The Board has decided to ask our members to collect aluminum can zip tabs or 'pop tabs'. These can be found on not only soda cans but all sorts of canned drinks.  The local chapter of the Ronald McDonald House still collects them to turn in for recycling and proceeds go to help local families by paying family expenses to stay will their child is in the hospital.  Start a jar, they add up.  At the end of the year we will accumulate our collections and donate them to the Ronald McDonald House. Please see Vanessa Cossari for more information

Every year tons of useable bicycles go into our landfills once the owner outgrows a bike or no longer uses it. The Norristown Rotary Club collected 62 such donated bicycles and 2 sewing machines this year as part of an annual collection last month. These will provide family transportation and jobs in countries where automobiles less common. 

Mobility is important to their education and economy, and our environment. It allows a parent abroad to find work or a remote job 10 miles from their home, or a student to travel 6 miles to a regional school.  In some cases, it becomes a utility truck for moving crops and materials. Where jobs are scarce, the portable sewing machine immediately becomes a job, improving the quality of life for those struggling to make a living.

Rotary facilitates the collection and preparation these bikes and sewing machines, and a small non-profit named “Pedals for Progress” in High Bridge NJ, handles the storing, shipping and delivery to its final destination to countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America where they are reconditioned and recycled . This year our bikes went to Belize.

The Norristown Club has been recycling bicycles and sewing machines for 15 years. It is an opportunity to extend our service project reach beyond our local community.