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Service Above Self

We meet Fridays at 12:15 PM
Rooney's Oceanfront Restaurant

100 Ocean Ave N
Long Branch, NJ 07740
United States of America

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Rotary Takes Action Against Hunger

Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch President Fatima Camacho presents check for $950 to Reverend Leslie Devereaux of the Trinity AME Church for their food pantry.

According to an October article by NJ Spotlight News "Pandemic in NJ forces 1.2 Million to become "food insecure", report says the number surges by 56% this year, higher than national rate due to hard-hit hospitality and leisure industries. For children, the projected increase is even bigger, at 75%, bringing the total to 365,000, the report said. The new projected rate of food insecurity exceeds the 12.3% seen at the depth of the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

The Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch (RCGLB) raised $5,700 in the month of November. They received $1,000 from Investors Bank, $2,500 from a Rotary District Grant, $1,000 donation from Sylvia Allen, and $1,200 from club members. As a result, $950 each was donated in December to pantries at Christ the King Parish, St. Michaels Church, The Lutheran Church, Reformation, Trinity AME Church and St. Lukes Church. Since March RCGLB has raised and donated approximately $20,000 to local food pantries.

Please donate as much as you are able. No one should go hungry in this country, especially children. The need to continue helping our community is urgent. The money raised will be distributed to local food pantries in a check so they can purchase supplies needed the most. There is light at the end of this long tunnel.

Credit cards are preferred, checks accepted. Send checks to Long Branch Rotary Club, P.O. Box 3094, Long Branch, NJ 07740. If you are making a donation of over $100 by credit card or have a problem using the website please call Ken Gittell at (732) 539-3077.

To make donation click on link below:

https://www.crsadmin.com/EventPortal/Registrations/PublicFill/EventPublicFill.aspx?evtid=24a4990e-44b6-4a7c-bfd6-b849cefd4983

Wondering what Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch is about? Rotary’s 1.2 million members worldwide believe that helping to change the world starts with a personal commitment to “Service Above Self”. In more than 34,000 clubs worldwide, you’ll find members volunteering in communities at home and abroad to support education and job training, provide clean water, combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, and eradicate polio.

Want to attend one of our Zoom meetings? Simply give us a call at (732) 483-6973 to make a reservation. For more information visit us at www.longbranchrotary.org

RCGLB Helps Keep Long Branch Clean

Saturday, 10/10/20 - Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch (RCGLB) in coordination with Will Johnson of Monmouth County Clean Communities helps keep Long Branch clean by clearing Market Pl. (by Stop & Shop) of garbage.

Local Businessman Receives Certificate of Appreciation

The Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch (RCGLB) Past Presidents’ Gordon Heggie (center) and Luciana Silva presented Tarcisio Ferreira, owner of the Brazilian Market in West End, with a RCGLB Certificate of Appreciation. The certificate was for supporting the RCGLB’s international fundraiser with a donation to help the Breast Cancer Clinic in Sao Gotardo, Brasil.

In addition, with the help of Investors Bank’s generous donations, RCGLB has donated over $12,000 to local food pantries in the last 7 months during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Want to attend one of our Zoom meetings? Simply give us a call at (732) 483-6973 to make a reservation. For more information visit us at www.longbranchrotary.org

RCGLB Continues to Help Local Food Pantries During Pandemic

Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch President Fatima Camacho presenting check for $400 to Donna Cetrulo for the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry at Christ the King Parish.

Club President Fatima Camacho presented check for $400 to Mary Jensen, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry at St. Michael's Church. (L-R: Pastor John Butler, Rene and Jack Vrignola, Mary Jensen, Rotary Club President Fatima Camacho)

The Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch has been donating money to local food pantries monthly for the last 6 months with the help of Investors Bank, the Long Branch Rotary Foundation, and Rotary District 7505 to help them keep up with the demand for food created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The total donations made to local food pantries come to over $10,000. The Club will be continuing it's fundraiser for at least the balance of 2020.

If you would like to help us please donate by credit card click on link: https://www.crsadmin.com/EventPortal/Registrations/PublicFill/EventPublicFill.aspx?evtid=81df0a31-3dd3-45fb-9c15-980e2c4f42d8 or by check to Long Branch Rotary Club, P.O. Box 3094, Long Branch, NJ 07740.

RCGLB Helps Local Food Pantries

RCGLB (Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch) President, Gordon Heggie presents $890. check to St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry staff and volunteers at Christ the King Parish.

For our second food drive fundraiser the club donated $890. each to three local pantries in May: St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry at Christ the King Parish, Lutheran Church – Reformation, and St. Brigid’s Food Pantry at St. James Episcopal Church.

