Rotary Club of Newark California
About Our Club
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Newark.
Newark Rotary Public Service Projects
Newark Rotarians are hard at work serving community needs. We both collect and "pass the hat" to provide food and toiletries for the Viola Blythe Center in Newark, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the town's most needy citizens. At Christmas time you will find us helping to sort cans and wrap gifts for the center. We also provide dozens of turkeys for the Tri-City League of Volunteers annual Thanksgiving Dinner at the Pavilion, and then show up the night before to help carve them. We work with homebound seniors who need a helping hand with weed abatement and yard cleaning.
Sept. 2011: Newark Rotary 50th Anniversary Celebration
The Newark Rotary Club was chartered in 1961 as a spinoff of the Niles Club. At the time, the Niles club included all of Washington Township and its territory. Current honorary members Clark Redeker, Jim Estep and Niels Nielsen were among charter and early members of the club. A September event celebrating the club's 50th anniversary was held at the home of member Sohan Sharma. In attendance were over 50 Rotarians, past Rotarians and their guests. 2010-11 District Governor Roger Hassler presented a recognition certificate from Rotary International. Newark Mayor Dave Smith presented a proclamation from the city honoring the club for its history of service to the community. The event was coupled with the demotions of past president Mike Jay and Past President Al Huezo.
Our Rotarian Family. On the far left, District Governor Roger Hassler and his wife. Shown wearing their blue caps, honorary members Howard Buschke, Clark Redeker, and Jim Estep were presented with special commendations and memorabilia.
From left: Past president Jim Leal officiating at the demotion of 2009-10 president "El Supremo" Al Huezo. Past president "El Supremo" doing the honors for our 2010-11president Mike Jay. The booklet is an early history of Newark Rotary compiled by Club Historian Jim Estep with photos dating back to 1961.
Newark Days Haystack
Each year, Newark Rotary sponsors the Newark Days Haystack event during Newark Days. The club joins in with the Newark Days organization in donating $600 in coins. A fenced-off area at the Newark Community Center is filled with clean hay. Kids start gathering early for the 5:30 p.m. Friday evening event. Our Club loves participating each year, herding and managing the waves of children metered into the haystack. We seedi the haystack with coins from nickels, to dimes, to quarters, to dollars, and continue to throw coins as groups of up to 20, sorted by height, are sent to dig for coins. Great delight is taken to drop coins at the feet of the youngest ones in hopes they'll follow them through the hay.
Future Visions Ohlone College Stem Awareness Day Program
One of the Club's Future Visions project supported the December 2nd STEM Day at
Ohlone College. Newark Rotarians who helped plan the event included Rick
Arellano, Terry Alderete, Sucy Collazo and Vivien Larsen. Joining them at the
event were Al Huezo, David Zehnder, Kathy Steel-Sabo and Jan Crocker.
Fifty
students from Newark Memorial High
School students attended the event. Students were placed into teams of
twelve, and participated in a variety of hands-on projects in the fields of
Chemistry, Engineering, Biotechnology and Information Technology. Students
received a certificate of attendance and competed to win prizes for their
projects. The goal of STEM Awareness day is to inspire the students to explore
Ohlone College¹s STEM Pathway Program.
The
STEM College Prep Curricular Pathway program at Ohlone College prepares both
middle school and high school students for entry into one of the STEM
pre-baccalaureate degree programs offered at Ohlone College. The program gives
students the opportunity to take courses in high school while receiving college
credits, many of which will transfer for credit at both California State
University and the University of California systems.
Students
generally begin the STEM prep program in their sophomore year of high school,
taking science classes such as Biotechnology, Biochemistry and a class that
prepares them for successful studying for college courses. The students
enrolled in the STEM program receive supplemental instruction from teacher
aides, take tours of industry companies, and are offered mentorship
opportunities with professionals in the biotechnology field. Once students
graduate from high school they are better prepared to enter a college level
degree program in the sciences. They may choose to continue their studies at
Ohlone College for one additional year and earn a Certificate in Biotechnology.
From there they can enter the workforce, or to continue their studies
earning higher-level degrees.
LOV Turkey Carving
The Tri-City League of Volunteers is an organization located in Newark. They receive annual support from the club, including a "pass the hat" donation of $300 to $500 for the purchase of turkeys for their annual Thanksgiving Feed. This year they served meals to over 5,485 people. The Newark Rotary helps by passing the hat for turkey donations, and by providing members to help carve turkeys and hams the night before. This year about a dozen Newark Rotarians showed up to help carve turkeys on Wednesday evening, the day before Thanksgiving.
November 2012: Newark Rotary Foundation Annual Crab Feed Fundraiser
Our Club's major source of donations from which we make community grants is our Annual Crab Feed. This year's crab feed was a huge success. We want to thank everyone who participated either through sponsorships or by attending the event. There was plenty of Crab for everyone! And with $5,000 in raffle prizes, and almost as much in auction prizes, folks came with their checkbooks and credit cards ready to spend! Below are a few photos from our successful 2010 feed.
Newark Rotary Charitable Contributions
The Newark Rotary Club's annual Crab Feed fundraiser is our major source of revenue for our donations. During this year's event, a special "Fund a Need" raffle netted over $4,000 to help purchase a new sprayer for the Newark Graffiti Abatement Team. Graffiti Abatement Volunteers are a group of dedicated Newark citizens who work hand in hand with the Newark Police Department and are committed to keeping Newark beautiful and virtually graffiti-free. Other proceeds from the event support many worthy local charities. Past recipients include the Fremont Children's Symphony, Shelter Against Violent Environments (SAVE), ABODE (formerly the Tri-City Homeless Coalition), The Newark Memorial High School Athletic Program, the Boy Scouts of America, Life Elder Care, the Newark D.A.R.E. Schools program, Life Elder Care and the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
Newark Rotary Reaches Out Internationally
Through its Double Sustainer Program, Newark Rotarians donate over $6,000 each year to the Rotary International Foundation to support global projects, and they donate an additional $1,000 to fund Rotary's Polio Eradication Program. In addition, the club directly supports the Matabubu well borehold project in Kenya, a project in collaboration with the Oakland Rotary, and the Coaniquem Burn Center in Chile, which provides free medical care to children from Central and South America who suffer from major burns.