Stories

           (Honesdale, April 30, 2015)…Quench your thirst and help a good cause at the Honesdale Rotary’s “Pints for Polio” event May 21.  As a member of Rotary International, Honesdale’s club is part of a global effort to eradicate the scourge of polio through massive vaccine programs in endemic countries. Since the campaign began in the late 1980s, the number of polio cases worldwide has dropped from 350,000 to just 306 in 2014.

          “We are so close,” says Andy Lane Chapman, coordinator of the Pints for Polio event. “And every little bit counts to bring that number down to zero.”

         The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is a joint effort with the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Come help us rid the world of this devastating disease,” says Chapman. “For just $20, you can enjoy a pasta buffet and two pints of beer.”

          The May 21^st event at Cordaro’s Restaurant, 186 Grandview Avenue, Honesdale, will also include a 50/50 raffle and possibly door prizes. For more information, visit Honesdale Rotary on Facebook.

(Honesdale, September 27, 2012)…The Honesdale Rotary wants you to help them savor the world, according to Andy Chapman, vice president and chair of the club’s International Flavors dinner this year. The event, a feast of round-the-world dishes prepared by area restaurants and Rotarians, will take place Saturday, November 1^st, at Honesdale High School, from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.

            “Our International Flavors buffet is a great opportunity for individuals and families to taste different cuisines at a reasonable price,” says Chapman, “and it’s a perfect way for our club to share our story. We are part of a huge service organization that counts more than a million members worldwide. We’re in Honesdale, but we’re linked to fellow Rotarians in China, Japan, France, Australia—the world.”

            Monies raised will support Rotary projects locally and globally. Last year, the club helped the Honesdale Little Baseball Association build two new batting cages and the Emergency Food Pantry apply for a non-profit tax status. Internationally, the club helped buy shelter boxes for victims of natural disasters, as well as continued to contribute to Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide. Since 1988, the incidence of polio globally has decreased 99%!

            Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. They are available at Stephens Pharmacy, 1101 Main Street, Honesdale or by calling 570-253-8631. Corporate sponsorships are also available for $300, $150 and $50. For more information, visit Honesdale Rotary on Facebook or call (570) 253-8631. Visitors are welcome to all meetings, which take place Tuesdays at 12 noon at Cordaro’s Restaurant in Honesdale.

Group Photo:  Come share a meal with us!  Honesdale Rotary and Honesdale High School Interact club members pose for a picture minutes before opening the doors to last year’s International Flavors buffet. This year’s event is Saturday, November 1^st at 5:30pm at Honesdale High School.

(Honesdale, September 27, 2012)… “Put it on your calendar, it’s a feast for the fabulous foodie in you!” says Honesdale Rotary Second Vice President Andy Chapman. Chapman is co-chair of the International Flavors Dinner committee, which just announced the date for this year’s event: Saturday, November 2nd, 2013, from 5:30pm – 7:30pm at Honesdale High School.

“Everyone is invited to enjoy a gourmet spread of local and international dishes prepared by area restaurants and Rotarians and their families,” explains Jordan Ubertini, club vice president and Andy’s co-chair. “Proceeds benefit Honesdale Rotary charities, including one of Rotary’s most life-changing programs, the International Student Exchange program.”

Honesdale Rotary has co-hosted high school students from France, Columbia, Mexico and many other countries. The club has also helped send many Honesdale High School students abroad—to Australia, Japan and Thailand in recent years.

Restaurants which participate traditionally have included such eateries as Settlers, Hotel Wayne, Tick Tocks, Trackside, Cordaro’s, Woodloch and more.

The dinner is served buffet style, with one seating. Tickets are available at Stephens Pharmacy, 1101 Main Street, Honesdale or by calling 570-253-8631. Corporate sponsorships for $300 include four tickets and signage at the event.

