To date, there are 39 District clubs who have committed to doing a project on April 30th. The District's Environmental Sustainability Team, led by Terry Reed, has been focused on educating clubs about the “Supporting the Environment” focus of Rotary and encouraging the clubs to do an environmental project on April 30th or sometime this Spring.
As of April 1, here's what the Clubs are planning:
Area 1 – Area Coordinator Ingrid Holder
Allentown West – Shredding Event
Emmaus – Tree Planting Project
Lehigh Valley Passport – Fish Derby & working with RC Allentown West
Slatington - Trail Cleanup Project Whitehall Area Trail Cleanup Project
Whitehall – Garden Project with Grim’s Greenhouse
Area 2 - Area Coordinators Rick Morrisey and Audra Frank
Bethlehem - Trail Cleanup Project
Bethlehem - Morning Star Stream Cleanup Project
Easton - Trail Cleanup Project
Nazareth - Park Cleanup Project & Stream Cleanup Project
Saucon Center Valley - Stream Cleanup Project
Area 3 – Area Coordinator Loretta Ottinger
Fleetwood - Park Cleanup Project & Labeling of Stormwater Grates Project
Hamburg - Town Cleanup Project & Pollination Project
Terry Hart, former NASA astronaut, will share highlights about his life journey and inspiration to pursue a STEM career. Terry Hart served as a Shuttle mission specialist and logged 168 hours in space. In an address to Lehigh graduates he said, “Throughout your careers, you will have many opportunities to be a member focused on accomplishing something very new and challenging.” It took a diverse, multidisciplinary team to bring the STEM YEA program to fruition and we are gratified to receive his support.
Tickets for the “STEM YEA Big Ticket Reverse Raffle Night” are still available but only 200 will be sold. Your ticket helps to fund the development of the STEM YEA program for under-served middle schoolers with a curriculum focusing on science and engineering. The ticket entitles you to a fun evening including hors de oeuvres, drinks, dinner and a lottery ticket with a chance to win one of numerous prizes totaling $5000 when 200 tickets are sold. Don’t be left out - act now to purchase your tickets! https://stemyea2022specialevent.eventbrite.com
For five years, the Emmaus Rotary Club and Rotarians from District 7430 have honored women for their achievements in the field of volunteer humanitarian work. On March 10th, Emmaus Rotary celebrated International Women’s Day by recognizing two outstanding women. The Club's Rotary Woman Award was given to Gwen Carr, a long-time Rotarian and advocate for many service projects locally and internationally. The Rotary Community award was presented to Clarice James, the founder and director of the Allentown nonprofit M.I.R.A (Migrant, Immigrant, Refugee and Asylee).
In March, Rotary clubs all over the world celebrate “Women in Rotary” by honoring the history and importance of countless Rotary women, showcasing their humanitarian work and their impact in their communities, their nation, and the world. 2022 is also an important year for Women in Rotary as we prepare to welcome, on July 1, Jennifer E. Jones of the Rotary Club of Windsor Roseland, Ontario, Canada, who will become the first-ever woman President of Rotary International. Her president’s theme is “Imagine Rotary.” Her membership goals include increasing female membership to 30% of rotary members by 2023; engaging members; and embracing change. She is also fully committed to Rotary’s philosophy and policies regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Gwenn Carr, M.Ed., PMP, has been a member of the Allentown West Rotary for over 17 years. She has served on the Membership, Fundraising, Dictionary, Communications, Scholarship, Public Image and Purple Pinkie teams, as well as on the AWRC Board.
Leading several teams for the major club fundraising effort, Tempting Tastes became an event the club depended on for most of its annual funds for five successive years. Ms. Carr did an outstanding job as chair for this event, benefitting the club in excess of $150,000 over those years. These funds were used for local and international projects of great importance.
In response to the 2020 pandemic, Gwenn quickly organized a fundraiser to raise nearly $1,000 to benefit a local food pantry. She is a member of Engineers Without Borders and currently the Project Manager for STEM YEA and the Chair of District 7430 Learning Committee.
