Visits to the Hershey, Hanover, West Shore, and Manheim Clubs made for a fulfilling week of interacting with fellow Rotarians, and several new Members, while hearing about many club projects, and watching Clubs and educators engage with youth through students of the month and interact clubs. Rotary's relationship with the youth in our District is highly inspirational, definitely keeping Paul Harris forever young!
More engaged Rotarians from those Clubs joined our Peace Council to contribute their extensive passion and wisdom to District stages of holding positive peace workshops and undertaking public discourse with the public sector. Others joined the Environment Committee, where Joe McNally is collecting ideas from all Members for local projects. Both Peace and the Environment will be featured at the House of Friendship during the Multi-District Conference set for April 4-6 at the Hershey Lodge. Please add Conference registration to your plans before the end of the year, along with any Foundation-related donations that reflect your intent to make a difference in the community and the world.
Very best wishes for a meaningful Thanksgiving with family and friends.
At the Rotary Club of York’s November 13th meeting, Club members in attendance and guests who are veterans or active duty military were honored during the Club’s annual Veterans Day meeting.
The Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club recently partnered with nonprofit organization Parish Resource Center to support expecting mothers in the local region. On Sept. 25, volunteers from the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club assembled 92 kits of items for infants at Parish Resource Center's facility, located at 2160 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster. The kits will be distributed to expecting mothers through Union Community Care, a medical provider that offers prenatal services at a variable cost depending on clients' budgets.
In the first phase of the project, the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club received a list from Parish Resource Center of the items needed for the baby kits. Each kit includes a diaper bag, diapers, sanitary wipes, a nasal aspirator, a blanket and clothing items such as onesies, sleepers and hats. The Rotary Foundation helped fund the purchase of the baby kit items through the Rotary District 7390 Grant Program, matching the contributions of the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club.
The project was proposed by one of the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club's members who discovered Parish Resource Center's community outreach initiatives. The club decided to pursue the partnership due to the baby kit program aligning with one of the Rotary Club's missions to advocate for mothers and children.
"The baby kits are a good starter package to make sure new mothers have what they need after they have their children," said Tony DeVito, president of the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club. "We like to do service projects that are locally based, and Parish Resource Center does outreach right here in Lancaster."
In addition to serving mothers and children, the Rotary Club has other missions that focus on areas including promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, supporting education, growing local economies and protecting the environment. In recent years, the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club has completed projects to install new benches at local parks and has donated books to elementary schools in Hempfield School District. The organization also hosts community meals throughout the year at a local church, and it completes a biannual project to pick up trash along a 4-mile section of Harrisburg Pike.
The Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club holds regular meetings from 7:15 to 8:15 a.m. on the first, third and fifth Tuesdays of every month at Loxley's Restaurant on Centerville Road. During meetings, members discuss potential service projects and host guest speakers to highlight a variety of topics and other organizations with similar goals. The last meeting featured a local historian who spoke about the artwork inside the dome of the Capitol building in Harrisburg.
The Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club holds an annual Christmas wreath fundraiser to help support its community service initiatives. This is the first year that the club will sell wreaths at a roadside stand in addition to accepting presales. On Saturdays Dec. 7, 14 and 21, club members will operate a stand near Pinnacle Family Dental Care on Harrisburg Pike in Landisville.
For more information about the Lancaster Hempfield Rotary Club, visit lancasterhempfieldrotary.com.
The Rotary Club of Hershey hosted and sponsored on November 13 the 73rd RMB networking event in District 7390's history and the fourth and final event of RMB's 2024 season, and it could not have been more successful. Roughly 35 to 38 Rotarians and guests attended the event representing 11 district clubs from all parts of the district as follows: the Rotary clubs of Carlisle, Carlisle Sunrise, Colonial Park, District 7390 Passport, Hershey, Lancaster Hempfield, Lancaster Penn Square, Lebanon, Palmyra, Uptown York, and West Shore. Englewood Brewing provided a perfect venue with plenty of space in a very convenient location and excellent hors d'oeuvres, beer, and wine.
President Chip Bayer and President-Elect Thomas Jones provided strong leadership and oversight ably supported by Mike Kinney and Jim Gainer. District 7390 RMB thanks them for their support over the years so important for RMB's success this year and in the future. DGE Mary Brunski stepped up as she has done so often to lead the Circle Exercise making it fun and productive. Kudos to all and especially to those that attended for their enthusiastic participation.
Celebrate Rotary’s 4-Way Test by engaging with high school students in your local communities! The March 7, 2025 deadline for your club’s entries in this year’s District 7390 4-Way Test Speech and Essay Contests is fast approaching. If you have not already started planning your contests, now is a great time to start.
All of the information about both contests can be found at https://www.rotary7390.org/page/four-way-test-speech-contest. At this page, you can find rules, information, guidelines, suggested timelines and prize information which will help your club organize and hold its own contests, with your club’s winning entries being submitted to the District Contest by March 7. Both contests ask students to either speak or write about how the 4-Way Test can impact their everyday life.
The Speech and Essay Contest Committee stands ready to serve as a valuable resource to your club. Please contact Mike Handshew (mrhandshew@gmail.com)for questions about the speech contest and Steve Grubb, (stevengrubb@comcast.net) regarding the essays.
This event will include District 7430, 7390, 7490 and 7410, providing a wonderful opportunity for celebration, inspiration and fellowship. Not only will you enjoy the Conference but you will have access to a large range of family-friendly activities while here!
BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY and FEEL THE MAGIC!!!
Total Conference registration is $325 until September 30, then registration will increase to $350. Just want to attend on Saturday? Saturday ONLY registration is $200.
Friday, April 4
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Rotarian Check-In
5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Opening Session & Dinner
Saturday, April 5
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Breakfast
8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Plenary Session #1 - Peace
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Plenary #2 - Peace Fellowships
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch with Keynote Speaker
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
District Sessions - Four-Way Test SPEECH Contest Finals and ESSAY Winner Presentation
Join Uptown York Rotary Club to eradicate polio on Tuesday, November 26 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Collusion Tap Works, 105 South Howard Street, York, PA. Enjoy a special beer crafted by the brewmaster at Collusion Tap Works, and released for our event! A portion of the proceeds from sales of "York 275" through December will go to end polio. Donations to the Rotary Foundation's Polio Plus fund will also be accepted.
Created to celebrate the 275th Anniversary of York County, York 275 transports you directly to a bar stool in a classic English Pub. This beer is light bodied, supremely well balanced and full of malt flavor. Mild hop bitterness blends with the biscuit malts to give this old world style a new, fresh perspective. Pairs perfectly with bangers and mash, fish and chips and long conversations with friends.
The Rotary Club of Carlisle and the Rotary Club of Carlisle-Sunrise will host their annual holiday dinner and auction on Friday, December 13th at the Carlisle Comfort Suites Hotel. The proceeds from this event as explained in the auction brochure (click here to download the brochure) will support the transportation needs of Tomorrow’s Neighbors, a Carlisle based nonprofit designed to ease the post-prison re-entry process.
Rotarians can support this auction in one of two ways. First, by donating an item by contacting the Auction Chair, Bill Blankmeyer at blankmeyer66@comcast.net or (717) 590-7229 and Marv Salsman at (717) 448-5374 or kmsals@comcast.net. Secondly, tax-deductible sponsorships can be made to support the auction. Checks should be made out to “Carlisle Rotary Club Foundation” and mailed to Carlisle Rotary Club, PO Box 301, Carlisle, PA 17013.
At the Rotary Club of York’s November 13th meeting, Club members in attendance and guests who are veterans or active duty military were honored during the Club’s annual Veterans Day meeting.
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