Warwick Valley supports Garden of Child program -

Garden of the Child founder Sister Anna Roche

 accepts the organization’s 24th annual contribution from the Warwick Valley Rotary Club.

Leo Kaytes, left, helped promote the start-up efforts in 1989 when he was Rotary president.

Since then Warwick Rotarians have donated almost $25,000 to Garden of the Child. At right is John Buckley, Warwick Rotary president.

 “Service Above Self” is the motto of Rotary, an organization of area community leaders, business and professional men and women. Sister Anna Roche, SC, founder of Monroe-based Garden of the Child, is guided by a similar creed.

In 1989, Sister Anna approached Leo Kaytes, a Warwick auto dealer and then president of the Warwick Valley Rotary Club, with an idea for starting an early childhood/middle school detection, intervention and prevention program. With seed money from the Warwick Rotarians, Garden of the Child was started.

This month, Sister Anna received her 24th annual contribution from the Warwick Valley Rotary Club, totaling almost $25,000 in two decades.

Her educational program services students from kindergarten through the eighth grade. Seminars and the summer programs offer enrichment in the areas of art, music, fashion, cooking, baking, the basic drills and skills of several sports and tutoring.

The Garden of the Child assists youngsters from Chester, Goshen, Warwick, Monroe, Florida, Washingtonville, Harriman, Central V alley, Woodbury and Cornwall.

By STAN MARTIN