeting and knowing you’re among friends. Similarly, another said, “It’s like Cheers, you walk in and everyone knows your name.” Others focused on the opportunities to serve the community, particularly those in need. For example, Rotarians will be receiving food items in front of Foley’s Family Market in Hamilton on August 10 from 10-4 for the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank, and we’re busy collecting backpacks and school supplies for students at Wilson Elementary School. The international reach of Rotary, including a major effort to eradicate polio, was also cited as an attractive aspect of the organization, as well as local programs like Flags for Heroes. Club President Joe Cavone boiled it down to one word - hope. “We give people hope, We’re in the hope business.”
On June 28, our club presented its 2024 George Prutky Vocational Service Award and a $500 donation to Ryan’s Quest, a local non-profit founded by David and Maria Schultz after their son Ryan was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The charity is focused primarily on assisting families with equipment like accessible vans and wheelchairs that helps those with Duchenne lead productive lives.
In accepting the award, David thanked community members and businesses that have supported Ryan’s Quest with events such as an annual golf outing. He also gave us an update on Ryan, a graduate of Steinert High School who plans to attend Rowan University and study sports communication and media, hoping to break barriers in that field. https://ryansquest.org
The Rotary Club of Robbinsville Hamilton held its annual Installation Dinner at Tessara Restaurant in Hamilton on June 20. Incoming Club President Joe Cavone received the gavel from outgoing Club President George Ott. Joe outlined his plans for a “magical” year beginning July 1, while George recounted a year of remarkable progress by the club in serving the community. George presented former Club President Kalpana Patel with the distinguished Paul Harris Fellow Recognition pin for her outstanding efforts in 2023-24. Read more about the Robbinsville Hamilton Rotary Club's new president.
Rotary EarlyAct Clubs at Wilson and Greenwood elementary schools in Hamilton held year-end celebrations in early June after months of projects to serve their school, their community and even the world! The EarlyAct Club members, officers and advisors were presented with achievement certificates and received thanks from Rotary Club of Robbinsville Hamilton President George Ott and Rotary Club EarlyAct Coordinator Kalpana Patel.
Projects at Wilson this year included a food drive for the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank, holiday cards for seniors and hospitalized children, a pet supplies collection for an animal shelter, and garden planting. At Greenwood, whose EarlyAct Club only began in March, students also did a garden project and collected $843.22 in change to help support a broader Rotary project supplying “aquaponics” kits to families and schools in Nicaragua to grow vegetables and fish.
Congrats to eight local high school seniors who received a total of $7,500 in scholarships from our Rotary Club. The scholarships, funded through the club’s annual Dollars for Scholars raffle, were based on the students’ community service activities and plans. The recipients, chosen from among 40 applicants, were Skylar Kunkle, Hamilton West; Zobia Chaudhry, Nottingham; Teresa Loh, Steinert; Chase Braud, Steinert; Jason Maziarz, Steinert; Dylan Carmignani, Robbinsville; Elizabeth Gorman, Notre Dame; and Brendan Appert, Notre Dame.
Fifth graders from Sayen Elementary School in Hamilton joined Rotary Club members in planting flowers at Megan’s Place park on June 7. After hearing about the history of the park, the students used trowels to plant 50 angel wing begonias donated by Levanduski Landscapes, Inc. of Robbinsville. Megan’s Place was created in honor of 7-year-old Megan Kanka of Hamilton who was murdered in 1994 in a former house on the site by a convicted child molester. The Rotary Club, then only two years in existence, raised funds to purchase the house, tear it down, and build the park in its place. Each year, the club invites students from Megan’s former school to participate in activities at the park, located on Barbara Lee Drive, Hamilton.
The Rotary Club of Robbinsville Hamilton is featured in a series of videos marking the club’s first 30 years. Since 1992, the club has made a positive difference in our communities. We started as a spinoff of the Hamilton Rotary Club and took little time to establish our own identity as a club of action. Check out the videos below:
The Rotary Club of Robbinsville Hamilton has 43 members who live or work in the immediate area and who joined the club to make a positive difference in our local and global community. To learn more and consider joining our club, explore this website for information and stop by as a guest at one of our weekly meetings. Our club meets on Friday mornings at 7:30 a.m. at Pj’s Pancake House, 17 Main Street, Robbinsville. Each meeting consists of a speaker on a topic of interest and a roundup of club activities followed by breakfast. Contact Janice Miller at secretary@rhrotary.org for additional information.