“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
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 schedule is as follows:
4/9: Weekly Lunch Meeting @ American Legion - "Technology Overview"
4/16: Weekly Lunch Meeting @ American Legion - "Speed Dating & Classification Speech"
4/24: Camaraderie for a Cause @ Blue Point Grill - "Newtown EMS"
Thank you!
Camaraderie for a Cause! - March 27th
Please join us for a Camaraderie for a Cause at the Temperance House on Thursday, May 27th from 5:00-7:00pm! The focus of our fundraising efforts will be to raise money for our Club Fund to support our signature gala event, Hope on the Vine, which takes place on Friday, April 11th. Please bring a bunch of your friends and $10 and get ready to have some fun and raise some dollars for our best event of the year!
Please join us for lunch at the American Legion Building at 12:15pm on Wednesday, April 2nd at the American Legion. Our keynote speaker is Terry Reed who will speak to Rotary's efforts to protect our environment through various environmental and sustainability efforts. Terry serves as the Environmental Sustainability Team Leader for Rotary District 7430. Not only will we be inspired by Terry's talk but we'll get to enjoy a catered buffet by the one and only Joe Garvey! Please join us, we can't wait to see you!
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!
"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
The Newtown Rotary Club had a packed house at our weekly lunch meeting on March 12th! Our very own Rotarian Shikha Prashar spoke to us about avoiding the pitfalls of being scammed, which was very insightful and generated a lot of questions! Joe Garvey went above and beyond with a traditional St. Patrick’s Day menu, which was delicious! And we are pleased to recognize Marc Blatstein, who attended his first meeting as our new 25-26 Sergeant at Arms! Thank you to Shikha, Joe and Marc, and everyone who attended this meeting and contributed to record attend attendance!
Rotarians Still Working!!!
Weekly Lunch Meeting - 3/19
We had a very special Lunch Meeting on March 19th because we had the pleasure of hearing Classification Speeches from our newer members TJ Butler, Grace Wu Simco and Maureen Salvucci! Rotarians love this type of meeting because we get to know these amazing "new" members better and feel fortunate that they have chosen to be in our Club! Thank you TJ, Grace and Maureen, for sharing yourselves with us! Of course, Joe Garvey put together an amazing "Spring Fling Mediterranean" menu to help us celebrate the feeling of Spring in the air!
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.
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