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A sparkling fall day and a
low tide – perfect for collecting litter along
Branford’s riverbanks and
marshes! Local Rotarians, celebrating Make a Difference
Day, really made a difference by collecting nearly one
ton of litter. That’s a lot of Styrofoam and plastic!
Organized this year by Jeff
Clark, the group of volunteers met at the Montowese
Street bridge and fanned out up and down the river. Two
Alcoa representatives combined work with fun by
collecting litter by canoe. Alcoa is one of the
companies, along with Guilford Savings Bank and
Invitrogen, that encourages its employees to volunteer
for community service.
More than eighty Rotary
groups throughout the state participated in similar
cleanup events on October 4th in coordination with Save
the Sound’s annual beach and river cleanup.
On October 15 our Branford
Rotary will celebrate 80 years of community service. The
goal of Rotary volunteers is to improve the quality of
life in their local communities and around the globe.
Networking is the key to their successful programs.
Fundraising events, such as the famous Festival food
booth and book sale and an annual auction raise money
for numerous projects. At this point they have raised
nearly $100,000 for the long awaited Shoreline YMCA. In
the past they have participated in the construction of
the Volunteer Services Center on Harrison St. and the
playscape at Parker Park.
Many of Rotary’s projects
have an educational focus. Rotary helped Branford High
School develop its Interact Club, awards an annual
scholarship and sponsors the Student of the Month
program. All children in our town’s third grades are
presented with personal dictionaries. Rotary also helps
Connecticut babies by contributing to Read to Grow, a
Branford agency which distributes books and information
about the importance of early literacy.
Seniors are also high on
Rotary’s list. Each year Rotarians prepare a holiday
dinner for our senior citizens. A welcoming arbor was
constructed in the garden at Orchard House, our regional
adult day care center. Rotary members also help those in
need by holding annual food collections for the
Community Dining Room and the Branford Food Council, and
organize a winter collection of coats and blankets.
There are countless other projects and other
beneficiaries of Rotary’s attention.
Rotarians judge the things
that they think, say and do by a four step test based
on: truthfulness, fairness, building goodwill and
friendship, and benefit to all concerned. There are
30,000 Rotary clubs in 160 countries. Let’s hope that
they are all making such a positive difference.
Contact:
President Jack
Srebnik
481-7331 X1
Mailing address: Branford Rotary Club
P.O. Box 593
Branford, CT, 06405
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