The Little Falls Rotary Club met for their weekly meeting on Wed., May 21, at the Elk’s Lodge. The speakers for the evening were Raymond Lenarcic (founder) and Kelly Brown, board members of the Herkimer County Hunger Association.
The Herkimer County Hunger Coalition was created initially to work with Herkimer County food pantries to help guarantee they provide ample, nutritious meals for those residents at hunger risk. Since 1999, they’ve raised over $250,000 and initiated a public relations campaign designed to inform the public about what pantries do, where they’re located, and why they need its support. The distribution of meals has increased from 56,000 in 1999 to, since 2009, an average of 450,000 per year.
For the last few years, the Coalition has paid for snacks for children in the After School Reading Program and for diapers requested by some pantries. Aiding their eight-county pantries will always remain their primary objective.
Other programs include the Uncle Frank Children’s Back-to-School Program, the brainchild of Little Falls resident Robin Campbell who suggested that the Coalition implement a program designed to provide shirts, pants, a sweatshirt or fleece, footwear, and backpack replete with supplies for elementary school children in the area.
The McCleod Coalition was formed after a house fire in Little Falls took the lives of the six McLeod children. In its wake, the Coalition has initiated several projects designed to help educate elementary school children about the ABCs of fire prevention. The Fallen Stars Tribute is in honor of New York State’s men and women who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Raymond Lenarcic and Kelly Brown have helped make a difference in the lives of many Herkimer County citizens. If you would like to volunteer to help or contribute to their worthy cause you can call the Hunger Coalition at 315-866-7765.
Please mark your calendars for Wed., evening June 4th as the Rotary Club of Little Falls will be presenting “An Evening with the Phantom & Deia.” Our guest is Jeff Keller, who played the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway for 17 years. He will be joined by his wife Deia, who was a prima ballerina.
If you would like to have dinner, it will begin at 6:30. Tickets are $20.00, and you should call Linda Wagner at (315) 823-4505 or (315) 868-0352. If you attending without dinner, the performance is free and begins at 7:00 pm.
The Rotary Club of Little Falls is still looking for donations toward the purchase of flowers for planters on the streets of Little Falls. Please contact Linda if you are interested in that.
