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Successful gofundme drive in support of local ECHN hospital staff:

Manchester Rotary is hosting a crowdfunding campaign in support of our local ECHN hospital staff and restaurant owners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your donated dollars will be used to purchase meals and snacks from our local restaurants which will be delivered to the front line staff at Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals. Join us in saying "THANK YOU!" to the front line!

WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR OUR LOCAL RESTAURANT PARTNERS:

Russell from Rein's Deli in Vernon packs up lunch for the Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospital staff on 4/8.

Louise and Estrella from Georgina's Restaurant in Bolton load up dinner for the staff of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals on 4/14.

Dale Roberts, owner of Great Harvest Bread Co. in Vernon delivers breakfast to Rockville General Hospital on 4/20.

Between Rounds delivered bagged lunches to Rockville General Hospital staff on 4/23.

Lana, Banquet Manager at A Villa Louisa in Bolton, supervised loading of Manchester Memorial Hospital's staff dinner on 4/23

Mulberry Street Pizza provided dinner for Manchester Memorial and Rockville Hospitals on 4/3.

On 4/28 Mulberry Street Pizza baked pizzas which were delivered to our Manchester Fire Department first responders.

Christine and Kim, owners of Center Perk in Manchester prepared

dozens of muffins destined for Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals on 4/28.

Jack Maloney and Don Genovesi deliver Shea's pizza to our Eighth District Firefighters on 4/30.

Rotarian Sarah Howroyd helps to deliver lunches prepared by Rein's Deli to iCare facilities Touchpoints and Westside Multicare on 5/12.

Cookies for RGH...

Thank you Great Harvest Bread

Company for baking cookies for the staff at Rockville General and Manchester Memorial Hospitals on May 27.

...and more cookies for MMH!

Bob Rodner

As we enter spring, I am chilled by the pall cast over our lives by Covid-19. I anticipated a sense of satisfaction knowing that another year of “service above self” had been accomplished by our Club only to be humbled by the impact of this global scourge. So much planned, yet so much lost opportunity; meetings cancelled, fund raising curtailed and events rescheduled or postponed indefinitely.

Certainly, each of us has the responsibility for our own health and safety and that of our dear ones. However, from the prospective of a Rotarian, it is important that we assess the needs of our community and determine what we can offer as an organization dedicated to providing service and goodwill.

For the foreseeable future our club business and interactions will take place in cyberspace. The success of this format may well have long lasting implications and benefit once the “all-clear” is given. The ensuing global economic debacle will undoubtedly be impactful on our financial resources for the next several years. Therefore, for us to remain relevant as a meaningful service organization during this time of crisis, we must determine where we can be most helpful with more limited resources.

To this end we have been providing meals and snacks to many of our front-line health care staff and first responders as a way of saying thank you and boosting morale. From this we will transition to meeting hunger head on supporting local food banks and community pantries. We are using existing club funds which are being off-set by private donations and Go Fund Me campaigns. Our network of supporters has been quite responsive to this approach and our focus.

The year ahead will be challenging for all of us, both personally and as an organization. As the weather warms and the flowers bloom, drive by the Rotary Music Garden and Rotary Pavilion in Charter Oak Park and remind yourself what we are capable of and what we have accomplished. Then set your sights on the role Manchester Rotary shall play in the coming year. Let us use the determination, energy and enthusiasm that has brought us this far to remain relevant and impactful as we attempt to recover and heal.

Best wishes and be safe.

Bob Rodner

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The Rotary Pavilion/Michael B. Lynch, Sr. Memorial

Nature & Nurture

With help from a Rotary Foundation global grant, a group of women in rural Costa Rica are using ecotourism to enrich their families' futures.

Watch: Italian clubs aim to protect hospital workers responding to COVID-19

Rotary clubs in districts across Italy worked together to procure state-of-the-art equipment needed to combat the deadly coronavirus disease for 26 hospitals around the country.

Rotaract rising