“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”– Pablo Picasso
Dear Rotary Friends,
Good morning! Though I missed seeing you this week, I heard fantastic feedback about the presentation on Rotary’s environmental efforts in our community. Huge thanks to Terry Reed, our district environment chair, and our own Brandon Valeri-Bruschini for sharing their insights.
This has been a tough week as we mourn the loss of our dear friend, Jack Erickson. Jack rarely missed a Rotary meeting, service project, Camaraderie for a Cause—or any gathering, really. He was always there—supporting, calling, and caring. His signature response to “How are you, Jack?”—a cheerful “I’m better now!”—never failed to warm hearts. We’ll celebrate his life at our April 16th lunch meeting. Please join us. Memorial service details will be shared as they become available.
Jack lived Picasso’s above words—he gave his gifts away. Even at 96, he never stopped capturing our cherished moments through his photography and sharing them with pride and joy. His generosity reminds us why we do what we do. Next week, we have the opportunity to continue that legacy as we gear up for Hope on the Vine—our biggest event of the year. It's shaping up to be an unforgettable evening!
This year, we’re honored to partner with Newtown Fire Rescue. Our support will help equip these local heroes who stand ready 24/7 to serve. Plus, funds raised ensure we can continue supporting dozens of local nonprofits throughout the year. This event is all about community, generosity, and coming together for good. Haven’t secured your spot yet? Now’s the time—and please bring a friend!
Of course, none of this would be possible without our rockstar event team. To Stephanie Eubanks and Danielle Wittig, our phenomenal event chair leaders, their committee team leaders, including Paul Salvatore, the corporate and in-kind sponsor lead—thank you for your tireless work.
And to our corporate and in-kind sponsors listed below, you make this possible. Your generosity fuels our mission, expands our reach, and strengthens our ability to give back in even greater ways. We are honored by your trust and partnership. Thank you for being part of this mission.
A special shout-out to our friend and member Bill Wise too—your vision, creativity, and fresh ideas on behalf of Newtown Fire Rescue have brought great energy to this event. We’re grateful for you and excited to make this collaboration a success.
Also, don’t miss Jenn’s updates below—beamed to us on her way home from Portugal! Obrigado, Jenn!
Thank you for all you do to serve our community and the world. See you next week—and get ready to share an incredible evening, and make a real difference at Hope on the Vine!
With gratitude,
Debra Porter
President and proud member, Rotary Club of Newtown, District 7430
Member Survey - Spring 2025
Hello, everyone! It's time to collect your thoughts once again because the last time we did, it was such a great help as we continue to evolve our Club. For that reason, we invite you to participate in our Member Survey so that we can capture your thoughts, perspective and feedback in a number of areas pertaining to the success of our Club. Your voice matters! Please click on the link below to answer a few questions - it will take you five minutes and make a big difference. Please have your thoughts back to us Friday, April 11th. Thank you in advance for making a difference!
Lunch Meetings will be held the first three Wednesdays of each month from 12:15-1:30PM at the American Legion building. A Lunch Buffet catered by Joe Garvey will be served at a cost of $16 per person.
Camaraderie for a Cause events will be held the fourth Thursday of each month from 5:00-7:00PM. Locations and causes will vary but the donation of $10 remains the same
Our remaining April and May schedule is as follows:
4/24: Camaraderie for a Cause @ Blue Point Grill - "Newtown EMS"
5/7: Weekly Lunch Meeting @ American Legion - "Planning for Tomorrow"
5/14: Weekly Lunch Meeting @ American Legion - "BCOC"
5/21: Weekly Lunch Meeting @ American Legion - "Students of the Month"
5/29: Camaraderie for a Cause @ Piccolo Trattoria - "Trivia Night"
HOPE ON THE VINE is almost here! Have you bought your tickets? Are you looking for ways to help? Are you spreading the word? If so, thank you! If not, please find some important information below so that you can help us make this the greatest HOV ever! Let's Do This!
"Hope On The Vine" is Newtown Rotary Club's biggest fundraiser of the year. This year, Hope on the Vine proudly partners with Newtown Fire Rescue, our community's dedicated fire department that has been protecting Newtown since 1889. Your support at this year's gala will help equip these local heroes who stand ready 24/7 to serve our community.
