Rotary Club of Norristown Awards Over $17,000 to Local Organizations
At its August 14 meeting, the Rotary Club of Norristown proudly presented donation checks to two organizations making a significant impact in the local community: These funds were raised during the Club’s annual Pancake Breakfast and Silent Auction, held this past May.
The awards were presented to :
The Norristown Hospitality Center - $10,200
The center is a day shelter that serves those who are homeless or experiencing poverty in the Norristown area. (https://hospitalitycenter.org)
And for:
Montgomery Child Advocacy Project (MCAP) - $6,800
Their missionis to end and prevent child abuse and neglect in Montgomery County through legal services, advocacy, and education.
The Club’s annual Pancake Breakfast generates proceeds from corporate and private sponsors, a silent auction and basket raffles and donations from Club members and friends. Held at Lower Providence Presbyterian Church, the event draws many from the area and is staffed by Rotary members, friends and recipient organization volunteers. For more information, contact event chair Dave Beach (dbeach04@gmail.com)
The Rotary Club of Norristown remains committed to "service above self" and is proud to assist organizations that provide critical resources and support to individuals and families in need across the Norristown area.
Check presentation to The Norristown Hospitality Center
(L-R) Jack Rule-Norristown Rotary Foundation, Tim Meyers, Dave Beach- Club Fundraiser Committee, Sunanda Charles- Executive Director Norristown Hospitality Center, Alan Treisbach- President of Norristown Rotary Club, Jim Nutt- Club Fundraiser Committee
Check presentation The Montgomery Child Advocacy Project
(L-R) Jack Rule, Dave Beach -Rotary Club, Mary Anders, Nutmeg- MCAP, William Baldwin-MCAP executive Director, Tim Meyers, Alan Treisbach, Jim Nutt- Rotary Club
Donate: Every dollar is a lifeline. Your gift brings food, shelter, and dignity to those rebuilding their world.
Share: Your voice matters. Spread this message on social media, through email, or in conversation. Be loud! One share could spark a dozen acts of kindness.
Serve: Your time and skills will be needed soon. At the present time in our district, assistance is needed in the Burnet area and is being coordinated by the Ark of the Highland Lakes. Donations and manpower assistance info can be found at https://arkofhighlandlakes.org/flood-response-070525/However for now, please stay tuned—we’re working closely with local authorities to ensure a safe, coordinated response.
Last week, the Club welcomed BILL TUSZYNSKI who gave a presentation on SHELTERBOX, a emergency relief program originated by a Rotary club in Wales, which then came a part of Rotary International, and continues as a non-profit affiliate with Rotary today. With over 120 million people currently displace around the world, SHELTERBOX acts as one of the first responders to disasters by bringing their kits containing tenting, cooking equipment, food, water purifiers, and many more life sustaining items to the stricken areas. They serve over 300,000 people a year with their disaster relief.
Bill presented a video showing some of the disaster responses around the world, and stated that often, SHELTERBOX with its Rotary connections, is able to cut through the red tape and permits imposed in many countries, and thus can be very early with the needed support. Also contributing to their success is that they preposition the boxes in several strategic places, such as Panama, The Philippines, Dubai, Turkey, Belgium and England.
The assistance given in the U.S. is more financial rather than the kits.
I’ve put together a list of tasks we need to complete by spring so we can begin planting the rest of the garden. These items should be achievable with the funding we’ll request in the 2025–2026 Rotary Budget. Please review the list below and let me know if anything is missing or if you’re willing to take the lead on any of the tasks:
Watering Schedule – Set up a monthly watering rotation for current plants*. If each Rotary member signs up once a month, we should be covered.
Sod Removal – Phase 1 – Reach out to local sod farms to see if they’re interested in removing sod at no cost.
Sod Removal – Phase 2 – If no luck with sod farms, get estimates from local landscapers for sod removal.
Community Partnerships – Contact local garden clubs, scout troops, Whitehall Farms, and Norristown Rotaract to explore collaboration.
Fall Work Day – Schedule a cleanup day in Sept/Oct to remove remnants of the original garden so the township can re-seed. This includes relocating the Weeping Redbud to its new spot.
Fence Installation – If we receive the District Rotary grant, we’ll have funding to install the garden fence.
Next Steps:
Let me know if you see any missing tasks or if you can take ownership of one of the items listed above.
Once we have a solid plan, we’ll schedule a Zoom meeting to review progress and finalize roles.
**The existing rain barrel is leaking and cannot be repaired. With this year’s funds, we have purchased a new rain barrel and will ask the W.N. Parks & Rec to replace it for us. Once that is done, Judy Bucko will donate a 100’ garden house to make this task easier.
Feel free to call me if you have any questions.
Thanks to everyone for your interest in this project.,
As many of you know from attending lunch meetings, we are working to obtain a bench for our Padden Park Garden project from Trex. All we have to do is collect our plastic. I am attaching a list of all the plastics we can recycle. We have just 1 year to collect 1000 pounds, so your participation is important. So far we have dropped off 61 pounds, and we only have til May 31, 2026, to collect another 939 pounds. You can bring your recyclable items to any meeting. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.
Help anyone hungry, weary or living in the streets. Help serve breakfast & coffee, organize meals, lead devotion, handle client check-ins, manage the food pantry. Day shelter services
We are the only non-profit, comprehensive crime-victim agency serving Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Our confidential services are provided at no cost to survivors of crime and their loved ones. Need help with day to day services. Collect used cell phones.
Volunteer at the Pantry or the Farm. Creating meal kits, distributing to guests. Plant pick and pack, help deliver and pick up from partners. Help feed the hungry.
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