2020-2021 Accomplishments
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Maintenance of Rotary Circle within Village of Williamsville / Town of Amherst Park (joint facility). This is a well visited regional park overlooking the area’s primary attraction …. The Williamsville Falls. The circle area includes a plaque with information on Paul Harris and inscribed pavement bricks with the names of forty-eight (48) Rotarians who have received the Paul Harris award. There is also a plaque denoting the Club’s involvement.
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Supported a local Boy Scout (Eagle Award) Troop 440 initiative for building ten (10) park benches to be installed in the 30-acre Amherst State Park.
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Initiated coordination / approval / planning with the Village of Williamsville-Town of Amherst Joint Committee for the installation of at least one (1) Little Lending Library facility within the Glen Park Area. This is a public regional park area.
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The Club and its foundation continued to financially support the Williamsville Branch of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library system; provided three (3) scholarships to Williamsville High School seniors; continued it 5-year grant to the Summit organization. The Rotary Club of Williamsville, Inc. (501(c)(3)) has an annual goal of $10K to $15K financial support to the Williamsville community. The Club also provided financial support of over $8,000 to a number of local and regional charitable organizations.
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The Club continue to support and sponsor an Interact Club at Williamsville South High School.
Millard-Fillmore Suburban Hospital
The Rotary Club of Williamsville was an early advocate for a new hospital in the growing northtown area of Erie County in the Town of Amherst, which is home to the State University of New York at Buffalo and a graduate studies facility. The Club, through its Rotary Club of Williamsville Foundation, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity) has contributed close to $100,000 for the hospital’s development.
Rotary Park
The Club maintains a section of Glen Park in the Village of Williamsville. The area is approximately 300-feet north of the park’s Main Street (NY5) entrance. Annual and perennial plantings are refreshed. The area, known as Rotary Circle, includes a Rotary Plaque and a plaque recognizing Paul Harris, Rotary’s founder. This plaque briefly explains the meaning of a Paul Harris Fellow award. Paved bricks in this area contain the names of individuals who have been awarded this fellowship. The park also falls within the Ellicott Creek watershed, a protected watershed under the regulations of the New York State Department of Environmental Protection.
Little Lending Library
This is an ongoing project since the Club must facilitate the placement of the library with the Village of Williamsville officials since the library would be within the public right-of-way. A location has been identified adjacent / within Glen Park which is managed by a joint committee of the Village of Williamsville and the Town of Amherst.
International Service
The Rotary Club of Williamsville has a long past history of international involvement, only recently revived with our contribution, together with matching grants from Rotary International for the benefit of educating young children through the Matrachaya program in Ranchi, India.
In keeping with this tradition of service above self, and with efforts to assist children around the world, we are at this time actively looking into other worthy projects, and as they are approved, we will post our endeavors and our successes.
PolioPlus
We are partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide medicare and aid to those in need.
Worldwide we have donated over 1 Billion dollars to providing education, immunizations, and healthcare to wipe out this deadly disease. PolioPlus is a far reaching organization, dedicated to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Rotary is a leader in the private sector, seeking to rid the world of Polio. This crippling disease has plagued humanity for over 30 years. PolioPlus is setting a standard worldwide as the strongest model of public-private cooperation as we pursue a humanitarian goal.