The board of directors of Hope Children’s Fund, in conjunction with the Rocky Point Rotary Club, recently announced the ordering of an Isuzu 25 passenger bus for the Jerusha Mwiraria Hope Children’s Fund Orphanage in Meru, Kenya.
The bus will provide safe transport for the 86 children of the home and is to be used for transportation to schools, medical appointments and food shopping.
Photo from Hope Children’s Fund
The Isuzu bus is the culmination of the efforts of hundreds of donors. A GoFundMe initiated by Hope Children’s Fund board member Kyle Spillane raised thousands of dollars for the cause.
In addition to the Rocky Point Rotary Club, several other clubs including Port Jefferson, Westhampton, Stony Brook, Riverhead, Patchogue and Ronkonkoma contributed to fund for the bus. All clubs are members of Rotary District 7255 led by District Governor Mary Ellen Ellwood.
On Sept. 21, at the People’s United Bank Wading River branch, a wiring ceremony took place where members of the board sent the money to the orphanage in Kenya. People’s United Bank is the official bank of Hope Children’s Fund, and has waived all wire fees on all transactions to the orphanage.
PJMS Principal Dr. Bob Neidig, Mike Viviano, Gianna Viviano, Teresa Viviano, social studies teacher Phil Gianussa, PJ Rotary President Rob Dooley; Rotarian Dennis Brennan. Photo from the Port Jefferson Rotary
On Tuesday, June 8, at their first “in-person only” meeting at Cafe Spiga in Mt. Sinai in more than a year, Port Jefferson Rotary members celebrated the opportunity to see new and old faces “live” once again.
They also welcomed and honored this month’s Port Jeff Middle School Most Motivated Student, 7th grader Gianna Viviano.
Gianna was accompanied by her parents, Mike and Teresa Viviano, as well as Port Jefferson school officials.
A true role model for her peers, Gianna is quite inquisitive, thoughtful and engaged. A talented writer, this 7th grader recently had an entry of hers selected to be published in the high school’s literary magazine.
Despite this especially difficult school year, Gianna not only possesses a unique excitement and enthusiasm for learning, but she is a voracious reader, and she has shared her opinions both respectfully and passionately. What’s more, she was the star of the Middle School’s recent Drama Production, “Junie B. Jones,” playing Junie, a feisty, funny six-year-old whose outspoken honesty gets her into trouble at school and home.
Memorably Junie says, “A little glitter can turn the whole day around.” Principal Bob Neidig said that though a stretch for Gianna to play a part like this, it demonstrates how far she will go to entertain all at the school. He closed his remarks by calling Gianna, “the glitter making the days, especially the ones this year, better!”
Locals recreationally use Chandler Estate Preserve trails on a daily basis.
Whether if it’s for exercise, walking the dog, or taking in the beautiful views, maintenance has become an integral part of keeping the trails useable.
For that reason, Port Jefferson Rotarian Pat Sabo, has created and inspired the Port Jefferson Rotary Club to take on the beautification of Chandler Estate Preserve in Mount Sinai.
“It used to be more open with a lot of fields and trails, but over the years it just all grew in so we maintain it now to clear it up again,” he said. “People won’t use it if they have to go through the brush so that’s why we want to open it back up.”
The members are currently focusing on the beautification of Chandler Estate Preserve due to its tremendous size of 44-acres.
With the club’s hard work, they have successfully cleared two-thirds of the land so far.
“This preserve is overwhelming,” Sabo said. “Maintaining this park could be a full-time job for some.”
Club members have mostly been working throughout the winter to help clean up the preserve by cutting down hazardous branches, clearing the trails and removing any garbage that has been dumped.
“It’s nice to help people connect with the land because with work and dedication this land is going to continue to be preserved and not become just houses along the road,” Club member and village Trustee Rebecca Kassay said.
One of the club’s goals is to mount trail marker signs. Although the locals who use the trail daily know where to go, Sabo says there are a lot of new people who come to the park every day who may get lost, so putting up markers could be helpful.
The club happily welcomes anyone who would like to help participate in their projects.
For more information about the Chandler Estate Preserve to assist in clean up and attend walk-around meetings, visit portjeffrotary.org.
The Port Jefferson Rotary Club is just one of many rotaries across Long Island with the goal to donate a million masks worldwide. Photo from Bob Huttemeyer
The Port Jefferson Rotary Club joined other Long Island-based rotaries to help people in need of masks earlier this month to gather and distribute masks to people who need them in their local communities.
In a campaign called The Million Mask Challenge — originally created by Rotary International — the Port Jeff Rotary joined 40 other rotaries from district 7255 to gather their share of masks. The goal is to distribute a million masks to those in need worldwide.
According to Bob Huttemeyer, program coordinator of the rotary, the district that includes Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens, gathered in Hicksville on Wednesday, Jan. 13 to pick up almost 4,000 masks. They also ordered 5,000 more.
Huttemeyer said that as of right now, they distributed the masks to 24 different local organizations and groups who could use extra masks.
“Everyone was excited to fill a need,” he added. “We were happy to bring this to the local community.”
The rotary, like the others across the island, devote their time and services to helping the community. Huttemeyer said that throughout the pandemic, they raised more than $12,500 to donate to Open Cupboard Food Pantry.
“If there’s more to be had,” he said, “We’re there to help.”
