During the months of May and June, the Keene Elm City Rotary club delivered more than 600 pairs of New Balance sneakers to second graders at 27 schools in the Monadnock region as part of our Follow ME (Move Everyday) Sneakers project. In addition, we brought frisbees and jump ropes for more than 630 third graders we were unable to visit last year due to pandemic-related school closures and gifted each school with a set of double dutch ropes!
On May 15, members of Keene Elm City Rotary club brought out their gardening tools and green thumbs for our annual pocket park cleanup and Spring planting.
In November and December, members of the Keene Elm City Rotary club delivered more than 350 dictionaries to third and fourth graders in the Monadnock region. The club launched its dictionary project in 2007 with the goal of supporting literacy and instilling a love of language in local students by providing them with their own personal dictionaries. Rotarians visited 15 schools and conducted word games. Members shared words they love and asked students to share and find their favorite words in the dictionaries. “It’s an opportunity to strengthen students’ minds with the power of words, make new friends and carry on our mission of supporting the health and wellness of children in the Elm City region,” said dictionary project chair Todd Watkins.
Keene Elm City Rotary Brings the Gift of Words to Area Students
In September, the Keene Elm City Rotary club honored Peter Poanessa and Judy Rogers as Paul Harris Fellows for their work in bringing the Walldogs Magical History Tour to Keene.
On July 20, Keene Elm City Rotary and MUCH (Monadnock Understands Childhood Hunger) in partnership with the Monadnock Food Co-op and Peak FM raised more than $2,000 and more than 2,000 pounds of food as part of the club’s annual Thanksgiving in July food drive. Rotarians collected donations in front of the Monadnock Food Co-op and the event was broadcast live on Peak FM (101.9).
In June, the Keene Elm City Rotary club awarded five financial awards as part its Unsung Heroes Scholarship Fund. The scholarship fund is designed to recognize the unsung heroes of our region: those who embody the Rotary ideal of “service above self.” We seek candidates who have engaged in significant service to their communities, schools, religious organizations or to their own struggling families.
In the month of May, Keene Elm City Rotary Club Members delivered more than 800 pairs of New Balance sneakers to second graders at 27 schools in Cheshire County as part of our Follow ME (Move Everyday) program.
In March, the Keene Elm City Rotary Club (KECR) welcomed beneficiaries of the club’s allocation fund. Representatives of 12 youth services organizations shared their missions as well as how the funds allocated helped them better serve children in the Monadnock region.
The Keene Elm City Rotary club honored Susan Ashworth of Home Healthcare, Hospice, and Community Services (HCS) by naming her a Paul Harris Fellow in recognition of her 40-plus years serving seniors and families in need in the Monadnock Region.
Do you know about Keene Elm City Rotary and Greater Keene Rotaract Club's Thanksgiving in July project? We have teamed up to combat food insecurity for kids in our region who during the school year get free and reduced priced breakfast and lunch at school, for example, but don't have enough to eat while school is not in session. These kids are identified by the The Community Kitchen, and boxes are loaded up and given to their families.
KECR and Keene Rotaract collected more than a half ton of food donations and over $889 so far. The past week culminated in a terrific night at the Keene Swampbats where we collected food and contributions to give to The Community Kitchen.
We will continue to collect funds during the year to reduce food insecurity for children and families in our region. No child should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. Here is a link to make a donation on our Partners at the Table Crowdrise site.
KECR Rotarian Ted McGreer and local chef/restaurateur Luca Paris have also jumped in to lend their help with this super-fun video aimed at raising awareness and more funds to combat this terrible social issue. Check out their next installment of What's Next with Ted and Luca in support of Thanksgiving in July. Please share to bring greater support and awareness! Click here for the video!
Follow ME (Move Everyday) sneaker deliveries made the news.
WMUR was with us on Winchester school sneaker delivery day. Watch us talk about the importance of Moving Everyday and then fitting the Winchester 2nd graders with sneakers. Check out the video
Our club recently recognized the efforts of five individuals pursuing higher education by awarding them with financial support. KECR started the scholarship program based at the NH Charitable Foundation in the early 2000's.
Applications for the scholarships are accepted in early spring and each successful awardee must embody the Rotary ideal of "service above self".
The following is an excerpt from the Scholarship Fund description and criteria.
2018 was another great year for educating 2nd graders of Cheshire County about the importance of incorporating physical activity into their daily lives.
The Follow Me (Move Everyday) and Sneaker project continues to thrive and grow. This year KECR collaborated with composer Peter Siegel and NH Dance Institute instructor Kristen Leach to develop a song, dance and music video produced by Katie Day and 710 Main Productions and demonstrated by NHDI dancers.
The video is upbeat, fun and has a lot of meaningful messages! View the video here!
KECR TV has launched a new You Tube program describing our Move Everday Sneaker Project and the incredible impact it has on our region's 2nd graders! Check it out here!
Thank you to Phil Hueber our show's producer and director and panel participants Susan Newcomer, Ted McGreer, Denise Thomas and Rudy Fedrizzi.
The 7th Elm City Rotary Show is produced and up and running on the Club’s YouTube Channel. The topic is the DeMar Marathon and starring Ted McGreer, Ann Henderson and Alan Stroshine. This is the 40th year of this historic race. The video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCccBIOCUAY&feature=youtu.be has incredible GoPro and Drone footage of the race and Keene. Fantastic!
KECR recently recognized the efforts of Steve Gilbert, columnist for the Keene Sentinel newspaper with a Paul Harris Fellow Award. Rudy Fedrizzi presented Gilbert with the award citing his many contributions to the Greater Keene community. Rudy and other members commented on Steve's remarkable ability to capture the essence of a person, program or place with his unique writing style. Keene Sentinel Executive Editor Paul Miller participated in the recognition ceremony along with Steve's wife and one of his two daughters.
Please enjoy The KECR Show Episode 3: Polio Eradication Program.
Hosted by Kemal Atkins with guests Allen Mendelson and Dr. Bob Englund discussing Rotary's Polio Eradication efforts.
This show will be airing on Cheshire TV, Facebook and on our permanent page on this website at http://elmcityrotary.org/SitePage/kecr-show-youtube-channel
We are very excited to announce that the Keene Elm City Rotary Television Show has been launched. Episode 1 is a 30 minute program, “What is Rotary”. Cheryl Belair, Alan Stroshine and Cindy Rodenhauser Stewart discuss how Rotary was founded, Rotary International programs including Polio Plus and several impactful programs by our Club including the DeMar marathon, Jamaica Wheelchair and Second Grade Sneaker programs.
Imbedded in the video are drone video shots of last year’s DeMar, amazing how clear and well composed the shots are! Shows the race and our beautiful community in an entirely new light.
We will be producing a 30 minute program each month and each will focus on a specific club project or initiative. The January program will discuss the Club’s Scholarship Program, supported by a six figure endowment. And the February program will be focussed on the Rotary International Polio Plus Program that is very close to complete eradication - only a handful of very isolated cases exist.
A big thank you to the folks at Cheshire TV and members Phil Hueber and Dan White.
ed a new You Tube program describing our Move Everday Sneaker Project and the incredible impact it has on our region's 2nd graders! Check it out 
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