“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now.” –William Penn
Dear Rotary Friends,
Happy Friday!
William Penn’s above words reminded me of the impact our actions have in our community. This week, we witnessed that spirit in action as we supported our veterans at the Pancake Breakfast, and Potential Inc. during their antique car show fundraiser. Now, as we look forward to Market Day, the critical food drive, and the 5K race for the historic Newtown Library tomorrow, we have even more opportunities to come together, celebrate our history, and support our neighbors.
What an incredible Pancake Breakfast we had on Sunday at the American Legion! Thanks to our amazing community and dedicated volunteers, we raised $1,873- and realized a 15.5% increase in attendance—all in support of our veterans.
A huge shout-out to Mark Craig, whose leadership resurrected the Pancake Breakfast for the second consecutive year, and to Chef Joe Garvey for delighting everyone with his culinary skills and generous spirit. A heartfelt thank you to all our dedicated Rotarian volunteers! Alex Szlanic, a new Rotarian and Financial Center Manager at Penn Community Bank, thanks for readily stepping in to manage our second shift assignments. Doling out pancakes, waffles and potatoes was great fun! Kyle Davis and Paul Salvatore, you are our Pancake Griddle KINGS! Every oneof our amazing volunteers (see pictures below) played a vital role in the success of the event. Thank you all! Your commitment and helping hands mean so much.
The funds raised will directly support our veterans through the Memorial Day parade and other essential initiatives. Together, we raised money, strengthened our community and demonstrated our club’s extraordinary commitment to service.
Thank you also to Jenn Ceslak, Jim and Donna Miller for hosting our Rotary table at the Potential Antique Car Show in support of autism research. Potential engages children and adults with autism in personalized programs that help them realize their full potential. The rain didn't dampen your spirits- though I’m pretty sure some of the antique car owners were a little jealous of your swanky new Rotary tent! Please see the fun event photos below.
We have an exciting weekend ahead! Tomorrow, Saturday, October 5th, our club members will be volunteering in various ways:
Newtown 5K: Join our NextGen Rotarian Joe Adelmann and Rick Roger’s daughter Nicole as they run to support the Newtown Library Company, one of the oldest operating libraries in the U.S., founded in 1760. This cherished community treasure connects our town to its colonial past while offering modern resources and hosting engaging events. The race begins at 9:30 AM at Brian Gregg Park on North Chancellor Street.
Market Day: We’ll have a Rotary tent set up near the Newtown Library. Come celebrate Newtown's vibrant history at this annual fall event centered around the historic Court Inn. Consider volunteering via the link below, and before or afterward, enjoy local artisans, fresh produce, delicious food, and live entertainment. It’s a family-friendly gathering honoring our town’s rich heritage.
Food Collection at McCaffrey's in Newtown: Join Rotarians Shari Donahue, owner of of theZebra-Striped Whale Cafe, and Paul Salvatore, and Rotarian volunteers as they collect food for the Wrightstown Food Cupboard. This vital community resource supports local families in need with essential food and supplies, showcasing our spirit of generosity and care. Please see the volunteer sign-up link below to assist in this important effort.
Whether you choose to participate, cheer on Joe and Nicole, donate groceries or funds if you can't volunteer for the food drive, or bring friends to support Market Day, together, we can make a difference!
Also, don’t forget to support Bill Wise and Rich Fekete in the Mr. Bucks County contest! They’re still raising funds for Main Street for those battling breast cancer in our community, so please help show our Rotary spirit and contribute! Votes and donations can be made via these links:
• Bill Wise, Mr. August: https://givebutter.com/MrBucksCounty/mraugust
• Rich Fekete, Mr. July: https://givebutter.com/MrBucksCounty/mrjuly
Finally, please join us for our breakfast meeting on Monday, October 7th, at 7:30 AM at the American Legion. We will hear from Rick Rogers, Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at UBS Financial Services Inc., a valued corporate sponsor of the Newtown Rotary Club, a board member, our Finance Committee Chair, and the leader of our Interact Club program at Council Rock North and South. Rick will be joined by the one and only Ginny Kownurko, Newtown Rotary Club Board member and Treasurer. We're so grateful for their extraordinary service to our club and community. They will share valuable insights into our club’s finances and demonstrate how our funds are making a positive impact. Register below to attend. (Registering for our meetings and events is critical to our venues as they purchase and prepare food for our meetings.)
Thank you for being an inspiration to our community every day! Thank you to our outstanding sponsors listed below.
Here’s to another inspiring week of service, unity, and purpose in Newtown and beyond. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings and events!
Warm regards,
Debra Porter
President and proud member of the Newtown Rotary Club, District 7430
New Member Spotlight!
The Newtown Rotary Club is delighted to welcome these new members into our family! Please take a moment to get to know them by reading the thoughts below in their own words. We look forward to swearing them in and hearing their Classification Speech at a future meeting. Welcome, everyone!