Clarice James is the founder and executive director of M.I.R.A. Resources, an Allentown-based nonprofit focusing on providing support for migrant, immigrant, refugee and asylee families. The goal is to equip these families of different ethnicities and cultures with
The Kutztown Rotary Club received the Kutztown Community Partnership Organization of the Year Award at KCP's February 2nd annual meeting. President-elect Ellen Overcast nominated the club for this honor. The award was received by Ellen and club secretary and foundation president, Melissa Kirk.
Also receiving an award that night was the KCP volunteer of the year, Jerry Schearer, KCP's Past President and Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Services. In a Feb. 13 Berks-Mont news article available on the Reading Eagle website, Jerry made the following comments about the Kutztown Rotary Club: “Rotary Club of Kutztown is such a great organization. The amount of fundraising they do for local projects and the volunteers they provide for KCP events is really impressive. I’ve been glad to give back to them a little each year by volunteering at the Taste of Kutztown event Rotary holds.”
Also quoted in the article were comments from current president, Tom Kulp: “Kutztown Rotary Club is honored to be recognized as the Organization of the Year by Kutztown Community Partnership. The Kutztown Rotary Club focuses on local needs in Kutztown, Topton, and surrounding communities. We have partnered with KCP on many initiatives and look forward to continuing to support KCP and the community. We plan to continue our mission of supporting community efforts through our major fundraisers, the Taste of Kutztown in June, and Kutztown Ghost Tour in October."
The Rotary Club of West Reading-Wyomissing hosted the annual High School 4-Way Speech Competition on March 2. Students in grades 9-12 from Wilson School District and Wyomissing Area School District, the schools in the Club’s geographic footprint, were invited to compete in the speech competition. A panel of three judges along with a timekeeper and tabulator evaluated the student’s speech, which addressed an ethical issue they selected and how the Rotary 4-Way Test of the things we think, say, or do, helps to find a solution.The Test asks four questions:
First: Is it the TRUTH?
Second: Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Third: Will it build GOODWILL and Better FRIENDSHIPS?
Fourth: Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Congratulations 2022 West Reading-Wyomissing 4-Way Speech Competition Winners
Elizabeth Harenza a Senior at Wyomissing Area School District took 1st Place with a cash prize of $100. At this writing, she was slated to compete in the Regional Competition with a top prize of $ 500 on April 2, and if selected would move on to the District Competition with a top prize of $ 1,000 on April 22, 2022, in Hershey PA.
Alek Zeppos a Senior at Wyomissing Area School District took 2nd Place with a cash prize of $ 75.
Anisha Aggarwal a Senior Wilson School District took 3rd Place with a cash prize of $ 50.
Also participating were Ansh Aggarwal, a Senior, and Jay Khamar, a Junior, both of Wilson School District.
Rotarian Deb Brubacker, Chair of Rotary Club’s 4-Way Speech Competition, stated, “We are always amazed at the topics and insights these students share during their speeches. Our Club is pleased to provide this opportunity for students to speak out about relevant issues in their lives. We hope that asking them to apply the 4-Way Test principles to an issue of concern will help them find solutions to life’s ethical problems.”
Food insecurity in the U.S.A. is a major crisis that has been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many working poor struggle to put healthy food on the table and have relied on food pantries to supplement their cupboards for decades. Many food drives take place around the winter holidays, but how are the pantries supplied at other times of the year?
Harleysville, PA, Rotary Club member Carol Bauer, a former “military brat” whose family moved around a lot, settled in the Harleysville, PA area (a suburb of Philadelphia) in her teen years. She met her future husband in high school. His family always grew their own fruits and vegetables. She even learned how to can food so her family could eat produce from their garden year round. As her children grew they helped in the garden.