Help is provided to over 750 local families per week through just these three pantries. The pantries are helped by Fulfill (Monmouth County Food Bank), Jersey Cares, Common Market, monetary and food donations by individuals and corporations.

During the Covid-19 Pandemic the need has grown dramatically and will continue for the foreseeable future. Please do what you can to support your local food pantry. No parent wants to worry about their children going to bed hungry.

Mr. Dominique Perez, Program Supervisor at St. Bridgid's Pantry & Kitchen receives donation from RCGLB President G. Heggie.

RCGLB President Gordon Heggie presents donation to Debbie Keszler, Food Pantry Director at Lutheran Church - Reformation

Food pick-up at Lutheran Church - Reformation food pantry

RCGLB Provides Lunch for Medical Staff

Medical Staff in the Pulmonary Unit at Monmouth Medical Center thank Rotary for lunch from Scala's Pizzeria. We can't thank them enough for the the work they do helping our families, friends and neighbors survive this crisis. They put their own health on the line. The Ultimate in Service Above Self.

ROTARY CLUB DANCES TO A DIFFERENT BEAT

The Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch held it’s Carnivale 2020 fundraiser this past Saturday night, 3/7/20, at Branches. A great time was had by all. The food was delicious and the company was great. Dancing to the irresistible beat of the New York Samba Band along with traditional Brazilian dancers in their Carnival costumes was a real treat.

The beneficiaries of the event were:

Sylvia’s Children, changing Uganda One Child At A Time!

Uganda… 1.5 million orphans
Uganda… 95% of the population does not have electricity
Uganda… more than half of the population lives on less than $2 a day
Uganda… 95% of the population does not have water
Uganda… only 20% of the male children go past 7th grade
Uganda… only 17% of the female children go past 7th grade

Sylvia’s Children is trying to address these problems, starting with education. As the adopted grandmother to over 1,000 children at the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Day Care School, Sylvia Allen has made a significant difference in the children’s lives and hopefully, give them enough education to have a better life than their ancestors.

For the last seventeen years they have made a difference in these children’s lives… providing a well so they don’t get sick, a library and books, additional classroom blocks, a nurse and health care services, the list goes on. Their goal is to make the school totally self-sustaining so we can take this model and apply it .

For more information go to sylviaschildren.com

The DEPCA Foundation:

Whose mission is to help people overcome cultural, legal, physical and financial barriers by offering support and guidance that will enable each applicant to broaden their horizons, live up to their full potential and reach their dreams while strengthening a sense of community.

For more information go to depca.org

Thank you to our sponsors without whose help this event would not have been possible:

Investors Bank

Monmouth University

Woolley-Boglioli Funeral Home

Atlantic Security and Fire

Excel Travel

Artis Senior Living

Want to attend? Simply give us a call at (732) 483-6973 to make a reservation or pay $20 lunch fee at the door. We meet Rooney's Oceanfront Restaurant 12:15pm on Fridays. For more information visit us at www.longbranchrotary.org

For all photos of event click on Carnivale 2020 under photo albums on left side of page.

CARNIVALE 2020

June 27, 2019 Community Service Award Dinner

Posted by Ken Gittell

Former Mayor Adam Schdneider receives the Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch Community Service Award from President Gordon Heggie for his 28 years of service to the City of Long Branch.

On June 27^th The Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch held a dinner at Branches Catering to honor former Mayor Adam Schneider for his many years of service to the people of Long Branch. He was presented with the Club’s Community Service Award.

Many of Adam’s friends, Rotarians, and local politicians attended. Everyone enjoyed the good food, service, and music by Andy McDonough Trio.

Gordon Heggie was sworn in as the Club’s 2019-2020 Club President by Paul Peacock. Gordon is the first member to serve two terms as club president in the history of the club which is almost 100 years. In addition, Gordon received the Rotary International Paul Harris Award from Dr. David Pfaff, Club Foundation Chair in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.

Dr. David Pfaff received his fourth Paul Harris Award at the dinner.

The 2019-2020 Board of Directors was recognized and are as follows:

Gordon Heggie, Ken Gittell, Mika Hon, Paul Peacock, Dr. David Pfaff, Luciana Silva, Judy Syms, and Walter Thistlewaite.

For more information about Rotary call (732) 483-6973 or visit our website www.longbranchrotary.org.

4/26/19 - Author, Kenneth Womack

Posted by Ken Gittell

President-Elect Gordon Heggie thanks Ken Womack for an excellent presentation.

Kenneth Womack is a world-renowned authority on the Beatles and their enduring cultural influence. His latest book project involves a two-volume, full-length biography devoted to famed Beatles producer Sir George Martin. The first book in the series is entitled Maximum Volume: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Early Years, 1926-1966). The second volume, Sound Pictures: The Life of Beatles Producer George Martin (The Later Years, 1966-2016), was published in September 2018.

