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At a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Grand Island, governor of District 7090, Kevin Crouse, called the club "exemplary," and so much so that the community should be called "Grand Rotary Island." Crouse was in town on his annual visit to the Island.
So far this year, the Rotary Club of Grand Island has inducted four new members and has adjusted its meeting schedule to include morning meetings as well as the traditional evening ones.
Crouse continued praising the club, saying that Grand Island Rotarians are a group of real volunteers and that membership in Rotary is an honor. Specifically, the local club has initiated funding for a medical clinic in Nepal and has both built and equipped a clinic in Haiti. International outreach also includes funding of wells and bridges in Nepal.
Crouse said that there is progress being made on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, an ambitious public-private partnership worked on by Rotary, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The public can help in that final push to end polio forever.
Working close to home, the club assists with funding the purchase of books for the Niagara Falls Public Library and for the C.J. Mann School in the Falls. As outreaches to young people, Rotarians work to raise scholarship money for Grand Island High School students and sponsor the Interact Service Club in the high school and Earlyact in the elementary schools. They provided monies for the Miracle League Field at Veterans Park and also pledged an additional $2,500 per year for upkeep.
Annually, Islanders join with Rotarians in collecting undergarments to benefit the Buffalo City Mission/Cornerstone Manor's "Undie Sunday," in Christmas "Bell Ringing" for the Salvation Army and also at the popular summer fundraiser, Lobsterfest. The next Lobsterfest is scheduled for June 6, 2014, at the "new" River Oaks. Rotary's newest community service is a secure document destruction event held each fall and spring.
Membership in Rotary is open to people of all cultures, races and creeds. Anyone wanting to join the club or learn more about it may talk to a local Rotarian about being sponsored. Write to Grand Island Rotary Club, P.O. Box 103, Grand Island, NY 14072, or contact President Joe Philippone, [email protected], John White at [email protected] or Skip Mazenauer at [email protected].