Growing up in a military family meant giving back to society and the local community wherever they were stationed. Carol continued this tradition with her own children. When she noticed that this food pantry didn’t stock any food for people with special needs such as diabetes or celiac disease (a condition her daughter has), she started a plan to get more fresh foods donated and to teach families how to grow their own food. She started with eight garden plots at a local church and clients from the local food pantry. Twenty-one families now grow their own produce.
In 2015 “The Garden of Health” (or G.O.H.) was officially established as a non-profit organization and could now accept monetary donations. From 2015 to 2018 Carol was solo in her effort to provide gluten-free, heart-healthy, vegan, and diabetic foods/ingredients along with fresh produce to the area food pantries. She also stored boxed and canned items in her home until the pantries were able to accept them.
It was about this same time in early 2018 that Carol was invited to set up at a table at a local health fair, when then-club President-Elect Gary Volpe (a local businessman) of the Harleysville Rotary Club, walked by her table and stopped to chat. Gary was so impressed with Carol’s determination and the need to get healthy food to food pantries, that he invited Carol to speak about G.O.H. at a weekly club meeting, and the rest is history! Carol became a club member very quickly and the club now has G.O.H. as one of its on-going and ever- evolving projects.
In late 2018 a small one acre plot of farm land became available so Carol secured the plot which was large enough to build about 180, 3’W x 12’L raised beds. In the first year a handful of beds were built and mushroom soil was added. Produce was grown. The Harleysville Rotary Club sponsors an Interact Club at a local high school and members from that club and our own club volunteered to help. In the past few years, all 180 beds have been established and grow produce such as tomatoes, green beans, lettuce, peas, cucumbers, etc.
Carol has grown her “one woman show” into an entire board of volunteers, some of whom are Rotarians while others are friends who just wanted to get involved. As the garden grew so did the list of area food pantries. Each year the amount of food grown as well as donated to these pantries has doubled and with the Covid-19 situation the organization grew by 350% in 2020! All of this was achieved even though the organization’s main wholesale supplier had to curtail all donations due to Covid-19. To date, G.O.H. has distributed over 100,000 pounds of produce to
February 22 was a typical Rotary Tuesday for the Warminster Rotary Club. The lunch gathering started at noon with The Pledge of Allegiance, announcements, birthdays, anniversaries, a weekly raffle and speaker presentation. Our meetings are hybrid and we were lucky not to have any technical glitches. For all intents and purposes, it was a great meeting and a welcome Rotary break in the work week.
Two days later the world changed. As if the pandemic, food insecurity, rising cost of gasoline and other goods weren’t enough, we watched Russia begin an invasion of Ukraine.
By the next Rotary meeting, the invasion was creeping through the Ukraine the way lava seeps from a volcano.
It took one conversation, in the hallway after the meeting for Warminster Rotarians to jump into action. Club member and fellow Rotarian Bradley Kuder reached out to St. Anne’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Warrington, PA and extended our support. They were facilitating the gathering of relief and humanitarian supplies for refugees.
In less than a week, through word of mouth and emails the Warminster Rotary club, partnered by the Warminster Food Bank, announced a Call to Action and approved club funds for gathering and obtaining cases of personal hygiene supplies, over-the-counter medications and much more to help enable relief for Ukrainian refugees.
On two Sundays in March, the Rotary Club of Montgo-New Britain club dropped off two carloads of supplies to St. Anne’s Ukrainian Church.
This is a newer chapter, chartered during COVID, and it has supported several efforts including a food drive for the New Britain Food Larder, highway clean-ups of Old 202 and the 202 Parkway and ARC blood drives and more.
After two years of Zoom meetings, Allentown Rotary returned to regularly scheduled in person meetings by moving to a brand new meeting location at Cedar Crest College (CCC) starting Friday, April 1st. And how appropriate that the program speaker that day was CCC President, Dr. Elizabeth Meade!
Allentown's first meeting at Tompkins Center got rave reviews from those in attendance. With free parking and unlimited trips to a hot and cold food buffet, dessert bar and beverage station, club members are definitely looking forward to the fellowship of future meetings on this lovely college campus.
