Thanks to Skaneateles Community for their Support ... by Lori Ruhlman
When the pandemic made it impossible for the Skaneateles Rotary Club to hold its annual Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast, its members adopted a new mantra. “We can’t serve pancakes, but we CAN feed the community.”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.
Rotary District 7150 has made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to end this the exchange year early .. calling home all students abroad and sending inbound students home to their families and their countries. That means that Amira and Simon will be leaving us soon. Both have been great additions to our high school and our community – making friends and spreading joy. We have been so fortunate to have them. We give thanks to them and to the great host families who made their months here possible.
Skaneateles Rotarians and guests enjoyed a pleasant and fun filled evening of Christmas celebration, while enjoying fine dinning at the Sherwood Inn. .jpeg)
$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..jpg)
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President Doug & Cathy Powell distributed copies of Webster's Dictionary & Thesaurus to the 4 classrooms of State St. School on Nov. 6th. When asked what a Thesaurus was, one creative student responded that "it is a dictionary for dinosaurs". To their pleasant surprise, the books were accepted with "a hardy thanks, a firm handshake and direct eye contact". A positive glimpse into our future generations. .jpg)
This year the Skaneateles Rotary club put together a multi-club grant with the Skaneateles Sunrise, Chittenango, Cazenovia, Fulton Noon, Baldwinsville and Dewitt Clubs (30+ D7150 Rotarians attending the event). Altogether, with a District match, the grant totals $11,000 and will benefit the Clear Path for Veterans puppy development program. This program raises and trains service dogs which are then provided to qualified veterans at no cost to enhance their lives. Clear Path is naming one of their new puppies scheduled to arrive on October 3rd "Rotary" in honor of our grant. "Rotary" is a little boy Labrador retriever pup. The grant was initiated and written by Skaneateles Rotarian, Mary Gioux..JPG)
The Skaneateles Rotary Club’s annual Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast required all hands on deck from the Rotary Club and from many others in town. “Without volunteers, we would not make it,” Rotarian Dana Coye said. (He knows. He has been helping to make it happen for 51 years). Rotary Youth Exchange students and families help serve. Other volunteers help cook. High School athletic teams provide the muscle for heavy duty set up; Boy Scouts work all day collecting trash from the thousands who go through. (There is less and less "trash," as Rotary moves each year to a "greener" breakfast). And the community makes it work just by showing up to see everyone in town while sharing a table for the biggest and best Father’s Day breakfast in town..JPG)
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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. .jpg)
The two Skaneateles Rotary Club's funded two Shelter Boxes through a District 7150 Grant this year. These Shelter Boxes contain shelters and other necessary materials to house a family in regions of our world who have lost everything due to natural disasters and conflicts. As a part of the project, the clubs arranged with the SSD and a ShelterBox USA Rotarian representative, Tom Deuson, to set up and display a Shelter Box in the High School commons. The Interact club supplied much of the setup labor, and are planning to raise funds during the school to donate to ShelterBox USA. Rotarians and Interactors working together to meet a great need in our world. To learn more about the ShelterBox organization, visit
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Service Above Self
Skaneateles, NY 13152
United States of America