The 2010-2011 Rotary Year starts on July 1st and runs through June 30th. As Rotary moves forward into it's new year, it is time to thank Joanne Kwasniewski for her leadership during the 2009/2010 Rotary Year; thanks also go to her executive board members and without a doubt the entire Club membership.
As Joanne reviewed her year as President for 2009-2010 at the Annual Installation Dinner held on June 16, 2010, she was pleasantly surprised at all that The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn accomplished during her year.The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn once again distributed dictionaries to all third graders in Fair Lawn and this year we received a helping hand from Pearson Education Foundation. Pearson graciously provided the dictionaries that the children were so happy to receive. The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn again thanks Pearson Education for their support in this philanthropic endeavor. The Club once again was able to provide assistance to those school children that required school supplies through Project REAL (Rotary Encourages Academic Learning) and several Fair LawnHigh School students received scholarships to continue their post high school educational goals. The Club donated a new bench to the Borough; a swing bench was installed at Rotary Grove in Memorial Park. This swing is a new addition to the benches and chess tables The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn has installed at Memorial Park over the years, providing an area allowing visitors to sit and enjoy this wonderful park that Fair Lawn offers. Our support of the OpportunityCenter continued in 2009/2010 and we have once again provided assistance to the Fair Lawn Health Department and the Maurice M. Pine Library.
Fair Lawn Rotarians also participated in the Pedals for Progress program; collecting bicycles for the less fortunate and we were able to host a Gift of Life Child from Honduras that had successful open heart surgery. Our membership purchased a Shelter Box that was deployed in Haiti in order to assist those that lost everything to the devastating earthquake. The Club also provided a financial gift to The Rotary Club of Ridgewood in support of a school they sponsor in Kenya
Among the many local community and international humanitarian activities The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn participated in during the 2009/2010 Rotary Year, we were finally able to deliver a long dreamed about gift to the citizens of Fair Lawn in appreciation of their support since the creation of the Club in 1948. With the assistance of Kuiken Brothers Lumber, the Borough of Fair Lawn and the Maurice M. Pine Library, a Rotary Clock was erected in front of the library; at the corner of Fair Lawn and Parmalee Avenues. This clock is a gift to the citizens of Fair Lawn as a way for The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn to say thank you Fair Lawn for your support over these past 62 years and also as a symbol of the continuing commitment that Rotary has to "lend a helping hand" to those in our hometown.
In order to undertake so many activities and help others in our community as well as around the world, members of The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn were active in the fundraisers held throughout the year. We worked with The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn-Sunrise in co-hosting the annual spaghetti dinner held at the Fair LawnHigh School in October, our Annual Beefsteak and Tricky Tray was another successful evening of community camaraderie and that March evening was followed by the annual Pancake Breakfast one morning in May at the Fair Lawn High School. But Rotary fundraisers aren't always about food. We also sold Entertainment Books (offering discounts on a large variety of shopping and eating places to enjoy) and we had our two 50/50 Cash Raffles - the "Big One" and the "Fuel Your Summer Adventures Mini 50/50".
The funds we raised through our fundraisers and other donations allow The Rotary Club of Fair Lawn to continue the good works of Rotary locally, nationally and internationally. All members of the Club are looking forward to continuing the long tradition of "Service Above Self" during the 2010/2011 Rotary Year and for many more years afterwards.
