




Members hung posters and handed out fact-sheets about the efforts to eradicate polio. The event was led by member Jay Stith.



Club members asked residents to help fill local food pantries and Skaneateles Outreach with food, supplies and money. Now they are applauding the results and thanking the community.
After collecting 4,000 pounds of food in May, the club launched a “Feed the Community” drive and raised $17,785 in June.
“It is heartwarming how this wonderful community came together to support Rotary in its effort to help those who are struggling,” said Rotarian Lee Bennett, one of the organizers.
Rotarians look forward to the pancake breakfast all year long and missed seeing and serving the 3,000 or more friends and neighbors who usually attend. But the virtual breakfast brought out the best of the spirit of Skaneateles, said Rotarian Mary Giroux, who was president during the fundraiser (and just passed the torch to Rotarian David Lee).
The response was swift and generous with $17,785 in contributions from nearly 180 donors. In addition, $2,500 was raised from major donors to help buy Chamber of Commerce gift certificates to hand out to randomly selected donors to spend here (thus benefiting the merchants who also have been hit hard by the pandemic). It was a win-win for both the community and the merchants, said Rotarian Tyler Lorey.
Club members praised the efforts of Lorey, who pulled the virtual fundraiser together on a site called Rallyup. “It allowed us to have broad outreach without having to exchange money or tickets by hand,” Lorey said.
Proceeds from the annual breakfast have helped the Rotary Club support community groups, organizations and projects all year long for over 50 years. The need was greater than ever this year, with a big jump in demand at the food pantries and outreach office, and so that is where the club chose to channel the money, said Bennett. The goal on Rallyup was set at $10,000, but the committee secretly hoped to raise as much as or more than the club might raise at an annual breakfast. “It was thrilling to pass that goal,” Bennett said.
Donors have repeatedly thanked the club for organizing both the food drive and the on-line fundraiser.

Skaneateles Rotary Club's Meetings
CANCELED until Further Notice .
Our Board of Directors met and decided that Club meetings, including our Happy Hour,s will be suspended until further notice due to the coronavirus situation. Although this may seem an "over reaction" we feel that it is better to err on the side of caution to protect all members but especially those who may have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk. We will continue to meet weekly via Zoom. Membership will be sent weekly an invitation with appropriate logon an passwords to log into the meetings
Club newsletters will continue to be published by Ward during this time, which will be your source of your weekly club information and updates. They can be accessed by clicking on the Bulletins link in the home page header.
If you have any questions or concerns you may contact either co-Presidents, Mary Giroux or Cheryl Silvestrini.

Many thanks to event organizer, Cheryl for making the arrangements.
For pictures of the evening, see our website photo album at: https://www.skaneatelesrotary.com/Phot…/2019-christmas-party
Annual Christmas Benefit -Dec 12, 2019
$13,000 was raised for the Skaneateles Outreach and the Skaneateles & Spafford Food Pantries at the Skaneateles Rotary Club's annual Turkey Benefit Dinner held at the Skaneateles Country Club.
Co-Presidents, Mary Giroux & Cheryl Silvestrini welcomed more 205 Rotarians, their spouses & guests who gathered in the Skaneateles Country Club to support the needy in our Skaneateles Community. Rotarian Dan Roche led us in song and the Rev Becky Coerper, Rector of the Skaneateles Episcopal Church offered a heartwarming blessing.
Following a fabulous turkey dinner (one turkey per table) and good fellowship, many gifts, donated by local merchants and Rotarians, were raffled off by Rotarian, Bill Conole.
Check out the many pictures of folks celebrating the Christmas Holiday, while raising lots of funds to help other, less fortunate, to have a happy holiday.
https://www.skaneatelesrotary.com/Ph…/2019-christmas-benefit
- Andrew Stevens, a past member of the Cortland Breakfast Rotary club (7/09 - 12/18). Andy and his wife, Angela, make their home in Skaneateles. He is sponsored into our club by Bill Buterbaugh.
- Edward Evans, a past member of the Hamilton Rotary club, is sponsored by Craig Froelich and lives in Skaneateles with his wife Brenda.
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In addition to Gard pinning the Rotary pins on each new Rotarian, Tyler pinned Gard (his father) with a Rotarian Sponsor pin.
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Pictured L_R: Amy Tormey, Gard Lorey, Tyler Lorey, Jay Stith & Doug Powell
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Sarah Euto, Gianna Eidel and Cole Goodchild each exuded confidence, joy and wisdom when talking about their new “second homes” of Austria, Japan and Taiwan.
The enthusiasm and joy they expressed seemed to come from the friendships they made that will last a lifetime. They were filled with love for people in their host countries and for the other exchange students they met from around the world.
The wisdom and confidence came from facing some of the most difficult challenges of their young lives, and surviving – even thriving.

Interact Club and Skaneateles Rotary unite to make a global difference
Skaneateles High School Senior Noah Smith presented a $1,000 check to Tom Deuson, ambassador for ShelterBox USA on behalf of the Skaneateles High School Interact Club. The students were inspired to raise money for the disaster relief program after Deuson brought a display to the high school. They learned how ShelterBox provides vulnerable people around the world with emergency shelter and supplies. Since 2000, ShelterBox staff and volunteers have helped give shelter to more than 1.4 million people affected by disasters and humanitarian crises.
Lessons in stewardship
Environmental steward Peter Clark speaks to Rotary and SLA
Nationally recognized hero of a decades-long successful effort to restore Tampa Bay returns home to share his story
The beautiful clean waters of Skaneateles Lake and the stewardship of local people inspired Peter A. Clark to grow up to become a hero of the decades-long effort to restore Tampa Bay.
He returned home to see his mother, Phyllis Clark of Skaneateles, and to share the remarkable story of how he started and led a successful environmental stewardship program that has used thousands of volunteers to bring Tampa Bay back to life
As a guest of the Skaneateles Rotary Club Thursday, 3/14/19, Clark spoke to an audience that also included fans of Skaneateles Lake. Significantly, the audience included young Rachael DeWitt, the director of the Skaneateles Lake Association which is leading the charge to protect Skaneateles Lake.
5th Annual International Women's Day Celebration, a Resounding Success!
Linda Larsen had the audience in stitches as she gave tips on the power of positive thinking in a comedic performance at the Lodge for the Skaneateles Rotary Club’s fifth annual International Women’s Day celebration Thursday.
She titled her talk “Staying right side up when everything is upside down,” but said it’s really about knowing how to “recover more quickly” when things are upside down.
“What I’ve learned in life is that there is What I Planned … and What Actually Happens,” she said.
“We’re wired to look for what’s wrong,” she said, noting that people have 40,000 thoughts a day “and 90 percent are negative.” She talked about how make change with positive thoughts. “You are in charge of your thoughts,” she said. “What you name that thing, it tends to become.”
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Service Above Self
Skaneateles, NY 13152
United States of America