Rotary International is a service club of more than 1.2 million members in 34,000 clubs worldwide. Committed to “service above self,” Rotarians engage in humanitarian, educational and vocational projects around the world.  Global projects include a polio eradication program, which is very close to accomplishing just that this year! Local projects include helping Friendship House, VIP  and other groups, as well as the formation of a junior Rotary club at Honesdale High School called Interact.

For more information, visit Honesdale Rotary on the web. Visitors are welcome to all meetings, which take place Tuesdays at 12 noon at Cordaro’s Restaurant in Honesdale.

 Photo: Honesdale Rotary members posed for photo just before last year’s successful International Flavors buffet dinner. This year’s dinner is November 2nd, 5:30pm at Honesdale High School. All are invited!

(Honesdale, September 22, 2013)… A well-known community advocate, Richelle Stephens, MSN, RN of Honesdale, recently joined the Honesdale Rotary. Richelle, who has been active in many other groups, most notably Habitat for Humanity, was “looking for something new but also something of service to my community.” The registered nurse and mother of two boys currently works at Mountain Laurel Surgery Center and as a clinical instructor at the University of Scranton. 

Her husband’s family owns Stephens Pharmacy and Northeast Medical Equipment, where Richelle also occasionally lends her expertise. “We are more than happy to have Richelle be a part of our group,” said Rotary President Ken Doolittle. “Her ready smile and willingness to jump in are exemplary. She’s already on several committees!”  Honesdale Rotary is a service club with close to 40 active members. Part of Rotary International, which counts more than one million members worldwide, Honesdale Rotary engages in both local and global community projects.

This November 2nd, join Honesdale Rotary at its International Flavors dinner at Honesdale High School at 5:30 pm. Enjoy international dishes cooked up by local restaurants and Rotarians and their families and help fund many Rotary projects, including its International Student Exchange program. Honesdale Rotary welcomes new members. Join the club for lunch Tuesdays at 12 noon at Cordaro’s, Grandview Avenue, Honesdale. 

Photo: Richelle Stephens, center, receives her new-member pin from Honesdale Rotary Secretary Kay Reynolds and President Ken Doolittle.  

Honesdale Rotary donated a life-saving piece of medical equipment, an automated external defibrillator (AED), to Honesdale Friends of Soccer to be used at area soccer games for all ages. Friends President Chris Bresset said the portable electronic device has pads for both pediatric and adult use and comes with easy-to-use audio and visual commands. Approximately 1,100 players and parents are involved in Honesdale soccer, he noted, “and we hope we never have to use the AED, but we are very grateful to the Rotary for helping us be prepared—just in case.” Bresset said the Honesdale team had a “close call” with a player last year and an EMS crew was called to the scene.  The AED, which automatically diagnoses cardiac arrhythmias and helps the heart re-establish an effective rhythm, will be kept at the Honesdale soccer field near the high school.  Photo, left to right: Friends of Soccer member Sherry Grandinetti; Secretary Debbie Adams; President Chris Bresset; Honesdale Rotary member Laurie Harrington; Rotary President Sylvia Kingston; Friends’ Carrie Demers; Friends’ Kipp Welsh. Missing: Friends Vice President Lisa Stengel and Friends Treasurer Forrest Goodenough.

Two weeks and 185 pieces of winter wear! Way to go Honesdale Rotary, donors and local businesses who helped the Rotary's Winter Woolies Coat Drive 2012!

The bins were packed to their edges with jackets, coats and vests which were all taken out, sorted and sent to several different charities. Altogether, Honesdale Rotary’s “Winter Woolies” coat drive from October 29th to November 10th was a hit. “We sincerely thank the people who donated and the businesses that allowed us to put bins and boxes in their lobbies,” said Sylvia Kingston, president Honesdale Rotary. “T’is the season of giving, and so many people gave!”

The drive could not have come at a better time-- just before the first significant snowfall and just after Hurricane Sandy.  Click on headline to read more...

