2 minute read
Rotary
Freeport-Merrick RotaRy Club
is rock-steady
By Reine Bethany
It might not be the largest group in the community, but one thing is certain: The FreeportMerrick Rotary Club is growing.
In fact, it’s nearly doubled its size since July 2021 to just under 30 members.
One of the biggest features of the club attracting so much attention? Its activities, of course. Like the Soles for Souls campaign that runs each spring not just locally, but internationally. It’s a chance to donate new or gently used shoes, with a neighborhood drop-off easily accessible at 294 W. Merrick Rd.
Meanwhile, with Covid-19 an ongoing concern, the club has donated more than $15,000 worth of sanitizers and wipes to the Freeport mayor’s office as well as the Police Athletic League, the Woodward Children’s Center, Freeport Public Schools, churches, and other nonprofits.
Among the Rotay's other significant activities are the informational income tax and property tax workshops offered in the spring, with plans to do even more. Also, two deserving Freeport graduating high school seniors receive Rotary scholarships yearly.
The Freeport-Merrick Rotary continues to participate in the Rotary Gift of Life International, which provides cardiac care to children in developing nations. It also supports the Gyaboland, Liberia, school project.
Club members have also pushed ahead with long-term projects for Haiti. The small, mountainous nation, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, still suffers aftershocks following the devastating earthquake of August 2021. One new club member’s wife, a medical professional, donated cases of medical supplies on top of the sustaining items of clothing and school equipment already delivered.
That person is an example of a shining strength of Rotary: the pool of talent represented by its members, with a variety of skills and connections to bolster the giving.
“People want to help, but many times, we don’t know how to do that,” Rigueur said. The Freeport-Merrick Rotary Club provides opportunities where the urge to give finds real fulfillment.
Courtesy Freeport-Merrick Rotary Club Top photo: The Freeport-Merrick Rotary Club organizes and participates in local and international charitable projects.
Bottom photo: From left, Ken Dookram, Freeport-Merrick Rotary Club treasurer, President Marc Rigueur, incoming Vice President Comfort Itoka, and Freeport Police Athletic League Officer Bobby Ford helped distribute a donation of sanitary face masks and hand sanitizers to PAL members.
