Welcome to the Rotary Club of Elizabeth

Founded in 1917, our Club has been a model of “Service above Self” for 103 years. During that time we have raised and donated over 1.5 million dollars in Scholarships to local students and Grants to local Charitable Organizations. In addition, we have provided over 25,000 dictionaries to third grade students in the cities of Elizabeth and Hillside.

While we have a deep commitment to the City of Elizabeth, we strongly support the Rotary International Foundation, especially Polio Plus. Since 1986, Rotary International and its partners have immunized 2.5 billion children around the world against that crippling disease. Our Club has also contributed to disaster relief efforts around the world. I have great faith in the commitment of my fellow Elizabeth Rotarians as I have for the past 32 years.

Enjoy your visit to our website!

Yours in Rotary,

President Kelly McCracken Villanueva

Liden Rotary Satellite Club

The Linden Rotary Club, sponsored by the Elizabeth Rotary Club, is a professional service organization serving the communities of Linden and Clark NJ. The club meets on Wednesdays at 8 AM. For more information email lindenrotary.info@gmail.com or follow us on facebook to learn more about our service projects!

Facebook Page

September and October News!

On September 27th, President Kelly welcomed 5 new members! July Sanchez, Director of Residential Services YWCA Union Conty, Miguel Carvalho, Branch Manager Northfield Savings (Elizabeth), Bruce Elfein, Supervisor of Social Studies Elizabeth Public Schools, Sandra Benedict, Director of Development Community Access Unlimited and Linwood Bagby, Restore Ministries. Welcome to our new members!

On October 16th, we had our 16th Taste of Elizabeth! We had new and returning restaurants. It was a big success and we were happy to see everyone there. Thank you to all who made the event possible.

On October 26th, Rotary had a social meet up at Climax Brewery. We got a tour of the brewery and learned some very interesting beer history. We sampled 5 varieties of beer and had a great time together.

July and August News!

July and August News! (2023)

On July 12th, Present Kelly welcomed Elizabeth High School Chess Club Advisor Armando Planos and up and coming chess champion senior Leny Duran. The EHS Chess Club is rapidly expanding and their success in tournaments is on the rise.

On July 19th, the Rotary celebrated National Hot Dog Day with our Elizabeth Avenue Partnership.

On July 27th, Rotary had their Baseball Fundraising Outing at the Somerset Patriots.

May and June News

May and June News! (2023)

On May 10th, President Kelly welcomed our newest Linden Satellite Club member, Maria Castanheira. Castanheira is the Branch Manager at Northfield Bank in Linden. Alan Tennant and Loren Frost brought thank you cards from Linden and Clark 3rd graders who were thrilled with their new dictionaries. Rotarian Carlton Daniels is hard at work putting together a volunteer program for renovations at the Elizabeth Salvation Army.

On May 24th, we held our annual scholarship luncheon, awarding $36,000 to 18 Elizabeth High School Seniors. We reached a milestone this year as we pass the three-quarter million-dollar mark in scholarship awards since the Davis Fund’s incorporation in 1986. Congrats to all the recipients!

On June 7, we welcomed Kiara Rodriguez and John Tixi, two of our Davis Scholarship recipients who were unable to attend our May 24th Luncheon. Congratulations and best wishes to these wonderful students!

President Kelly welcomed our guest speaker, Melissa Wells, who is an Italian Teacher at the Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy. Melissa brought us up to date on the expanding world language department at Hamilton and the successful showing of her students at the Italian Language Culture Day at Rutgers. Thank you Melissa !

In June, we celebrated Bill Mealia for being in Rotary Club of Elizabeth for 50 years!

March and April News!

On March 8, Captain Walter Droz, Commander of the Elizabeth Salvation Army and HOPE Center spoke about the great work the Salvation Army does for the less fortunate in our City and how the need for volunteers and financial aid is greater than ever.

Thank you to everyone who made our Pancake Breakfast so successful! Please see our Facebook page for lots of pictures. We made over $3,300! Thank you to our club members who cooked, baked, attended, sold tickets and pitched in where needed. A special thank you to IHOP (North Broad Street), Tropicana Diner and the Garden Restaurant for providing the food and supplies. Also, thanks to Ben at the Elmora Pharmacy for designing and printing the placemats! We especially thank the B.O.E and especially Dr. Michael Wansaw, Principal, and the staff at Victor Mravlag School #21 for the use of their school. And thank you to those enthusiastic volunteers from the E.H.S. Interact Club and the School 21 Honor Society and our amazing face painter Sharmela Brooks! Thank you to everyone who attended and enjoyed the pancakes.

On April 5th, we welcomed Mary Verona Rivera who is the TV Production and Theater Arts teacher at the Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy in Elizabeth. She spoke about the sold-out performance of Seussical the Musical.

In April our Linden Rotary Satellite Club delivered dictionaries to third grade students in the Linden and Clark school districts. Our Elizabeth and Linden Rotary Clubs have donated over 30,000 dictionaries to students in Elizabeth, Linden and Clark!

January and February News!

On January 11th, Mr. Guido Morsella, a teacher at the Frank J. Cicarell Academy, spoke to Rotary about the Relay fof Life. He is the faculty advisor for the National Honor Society and Relay for Life. The Relay will take place at Cicarell Academy on March 10th, starting at 6pm. We hope to see you there!

On January 25th, Chris Bollwage, Mayor of the City of Elizabeth, delivered his State of the City Address. It was a wonderful turnout!

Rotary Club also gave a $1000 grant to support the Jewish Family Service of Central NJ Charlotte Shak Kosher Food Pantry.

On February 8th, we welcomed Franca Ogbotobo, President of the Rotary Club of Warri Metropolis, Nigeria. Ogbotobo's Rotary Club’s major project is providing Dialysis Machines to The General Hospital of Warri.

On February 22nd, we hosted and congratulated the Elizabeth HS Championship Cross Country Team, Assistant Athletic Director Kelly McCrackenVillanueva and Coaches Jose Dias and Rui Reguinho.

We also welcomed two new members, Yolanda Pittman and Jonathan Jones.

November and December News!

In November, we had Marc Andreo as our guest speaker. Andreo is the CEO and Scout Executive for the Patriots’ Path Council; he delivered a presentation updating us on the successes and challenges facing Boy Scouts of America relative to membership, volunteerism and fundraising following the lifting of COVID restrictions.

In December, talented students from the Terence C. Reilly and Wiliam F. Halloran Schools performed a mixture of Holiday and Classical pieces for the Rotary Club meeting. They did a wonderful job! After the lunch, club members Bill Mealia and Carlton Daniels delivered 27 packages of toys and clothing to the Elizabeth Salvation Army for their Angel Tree Project.