What a great dinner! Close to 300 people showed up for our International Flavors Dinner on November 3rd at Honesdale High School. They enjoyed a sumptuous buffet served up by dedicated Rotarians and those fabulous Honesdale High School Interact students.  All the dishes were donated by club members or local restaurants. Woodloch also donated plates, and Honesdale High's "Kitchen Guru Gail" and custodian Justin helped pull it all together at the beginning and the end. Thanks to the Local Boys for some super entertainment. And of course, thanks to all who came out to support us. Preliminary tally? About $4,000 for Rotary International Student Exchange programs and other charities.  While the crowd made a big dent in the food, there were some leftovers which were donated to Grace Episcopal Church and the Abraham House.  Good stuff all around! More pix here. Click on headline.

Good citizens at work! Rotary roadside cleanup! With the help of Honesdale High High School's Interact club (junior Rotary), Honesdale Rotary members cleaned up the banks of Route 191 south of Honesdale on Saturday, October 27th. Bags upon bags were collected, but no word yet on whether the tonnage beat last spring's cleanup. The Rotary tidies up the same stretch of turf every spring and fall. If you see them next time, give a wave!  Rotary meets every Tuesday at 12 noon at Cordaro's in Honesdale. All are invited.   And don't forget THE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DINNER, Saturday, November 3rd, 5:30pm-7:30pm  at Honesdale High School.

NEW VENUE! Everyone is invited to enjoy the Honesdale Rotary’s annual International Flavors, a gourmet feast of local and international dishes prepared by area restaurants and Rotarians. This year, the event takes place at Honesdale High School on Saturday, November 3^rd, from 5:30pm – 7:30pm. The Local Boys will provide entertainment. Proceeds benefit Honesdale Rotary charities, including one of Rotary’s most life-changing programs: the international student exchange program. Read more by clicking above headline.

AWESOME! That was the word heard most often on the night of March 2 at Stourbridge Primary School, where some 150 youngsters, grades K through 5th, enjoyed  a circus night put on by Honesdale High School's Interact club. 

The Interact members, about 30 on site, plus adult Rotary volunteers and parents, dressed in circus costumes-- clowns, trapeze artists, ringleaders, lions, bears, big dogs-- and manned close to 20 stations, such as bouncy houses, face painting, cupcake decorating, "Knockout," circus yoga, stacker tables, sno-cone and cotton candy stations, "parachutes" and more.  

Parents dropped off their youngsters at 6pm and picked them up at 9pm. Co-organizer Kay Reynolds, Honesdale Rotary secretary and Interact advisor, said the "preliminary tally is about $2,000, but we have a few outstanding donations and costs."  Monies raised go towards the club's "Little Buddy" program (mentoring younger students) and End Polio Now, a Rotary International project to eradicate polio from the globe, among other projects. To see more photos, especially from the dress-up and take-home a print station, visit Honesdale Rotary on Facebook. 

 (Honesdale, January 3, 2012)…Ho ho ho—the new year is starting off a bit brighter for Friendship House in Honesdale. Members of the Honesdale Rotary dropped off a $500 check plus close to a dozen boxes of non-perishable foods such as boxes of cereal and the ever-popular “mac’n’ cheese,” toys and magazines from Highlights. Friendship House, a non-profit statewide organization, provides an all-day program for at-risk children ages two-and-a-half to school-age. Services include breakfast, lunch, snacks and educational, solution-based interventions, individual/group therapy and recreational play.  The Honesdale group serves about 30 children on a daily basis. “We need so much, and the Honesdale Rotary saw that and responded,” said Lori Burian, “we can’t thank them enough. It is encouraging to know that members of our community recognize and support our efforts.”  The Honesdale Rotary club presented another $500 check in June to help fund breakfast at the Early Childhood Program on Delaware Street. Pictured left to right: Rotarians Al Kobe and Maureen Beilman; Lori Burian, Friendship House; Rotarians Kay Reynolds and Sylvia Kingston. The Honesdale Rotary welcomes new members. The club meets at Cordaro’s Restaurant, Honesdale, every Tuesday at 12noon.