A survey of members earlier this year showed overwhelming support for continuing Zoom meetings to take advantage of the convenience, the ability to bring in long-distance speakers, and to keep their fingers on the technology in case it is needed again. Allentown's schedule going forward will be in-person meetings the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month with Zoom meetingson the 2nd, 4th and 5th Fridays.
In March, Slatington Club President Kevin Steckel, along with District 7430 Governor Robert Hobaugh, presented Carla Green and Marc Grammes with their Paul Harris awards. The Paul Harris Fellow award is one of the highest honors Rotary can bestow upon a person. Recipients are Rotarians and community professionals, in recognition of their outstanding contributions, exemplifying the highest ideal in Rotary in placing “SERVICE ABOVE SELF.” Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contributed $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation.
For the St. Patrick's Day season, Michael O’Brien, long term Rotarian and Sergeant At Arms, was sharing the Shamrock spirit. His smile was extra VIBRANT that day. Mr. Obrien greets members every week with a smile and welcome hand shake. Michael was born in the US but spent time living in County Mayo, Ireland.
Lots of fun at the Montgo-New Britain Rotary mini golf outing recently. Here are some of the highlights – Yes, they did give out cars for those who scored a hole-in-one! They were Matchbox Cars!
They’ll definitely be doing this as an annual event. So they’ll let us know when they do it again!
The Rotary Club of Easton awarded $200 scholarships and Student of the Month certificates for January, February, March, April 2022 to the following area students. The Student of the Month program is coordinated by Easton Rotarian Mark Haldaman. He noted that these students are selected by their school faculty and then submitted to Rotary. Several school faculty members and parents were in attendance to recognize the students' hard work and dedication.
Easton Area High School – January 2022 – Imaan Ali is a Senior who plans to pursue a dual major in computer science and MIS management information systems, with the eventual goal of starting a nonprofit organization. She has traveled to 15 countries and helped to build water wells so that clean water was accessible.
Notre Dame High School – February 2022 – Alexandra Nehme – she was not in attendance
Wilson Area High School – March 2022 – Brielle Reidinger is a Senior who has volunteered extensively as a buddy with Intermediate Unit kids. She will be attending Nazareth College in Rochester, NY to study physical therapy, with an eventual goal of working with children with disabilities.
Career Institute of Technology – April 2022– Ashley Reyes – She is a Senior at EAHS and is enrolled in early childhood education at CIT. She will be attending Northampton Community College and then transfer to East Stroudsburg University to pursue a career in Early Childhood Education.
In addition to the $200 check, each student received an engraved nameplate for the plaque at the school, and a 3D printed Rotary Logo.
After a long COVID hiatus, Pottstown Rotary Bowling for a Cause is BACK! Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 9th. There are some important updates to share:
NEW VENUE – This year, the event will be held at Jay Lanes, located at 1428 Benjamin Franklin Hwy. in Douglassville.
TWO SESSIONS – We have two options for you early birds and night owls. This year there will be two sessions. We are accepting requests for time slots, but we can’t make any guarantees. Join us for one or both!
5:30-7:30 pm (please arrive by 5:00 pm bowling will start promptly at 5:30 pm) – this is perfect for those who are bowling with children
8:00-10:00 pm (please arrive by 7:30 pm bowling will start promptly at 8:00 pm)
HIGHLIGHTS:
$120/lane for 4–6 bowlers recommended (see attached form for registration, or contact Dave Czarnecki at (484) 942-9465 or czar8811@gmail.com )
Includes shoe rental and two hours of bowling
Prizes to be given for highest score for kids and adults
Silent Auction
Food and drinks are available for purchase at Talks Tavern
West Reading Wyomissing Rotary --- Charlie Manuel is coming to Reading.
Don't miss this Fireside Chat with Charlie Manuel, the Manager of the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies! Come hear everybody’s favorite uncle chat about the upcoming 2022 MLB baseball season.
Buy the VIP Meet and Greet Ticket to get the best seats in the house, meet the legend himself, have a photo opportunity, and an autograph!
