Always there when you need them

As Seen in the October 9, 2005 Sunday Edition of the Woonsocket Call

By Seth Bromley, Staff Writer

    Through they may number in the dozens, by connecting their efforts and expertise, the members of the Woonsocket Rotary Club have branched out to influence the lives of thousands of people in their own community, and around the world. With a collection of members that draws from all parts of the professional sphere, the Rotary has charged itself with fostering initiatives to benefit the general welfare of the community. Chartered in 1960, the club's first president was William A. Crouse, then managing editor of The Call. Ever since, their wide-ranging energies have touched countless causes, raising funds for and promoting programs to improve health, education, and the arts, whether the need is great or small.

Helping Thundermist
    "They're always there when you need them," says Linda Reilly, the director of development for the non-profit Thundermist Health Center. "They've been wonderful. I can't say enough good things about them." Reilly says that when Thundermist began a capital campaign to raise funds for new construction, the Rotary was able to put together multiple events that not only raised money, but also raised community awareness for the project. "They truly care for people, and they've got their fingers on the pulse of the city," Reilly says, "They know when and where they're needed. Most people don't know how much work they do, but they are the backbone of a lot of activity."

Helping The Stadium
    Other organizations and individuals that have worked with the club echo her sentiments, as the club has left fingerprints on many of the city's institutions. They have long been one of the primary forces behind Autumnfest, with their membership overseeing the event's food concession. And when the Stadium Theatre was in the midst of its large-scale renovation several years ago, the Rotary gave the city landmark a critical influx of funds. It's not every day that someone stops in and hands you a $25,000 check - it's extremely rare," says Jean Rondeau, the director of the Stadium Theatre. "And it helped a lot, because at that time for every nickel we took in we were spending two. They were very generous and very opportune."

Helping The CYO
    The club's relatively small size - about 35 members - allows it to respond to community  needs as they crop up, as evidence by their donation to the Woonsocket CYO Center's fire code fund. "They partnered with us to raise funds for a sprinkler fire suppression system," says Richard Lepine, who helped run the center's effort to bring itself in line with new fire codes. "We did a raffle and a dinner and they brought a lot of people to the event." "One thing the Rotary does is bring a high level of credibility to an event. If they're involved you know it will succeed. Because of them, not only a great fundraiser, but it was an opportunity to raise awareness of what we are trying to do."

A Club of Professionals
    Rotary members say that one thing setting the club apart from other civic service groups is the condition that every member have a different professional "classification," and be employed in a management position. It is a rule that dates back to the original Rotary Club of Chicago, whose name "rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. "The practice has served the club well into the modern age, as it lends the body as a whole a wealth of experience, connections, and influence, bringing together men and women of widely varying skills and resources.

Academic Scholarships
    To concentrate their charitable influence, the club launched the Woonsocket Rotary Foundation in 1991. According to the club, the foundation  annually expends 5 percent of its net assets. The foundation board's current members are Christopher Bouley, Renee Darling-Miller, David Fontaine, John Hoyceanyls and Charles Sokoloff. In addition to their other projects, every year the foundation funds $6,000 in scholarships fro graduates from local schools. Stanley P. Cybulski, who helps oversee the academic scholarship program, says students from Woonsocket High, North Smithfield High, Burrillville High, and the Woonsocket Vocational Technical High School are all eligible for the scholarships. The awards can be applied to any form of continuing education, or even for a trade apprenticeship. "For the kids at the technical school, we try to fill the void for a kid who isn't going to college, but needs to pay for the tools of their trade," he says. "For them it's a tool-ship."

Helping the whole world
    The club has also asserted itself overseas, says Rotarian Robert Picard. "Woonsocket Rotary has helped to have three water wells dug in India," he says. "And four years ago we collaborated with a Rotary Club in Ghana to ship them a container filled with things like medical supplied, musical instruments, and athletic equipment. It worked out well since with the help of the club over there, we were assured everything went to the right folks. Later they sent us back pictures of the kids who we were able to help." And in an effort back to 1985, the Woonsocket Rotary has aided worldwide governments and health organizations in all but eradicating polio. Rotary International has contributed $611 million toward the Polio Plus fund, which has helped to reduce the disease to just a few hundred annual reported cases worldwide. "The Woonsocket Rotary Club has raised more than $25,000 for that project over the years," says Picard. According to Shatraw, the club's motto of "service above self" has reminded them that there is always more to be done. She hopes that the club will continue to draw in new members from the greater Woonsocket community. "We are always on the lookout for new members," she says. "A wide variety of folks can become Rotarians. The beauty of it is that we work hard, but we also enjoy a great fellowship."