Ultimate Recipients of Gift Certificates to Provide Holiday Meals for Area Veterans

Donations of Gift Certificates from McCaffrey's Supermarket collections were distributed to

Philadelphia Veterans Administration

Bill Fenimore

Bucks County Veterans Center (Bristol)

Jeff Hoerger

Guardians of the National Cemetery (Washington Crossing)

and

American Legion Post 17 (Yardley)

Bob Craven and Dick Newbert

VFW Post 6393

Irv Perlstein and Russ Davidson

Each of these veteraans organizaiton will, in turn, be distributing these gift certificates to area veterans who have served our nation but fallen on challenging financial times.  These donations both express "Thanks" for their service and hopefully make this year's Christmas season a bit brighter.

 

A Record-setting Day Collecting for Christmas Meals for Area Needy Veterans

With heartful thanks to so many generous shoppers at McCaffrey's Yardley Supermarket

Club members Irv Perlstein, Ira Sherman, Alan Agree, Mark Nath, Steve Manas, Bob Morris, Lou Hatfied, Larry Jaffe and Syd Baron colllected a record $1,463.80 … plus an addiitonal $80 in donated gift certificates … for a grand total of $1,543.80!

Syd Baron

Ira Sherman and Mark Nath

Bob Morris

These monies will be used to purchase gift certificates from McCaffrey's which the Club will they donate to VFW Post 6393, American Legion Posts 137and 148, the Guardians of the National Cemetery in Washington Crossing and the Bucks County Veterans Adminstration Center in Bristol … as these organizations area aware of the most deserving and needy veterans and their families for whom these gift certificates will make a real difference and their Christmases a bit brighter.

For just the second time during the four years of our Club has been collecting to provide these Holiday (Thanksgiving and Christmas) meals for needy veterans who have served our country at home and abroad a donor has anonymously donated a $100.00 bill. 

Over the couse of our four 2019 collections this fall, unselfish shoppers have donated an amazing total of $4,714.10

This brings also brings our four year total collections to just shy of $15,000!

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The Rotary Club of Shady Brook owes a deep sense of gratitude to McCaffrey's (Yardley), Shop-Rite (Lower Makefield) and Colonial Farms (Washington Crossing) without whose cooperation, partnership and willingness to permit our members to solicit funds at their entrances such collection sucesses would not have been possible.

 

 

 

 

Building Gingerbread Houses – Demonstrating N-gauge Trains and Donating Matchbox Trucks

Alan Aagre, Irv Perlstein and Jerry Redington took the time today to visit the WIlliam Dick School where they paarticipated with the Kindergarten children in building gingerbread houses for Christmas and the holiday season.

Alan Agree

Jerry Redington

Irv Perlstein

Alan bought 60 matchbox type trucks and cars.  Each of the 48 excited kindergarten kids received a car or truck as aa gift from the Rotary Club of Shady Brook.

Alan also made a small poster board layout of N-gauge Trains. 

The students from from both kindergarten classes had an opportunity to see the trains running as well as use the transformer to run them. 

The greatest screaming excitement was when one train engine trailed the other and eventually caught up. The kids simply loved it!

Actually, if the truth was known, it is appaarent that Jerry, Irv and perhaps most of all Alan had as much fun as the students!

 

 

 

“Thanks” from Students at the William Dick School

Our ongoing commitment to the WIlliam Dick School and, more importanly, its students remains one of our Rotary Club's most significat initiatives. 

Therefore it is especially rewarding when we perioodically receive hand-made cards from some of the students.  One of any expressions of "thanks" we have reccently received can be seen below.

  Front Cover

Notice what they list first among the many things we've done for the school

Here we are even given credit for some activities we were not really responsible for putting on … in this case the Franklin Institute's sicence show, complete with rockets.  But, it is telling that these students are apprecaitive of what outside groups do for them!

Back Cover

Colonial Farms Gourmet Market Helping Us Collect for Veterans’ Holiday Meals

Under the leadership of Irv Perlstein, Club members raised another $1,025 to purcahse gift certificates for veterans who are facing challenging economic times and their families at Colonial Farms Gourmet Market in Washington Crossing.

Helping over the two -day, weelkend fundraising effort were Mark Nath, Syd Baron, Alan Agree and Irv's grandson, Bobby.

