Hosted by the Rotary Club of Union, the Fall Family Fitness Festival at Rabkin Park brought families and neighbors together while social distancing for a day of fitness.
Shout out to our President Rob O'Connell and members Geralanne Maglione & Sharon Brangman for their amazing efforts in donating to the Union Township Food Pantry. On behalf of our entire club, Rob, Geralanne, and Sharon have already made three separate trips to drop off food for those in need. Check out these pictures from the last two drop-offs!
What a perfect day to celebrate two amazing people! We had the pleasure of honoring and sending off Rob O'Connell, our President for the past two years who accomplished so many great things during his term. We also had the pleasure of welcoming our new President, Claudia Schiavone! Claudia is going to be an incredible leader for our club and we can't wait to see what this year has in store for her!
On June 18, we had a wonderful speaker during our Zoom meeting at 12:00 noon. Thomas Arminio, son of Kathy & David Arminio, spoke to us about a project he has been involved with since college after joining the Peace Corps called One Acre Fund.
One Acre Fund is an NGO (non-governmental organization) whose mission it is to supply smallholder farmers with the financing and training they need to grow their way out of hunger and poverty. Instead of giving handouts, One Acre Fund invests in farmers to generate a gain in farm income.
Thomas works with the farmers in Tanzania and Rwanda and helps them with 4 primary functions: Distribution, Training, Market Facilitation and Repayment. He manages the field staff and ultimately trains them to become managers of their own local villages. Through Thomas' efforts and the work of One Acre Fund, the farmers are learning to become better farmers and business people. Thomas' talk was enlightening and so interesting as was Kathy and David's experience visiting with Thomas in Africa, specifically Zanzibar.
To thank Thomas for sharing his world with us, we thought we would make a donation to African farmers through the Kiva Loan Program which we are involved in at Union Rotary. Also, Thomas was familiar with this program and I believe he said some of his farmers benefit form these loans as well.
For those who are not familiar, Kiva Loan Program, like One Acre Fund, is similar to Go Fund Me except Kiva loans (and One Acre Fund loans) are expected to be paid back.
We have decided to make 7 loans to farmers in Rwanda, Nigeria and Kenya (Tanzania was not an option) in Thomas' honor. We chose 3 women, 2 men and 2 agriculture groups to support. Genie will follow these loans and report back to us on the status of our farmers and their repayments. To learn a little more about the specifics of the loans...check out our Kiva Loan Page https://www.kiva.org/lender/unionrotary
The Union High School Interact Club was busy before life got crazy with COVID-19! Club members actively participated in community service events both in and out of town as well as fundraising activities throughout the academic year. With their fundraising proceeds, the club made a $500 donation to the PTA for UHS Senior Scholarships and a $2,000 donation to Gift of Life NJ! Our Union Rotary Club is very proud to sponsor such a great group of young individuals and we appreciate all of their efforts. Keep up the great work and we look forward to seeing all of your amazing accomplishments! 
President Rob O'Connell dropped off 100 N95 masks, 30 face shields, and 60 disposable gowns to Overlook Medical Center earlier today! Fellow Rotarian, Michael Atanasio who is the Director of Food & Nutrition, Parking and Patient Transportation at Overlook Medical Center, was there to accept the packages. A huge thank you to all of our healthcare workers for everything you are doing to get us through these difficult times. Another special thank you to Rob for delivering the supplies. We hope everyone and their families are staying safe and healthy!! ❤️
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President
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Treasurer
Rotary Foundation
Membership
Web Master
Sunshine
International Service
Youth Services
Sergeant-at-Arms
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Julie Bday
Oct 20, 2020
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Jodi Bday
Oct 30, 2020
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Ed Bday
Nov 01, 2020
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Board Meeting
SuburbanNov 05, 2020 11:00 AM
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Todd Bday
Nov 08, 2020
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Jim Bday
Nov 25, 2020
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Mouli Bday
Nov 26, 2020
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Herb Bday
Nov 28, 2020
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Board Meeting
SuburbanDec 03, 2020 11:00 AM
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Rich Fisher Bday
Dec 04, 2020