The event takes place at the Rafters in the Newtown Business Commons on April 11 from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m.
Tickets are available now at www.hopeonthevine.com with proceeds benefiting the community. Newtown Rotary allocates the money raised during this event to both local organizations and charities, as well as those abroad.
As always, your ticket includes:
*Delicious meal catered by Chef Joseph Garvey
*Dessert
*Open bar including beer, wine, and cocktails
*DJ
*Live and Silent Auctions
*Wine Pull
*Professional Photographer with backdrop
*Cigar and Bourbon outside starting at 10:00
Book Club - April 6th
We are pleased to share that Laurel Collins will host our next Book Club! The book selection is "The Thursday Murder Club". It's the first book of a series.
Our meeting date is April 6th from 4:00-6:00pm and will be hosted by Laurel and Patrick Collins at their home. Please register to receive more details and hope you can join us!
Please join us for lunch at the American Legion Building at 12:15pm on Wednesday April 9th. During the meeting, our "Technology Committee" members Kyle Davis and TJ Butler will give us an overview of how technology can help enhance our membership experience and community impact. Technology tools like Club Runner and Social Media will be featured. We encourage all members to bring their mobile devices and laptops for a real-time lesson and personal contact data check. The team will also teach members how to respond to and support our social media efforts. It should be a very fun meeting, see you there! Oh and by the way, Joe Garvey will whip us his usual fine fare for lunch!
The Newtown Rotary Club will host the Annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 12th at Goodnoe Elementary School. The egg hunt will begin at 10:00 AM and be divided into age categories starting from the youngest to oldest. Each age group will have a “Golden Egg” prize valued at $75. All ages are welcome from Toddlers to Grandparents and everyone in between! It promises to be a fun-filled event so please join us!
Please join us for lunch at the American Legion Building at 12:15pm on Wednesday, April 16th. This Lunch Meeting will be dedicated to celebrating the life of our dear friend, Jack Erickson. Jack rarely missed a Rotary meeting, service project, Camaraderie for a Cause—or any gathering, really. He was always there—supporting, calling, and caring. His signature response to “How are you, Jack?”—a cheerful “I’m better now!”—never failed to warm hearts. Please join us so that together we can laugh, cry, hug and feel so grateful that we had the opportunity to know Jack and call him our friend. A special bonus highlight will be a Classification Speech by Rev Rodney Brailsford which you don't want to miss. I can't think of a better person to deliver his speech on this special day.
Please join us for a Camaraderie for a Cause event on Thursday, April 24th at Blue Point Grill from 5:00-7:00pm. The focus of our fundraising will be to help the Newtown EMS team create a new division of Newtown EMS. They seek to purchase 3 Fuji Police Bikes from another EMS organization with a trailer and want to have the team in full operation by June 1st. Please join us for this worthy cause by bringing $10 and a bunch of your friends! See you there!
On Thursday, March 27th, the Newtown Rotary Club held a Camaraderie for a Cause event at the Temperance House to raise funds for our "Hope on the Vine" gala event which will be held on Friday, April 11th. Thanks to all who joined, we were able to raise $269 to support our event so thank you! We also had the special treat of a visiting Rotarian from Niteroi in the Rio de Janeiro State of Brazil! Vanessa Erthal brought her mother, Rita de Cassia Marchon dos Santos, who is a member of this Club to our event. Rita shared her Rotary banner and a letter from the President of this Club which was founded in 1928. Times like this make us realize that our world is not so big after all!!!
The Newtown Rotary Club is proud to give back to our community, country and world to help make a difference in people's lives as we put "Service Above Self".
Our Newtown Rotary Club!!!
Who wouldn't want to join a Club full of this fun loving group!!??
Photo by Rotarian Brandon Valeri-Bruchini, Mediaology
Community & Volunteer Opportunities
In this section, you will find opportunities to volunteer outside of our own Rotary events.
In doing so, we expand our "Rotary Reach" into our community! Please sign up or even just attend these events if you can.
Order Rotary Apparel
Click Here to add to your "Rotary Wardrobe" and show your Rotary pride!
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