Syd Baron

The Club extends to so many of Colonial Farm's customers who contributed to the effort to help those who have given so much to defend our nation's freedom.

Aa veryspecial vote of thanks is extended to Nick Angelakis, Colonial Farms owner, who not only allowed us to again solicit funds to help veterans but provided coffee and pasteries to our participating members … which were especially welcome on Saturday when cool and rainy weather made the conditions less than ideal.

 

Recognizing Veterans Organizations Who Partner with the Club in Providing Holiday Meals to Needy Veterans and Their Families

The Club welcomed VFW Post 6393 (Yardley), Aamerican LEgion Post 317 (Yardley), the Guardians of the National Cemetery and the Jess Soby American Legion Post 148 (Langhorne) for their part in distribution the gift certificates to provide holiday meals for needy veterans and their families. 

As in past years, those gift certificates were purcahsed with monies the Club raised from generous shoppers outside Shop-Rite and McCaffrey's supermarkets prior to Thanksgiving.  This year alone, more than $2,100 was collected.

Irv Perlstein presented a Certificate of Apprecaition to Russ Davidon, Post Commander VFW Post 6393

Dick Newbert preesnted a Certificate of Apprecaition to Bob Craven, President of teh Guardians of the National Cemetery in Washington Crossing and Member of Americal Legion Post 317

Irv will be presenting a Certificate of Apprecation to Bob Osterhout, Post Commander of the Jesse Soby Americal Legion Post 148, who could not attend this morning's breakfast meeting.

Each Certificate of Appreciation read as follows (with repsective Veteraans Organization noted)

Bob relayed one story of a currently deployed veteran whose family was just scraping by.  One of our Gift Certificates was given to them … where it made a huge impact on their Thanksgiving.  Helping people in need … it's what we pride ourselves on doing!

   

 

 

   

 

 

John McCoy from the Broomhall Rotary Club Presentation on Rotaplast

We were privleged to have John McCoy from the Broomhall Rotary Club

who spoke to us about  Rotaplast.

Rotaplast International, Inc., founded by

Dr. Angelo Capozzi

is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.  Working with local professionals, Rotarians, and other organizations, Rotaplast sends multidisciplinary medical teams to provide free reconstructive surgery, ancillary treatment, and training for the comprehensive care of these children.  Rotaplast supports education and research towards prevention of cleft lip and/or palate. Our aim is to help local professionals build sustainable models for the care of these children, improving their lives and those of their families.

Rotaplast will employ the following strategies to reach this goal:

Facilitate medical missions to provide surgical intervention for children who are not able to receive treatment or who are in need of more complicated medical procedures than can be provided by local physicians.

Counsel families about ways of reducing the incidence cleft palate anomalies through diet, vitamin supplementation, and lifestyle changes.

Collaborate with local health professionals on follow-up care and on development of comprehensive cleft palate programs where feasible.

Learn about the incidence and causes of cleft lip and palate anomalies, including both genetic and environmental factors.

Educate local physicians and specialists by urging them to work with our teams to broaden their skills in treating cleft anomalies.

Foster international goodwill and fellowship by working with Rotarians as well as with health officials in host countries.

John augmented his presentation with a moving PowerPoint presentation about his 2019 mission to Monrovia, Liberia

where Rotarians, acting as non-medical asistants, traveled with more than a dozen volunteer doctors and nurses to provide FREE reconstructive cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.  This visit was coordianted and supported by three Liberian Rotary Clubs.

Anecdotally, when local Liberian citizens saw the word "free" on the (above) poster, they overwhelmend St. Joseph Catholic Hospital, where the surgery was to be preformed in just two operating beds, by parents with children and other adults with a host of maladies; including some with significant keloid isuses, some of which were repaired. 

During thier misison some 78 cleft lip and cleft palate procedures were preformed … mostly on young patients.

Interestingly the hospital had recently reopened after three years … which resulted from the ebola crisis in Liberia during which it was closed.

In 2020, another mission is scheduled for March 15-29 in Chitwan, Nepal. 

As these misisons are costly, $80,000 to $120,000 each fund raising is critical.

The Club warmly thanked John for his time and presentation.