PROJECT INFO
ON MY MIND
This project brings together the writings of High School Students from both high performing suburban schools and those of at-risk students from inner-city schools. It is not a contest, but an opportunity for all students to express themselves in a volume entitled “On My Mind.” At the completion of the project, there is a book launch party at which all the students meet each other.
The New York Times called this undertaking, “A remarkable effort to bridge the void between poor and rich, urban and suburban, in a way that almost never occurs.”
TAMARA WATER
The Somers Rotary is the lead club together with nine other Rotary clubs and Cornell University in building a water filtration plant for the 3,000 impoverished residents of Tamara, Honduras. In addition to raising funds, this is a hands-on project with members of the club traveling to Honduras to help in the construction.
COAT & SWEATER DRIVE
The Somers Rotary Coat & Sweater Drive has become an annual town tradition. Every year the members participate in collecting several tons of clothing and distributing it to comunity centers and social service agencies throughout the area.
FIRE JACKETS TO A SMALL TOWN IN ARGENTINA
It took almost a year of international red tape, but used fire jackets obtained by the Somers Rotary Club were shipped to the Rotary Club in a small town in the interior of Argentina. Shipping for the jackets, which weighed several hundred pounds were donated by Fedex.
Fire jackets in Somers. John Katzenstein (middle left)
led the project.
Fire jackets arrived at the Rotary Club 30 de Agosto in Argentina
TOWN ROAD CLEAN UP
OTHER PROJECTS
Support of Polio Plus, the Rotary International drive to eradicate polio
-Partnership with the Waterfront Club of Cape Town, South Africa to support an education project in Kamiesberg together with RI matching grants.
-Installation of a multi-media unit in the infusion therapy department at the Westchester Children’s Hospital
-Trash to Treasures: Collecting used computers locally and shipping them to developing countries
-Support of landmine clearance
-Purchasing over 3 dozen wheelchairs for disabled person who could not afford them
-Support of “Mothers to Mothers to Be”, an AIDS project in Africa
-Hosting of Rotary International exchange professionals to further world understanding.
-Support of local charities
-College Scholarships for Somers and JFK High School students
-Library books for a damaged Hurricane Katrina school.<
-Collected used Fireman coats for a poor town in Argentina that could not afford them.<BR>
-Participated in the PBS series “War Stories” with a Somers Rotary video to honor a WW11 Veteran member, shown on the WNET website.
- Special Education financial support for a deaf girl.
- Support to a Somers Family with dire circumstances.