The West Reading-Wyomissing Rotary Club will get $10 from each ticket sold when you use the promotion code ROTARY. Click on "Know a Promotion Code" and then enter "Rotary." Click on your desired seats and add them to the cart under "Special Offer." You get a great night listening to Charlie and the Rotary club gets $10...it's a win-win!
The Rotary Club of Warminster will hold its Second Annual Charity Golf Outing on Friday, April 29, 12:00 pm, at Five Ponds Golf Club in Warminster, PA. This event is a major fundraising effort for the club. All proceeds from the golf outing go toward supporting meaningful community projects and Rotary International fundraising initiatives. The club gives back about $30,000 annually in its charitable donations that include local and direct philanthropy, vocational service, providing scholarships to local high school seniors, and many more charitable efforts. Last year in the inaugural event, they were able to net close to $22,000! This would not have been possible without the generous support of sponsors, golfers, dinner guests, and volunteers.
Don’t see your Club in this issue of Vibrant News? DON'T LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN NEXT QUARTER! - We are taking submissions for the July 2022 edition starting TODAY - here’s how to submit a write up and pictures, a Facebook link or calendar event anytime between now and June 30th. Why wait? Don't miss out on the opportunity to “Tell Your Rotary Story” to everyone in D7430!
Here's a link to our July Google drive where you can upload photos and text at your convenience OR send an email to the editors of Vibrant News and we will move the content to the Google drive for you. Photos should be uploaded as separate JPG files and not embedded in a text document.
10th, Emmaus Rotary celebrated International Women’s Day by recognizing two outstanding women. The Club's Rotary Woman Award was given to Gwen Carr, a long-time Rotarian and advocate for many service projects locally and internationally. The Rotary Community award was presented to Clarice James, the founder and director of the Allentown nonprofit M.I.R.A (Migrant, Immigrant, Refugee and Asylee).
Also receiving an award that night was the KCP volunteer of the year, Jerry Schearer, KCP's Past President and Assistant Vice President and Dean of Student Services. In a Feb. 13 Berks-Mont news article available on the Reading Eagle website, Jerry made the following comments about the Kutztown Rotary Club: “Rotary Club of Kutztown is such a great organization. The amount of fundraising they do for local projects and the volunteers they provide for KCP events is really impressive. I’ve been glad to give back to them a little each year by volunteering at the Taste of Kutztown event Rotary holds.” 
It was about this same time in early 2018 that Carol was invited to set up at a table at a local health fair, when then-club President-Elect Gary Volpe (a local businessman) of the Harleysville Rotary Club, walked by her table and stopped to chat. Gary was so impressed with Carol’s determination and the need to get healthy food to food pantries, that he invited Carol to speak about G.O.H. at a weekly club meeting, and the rest is history! Carol became a club member very quickly and the club now has G.O.H. as one of its on-going and ever- evolving projects.
rsation, in the hallway after the meeting for Warminster Rotarians to jump into action. Club member and fellow Rotarian Bradley Kuder reached out to St. Anne’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Warrington, PA and extended our support. They were facilitating the gathering of relief and humanitarian supplies for refugees.
two Sundays in March, the Rotary Club of Montgo-New Britain club dropped off two carloads of supplies to St. Anne’s Ukrainian Church. 
Allentown's first meeting at Tompkins Center got rave reviews from those in attendance. With free parking and unlimited trips to a hot and cold food buffet, dessert bar and beverage station, club members are definitely looking forward to the fellowship of future meetings on this lovely college campus.
l Harris Fellow award is one of the highest honors Rotary can bestow upon a person. Recipients are Rotarians and community professionals, in recognition of their outstanding contributions, exemplifying the highest ideal in Rotary in placing “SERVICE ABOVE SELF.” Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contributed $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation. 
Don't miss this Fireside Chat with Charlie Manuel, the Manager of the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies! Come hear everybody’s favorite uncle chat about the upcoming 2022 MLB baseball season.
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