Ken’s Beatles-related books include Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles (2007) and The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (2009), which was named as The Independent’s “Music Book of the Year.” In 2014, Ken published The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the group’s legendary appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Ken’s books about the Beatles are included in the permanent collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Library and Archives. Ken is also the author of four novels, including John Doe No. 2 and the Dreamland Motel (2010), The Restaurant at the End of the World (2012), Playing the Angel (2013), and I Am Lemonade Lucy! (2019). His essays and reviews have appeared in Salon, Slate, Time, Variety, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ken is Dean of the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth University, where he also serves as Professor of English. He is Editor of Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory, published by Penn State University Press, and Co-Editor of the English Association’s prodigious Year’s Work in English Studies, published by Oxford University Press.

Over the years, Ken’s work as teacher and writer has earned numerous awards, including the Grace D. Long Faculty Excellence Award (2002), Penn State University’s Alumni Teaching Fellow Award (2006), Northern Illinois University’s Golden Anniversary Alumni Award (2009), Penn State Altoona’s Honorary Alumni Award (2009), and the Kjell Meling Award for Distinction in the Arts and Humanities (2010). In 2013, Ken was selected to serve as the sixth Penn State University Laureate.

In addition to studying Russian language and literature at the Moscow Institute of Communication, Ken earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in English from Northern Illinois University. He lives in West Long Branch, New Jersey, with his wife Jeanine.

4/18/19 - Night meeting

Posted by Ken Gittell

RCGLB enjoying good friends, food, and beer at the new White Chapel Project on Second Ave. in Long Branch.

April 12, 2019

Posted by Ken Gittell

New Member Bill Sherman, after being inducted into the club by President Walt Thistlewaite, is receiving his Rotary pin from his sponsor President-Elect Gordon Heggie. Bill is the owner of the new Allstate Insurance office on Wall Street in West Long Branch.

Steve Briskey is being inducted into the club by President Walt Thistlewaite and past President Luciana Silva. Steve is a real estate agent with Gloria Nilson & Co. Real Estate in Spring Lake.

Club treasurer Judy Syms receives a Paul Harris award from from President Walt.

Guest speaker Paul Musho, owner of ChillRx Cryotherapy in Red Bank, demonstrates CryoFacial with club treasurer Judy Syms.

President Walt thanks Paul for his informative presentation on cryotherapy.

1/11/19 - Grandmother to 1,000 Ugandan Children

Posted by Ken Gittell on Jan 13, 2019

Rotary Club of Greater Long Branch President-elect Gordon Heggie presents guest speaker Sylvia Allen with a token of the club’s appreciation

In 2003, Sylvia Allen went on a humanitarian trip to Uganda, Africa. While she was there, she was asked by Geofrey Kawuma, head of the Mbirizi Primary School, to be the school’s Grandmother. With 1,000 children in the school, of which a third are orphans due to the AIDS crisis, she was honored to accept the responsibility. Out of this Sylvia’s Children was born, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of her ‘grandchildren’; to give the children a fighting chance. The organization helps to better the lives of the 1,005 children in the village, and in the process is setting up a self-sustainable economic system that will allow the school and the community to thrive. They now have a pig farm, 8,000 chickens so they can sell eggs, 500,000 coffee tree seedlings, 10,000 mango trees and 7 acres of land planted in corn, tomatoes and g-nuts (which helps offset the purchase of food costs).

They’ve built: a boys dormitory, an addition to the girls dormitory, a clean well for fresh water, three new double classroom blocks, a new library, a building for corn milling, a playground, a 10-unit teachers housing, a building housing 24 sewing machines and supplied: Money for a 6,000-square-foot medical clinic (currently being built), three new stoves, three new cooking pots to extend the ability to feed the children, desks for the new classrooms, medical supplies for the nurse, school supplies, multiple Christmas parties with gifts, American and Ugandan flags, new t-shirts and dresses for the children, 1,000+ pairs of shoes and socks, books for the library, computer and Internet service, solar lights for nighttime safety, 1,000 blankets – one for each child, new beds for the boys dormitory, new latrines, a chicken coop with 400 chickens to give the kids one egg per day. They’ve also: hired a school nurse, purchased eight acres of land adjacent to the school for corn, increased student population from 439 to over 1,000, increased support for orphans in primary and a secondary school.

For more information go to www.sylviaschildren.org

For more information about the Rotary Club visit us at www.longbranchrotary.org or call (732) 483-6973.

David Legg

Jan 29, 2021

District Water Project in Nicaragua

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