THOMAS MINUTELLA
"I work at HSC Builders as a Project Manager in construction management. I assist in the management and coordination of building construction with the client, Architect, and Engineer. The company I work for specializes in healthcare-related construction (i.e, hospitals, pharmaceutical labs, higher education wellness centers). I joined a Rotary Club because I wanted to join a group that makes an impact on a community. I also wanted to meet new people with similar interests. I joined the Newtown NextGen Rotary particularly after meeting Nathan Breece. We are friends outside of the rotary club and he introduced me to the idea of joining. I am pretty open on how I get involved. I guess I would say I have had some years of experience volunteering with middle school and high school students, typically as part of a mentorship program. I recently participated in the Newtown State St Fundraiser and would continue getting involved for other fundraising events. Hope this is interesting enough... In 1924, my great-grandfather migrated from Sicily, Italy to Ellis Island to South Philadelphia. Most of his family remained in a small town called Castelbuono. My great-grandfather, and at times along with my grandparents, visited his family sparingly throughout the next 50 years. The last time they visited his family was in 1974. This recent summer my parents, sister, and I planned a trip to Italy and dedicated a couple days to visiting Castelbuono to learn more about our ancestors' upbringings. Prior to the trip, my sister found a Facebook account for a jewelry store in Castelbuono, Italy called Gioielli Minutella. With nothing to lose, she messaged the account asking if there was any way there could be a relation (apparently there is more than one lineage of Minutella's in the 8,000 person population of Castelbuono, Italy). Thankfully we had old paperwork and birth certificates that could verify different years and addresses. That left little doubt that we were in fact related to the owners of this jewelry store. We made tentative plans to meet them in Castelbuono. When the day came, my family and I met with our distant relatives. It also turned out the two store owners invited other family members from around the country down to Castelbuono that week. Before long, there were 15-20 of us heading to dinner to celebrate the end of a 50 year drought. They spoiled us with wine and food and dessert. The scenario made for an amazing trip, but more importantly it was able to bring family together from across the world, something that could have easily been lost in my family's history.
PAULA BRUSKIEWITZ
"In my profession, I am a Vice President Finance with Kepner-Tregoe, a privately held training and consulting firm. I joined Newtown Rotary because my husband, Mark Craig, is very involved and enjoys it and I wanted to be a part of this. To get involved, I will probably participate in volunteer activities – not sure what specifically yet. A fun fact about me is that I’ve been to all but 1 state, so I’m trying to figure out how to make a trip to North Dakota!"
Newtown Rotary Club will have a table at this event sponsored by Potential! The event will take place at Bucks County Community College from 1:00-5:00pm. Please join us to volunteer a little and enjoy the Antique Car Show! Our very own Jim and Donna Miller will have a car in the show!
Newtown Rotary will have a table at Market Day on Saturday, October 5th from 10AM - 4PM and your help is needed! We will have a table full of information, marketing materials, candy and Rotary bracelets and your help to spread the word about our great Club would be appreciated.
Click on this link to sign up for a 2 hour shift and stay tuned for an email sign up coming shortly. Enjoy a fabulous day in our community on behalf of the Newtown Rotary Club!
Please sign up to help with our Newtown Rotary Food Drive to benefit the Wrightstown Food Pantry! This event will take place on Saturday, October 5th from 9:00AM - 3:00PM at McCaffery's. Thank you!
What an extraordinary day we had on Saturday, September 22nd on State Street thanks to our NextGen group! State Street was abuzz with the sounds of laughter, conversation and wonderful community connections (and some barking too!). Our NextGen group raised money for Alpha Bravo Canine and those dollars will be used to train amazing dogs to help our Military Veterans battle their PTSD. Thanks to everyone who came by and especially our NextGen leaders who made this all possible!
PS: Photo cred for many of these shots goes to Lous Martinez / Redd Pen Media
Rotarians At Work Again!!!
Camaraderie for a Cause
We had a fantastic event at LaStalla on September 26th to raise funds for the Friends of Washington Crossing Park! This is such a wonderful cause focused on preserving our history and sharing it with generations to come.
Who wouldn't want to join a Club full of this fun loving group!!??
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.
Rotary District 7430 to End Polio: The Race to Zero
What: District 7430 event to support Rotary's goal to eradicate polio
When: Sunday, October 13, 2024 from 9 am - 10:30 am
Where: Simmons Elementary School, Babylon Road, Horsham, PA 19044
Join us for the Rotary District 7430 "Race to Zero - Let's End Polio." This is a family-friendly event! We have a chip-timed 5k Run, a 5k Walk, and a 1-mile Fun Run/Walk. The race begins at Simmons Elementary School in Horsham and runs along the Horsham Powerline Trail. The race will take place rain or shine. We also offer a virtual option (no race shirt) to complete a distance of your choice and help support this cause.
Race proceeds and donations go toward our Global Polio Eradication Initiative. You can donate directly at https://my.rotary.org/en/polioplus-fund. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever! We've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
Montgo New Britain Rotary Golf Fundraiser - 2/2/25
Kyle Davis would like to get a foursome or two together to go to this event as he is the Assistant District Governor for this Club. It would be fun, it's not expensive, $50 per foursome and the proceeds go to support our local service projects, including food insecurities, mental health and Rotary Foundation charities. If you are interested, please contact Kyle at kdavis05@gmail.com. The event starts at 1PM.
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