Huttemeyer said that the local rotary is an organization that brings so much to the community and will continue to gather and distribute masks to meet the one-million mark. He added that are always looking for new members or donations.
Right now, the Port Jefferson Rotary is holding small, in-person and hybrid meetings at Café Spiga in Mount Sinai on Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m.
To make a donation to the Port Jefferson Rotary, you can mail a check to PO Box 461, Port Jefferson, NY, 11777 or visit portjeffrotary.org.
From left, Rotarian Kathy Taveira, teacher Christina Carlson, Narin Karakurum, Principal Bob Neidig and Rotary Club President Paul Vigliante. Photo from Larry Hohler
On Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Rotary Club of Port Jefferson welcomed Port Jeff Middle School sixth-grader Narin Karakurum at its luncheon at Cafe Spiga in Mount Sinai and presented her with its Most Motivated Student of the Month Award.
Narin was accompanied to the luncheon by Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Christine Austine, Assistant Superintendent for Business Sean Leister, Principal Bob Neidig, sixth-grade special ed teacher Christina Carlson and Narin’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Karakurum.
Neidig introduced Narin to his fellow Rotarians, describing her as an excellent student with a GPA in the high 90s for the first two quarters of the school year, who is also well-appreciated by faculty, staff and fellow students because of her generous, sweet and kindhearted nature.
Narin’s science and coding teacher praised that Narin goes above and beyond class requirements, seeks help when she has questions, and “brings her own background knowledge to the table when discussing different topics.” The teacher recalls during the Thanksgiving Food Drive, Narin “went out of her way on multiple days to bring in large boxes of food for those in need.”
Narin’s teachers of writing, reading and math, as well as Carlson, who nominated Narin for this award, all lauded her cheerful disposition, her active participation in class, her excellent work ethic and her obvious desire to learn. Furthermore, school representatives said Narin reaches out to help friends and peers and is seen as being mature and bright, yet humble. The principal ended his presentation of this superlative youngster by thanking her for setting a great example for all of those around her and helping to promote a positive and caring school.
Al Kopcienski has been a longtime member of the Miller Place Fire Department. File photo by Greg Catalano
Starting in 1959 and continuing to now, Al Kopcienski has spent 60 years in the Port Jefferson Rotary, and in a meeting Sept. 26 members described the man as the epitome of the rotary motto: “Service above self.”
Al Kopcienski was honored at the last rotary meeting for 60 years of service. Photo from Port Jefferson Rotary
Back in the day, joining the rotary wasn’t as simple as asking to join. Kopcienski said he remembered being “put through the ringer,” before being inducted, having been sponsored by his father-in-law Stuart Gracey. Meetings back then were hosted at Teddy’s Hotel, located at the corner of Main Street and East Broadway before later moving over to the Elks Lodge.
In decades past, the rotary raised much of its money through concerts and minstrel shows, though the biggest fundraiser for years was the annual event held on the grounds of Mather Hospital, which in the early years included a horse show. Then, rotary members said Kopcienski would spend hours collecting rocks from the horse show grounds in case a horse would get injured on one. He would be a part of those fundraising efforts, joining other members in building giant cement fire pits and helping in square dances and barbecues.
Other than rotary fundraising, he has been particularly active in service projects to Camp PaQuaTuck, a summer camp for children with special needs, and the nonprofit marrow registry Gift of Life. He has built and maintained bus shelters in the Village of Port Jefferson, said Rotarian Ed DiNunzio, and has shopped for Christmas gifts for children who would not otherwise get them.
As an active member of the Miller Place Fire Department, he spent hours in 2012 on the east end of Long Island battling wildfires. His service in the face of disaster has traveled even further. He and his wife Honor have a home on the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean. In 2017 the category 5 Hurricane Irma followed by Hurricane Maria decimated the island. He has traveled there several times a year to aid in the cleanup and rebuilding.
“For the past thirty-seven years, I have consistently witnessed Al using his knowledge and expertise, and devoting his time and effort, to help the Club achieve its goals of service both to the local community, the larger community of Suffolk County and the world,” DiNunzio said.
Volunteers from the Port Jeff and Rocky Point school districts, among others, prepare Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck for next summer during a fall cleanup event. Photo by Yvette Hohler
Like Batman responding to the bat signal in Gotham, leaders and volunteers from across the Port Jefferson community showed up to lend a hand to the Rotary Club of Port Jefferson Nov. 12 after the call went out asking for assistance.
Volunteers from the Port Jeff and Rocky Point school districts, among others, prepare Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck for next summer during a fall cleanup event. Photo by Yvette Hohler
Twice per year, Rotary clubs dedicated to bringing together leaders from the private sector to benefit those in need joined forces at Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck in Center Moriches to clean up the camp following fall events to get the facility ready for its primary use. The facility, which was founded nearly 70 years ago, serves as a sleep-away camp during summer months for children and young adults ages 6 to 21 with various disabilities and special needs.
About 65 percent of campers have autism spectrum disorder, though others with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other challenges are also among the annual attendees. The camp serves as both a place for children with special needs to build self-esteem and camaraderie with peers featuring traditional camp activities and also as a respite for dedicated parents who in many cases provide round-the-clock care and support for their children.
Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck is funded through camper fees, fundraisers and donations, so its operation is thanks in large part to the volunteer efforts of Port Jefferson, Rocky Point and Middle Island Rotary clubs, among others. The two cleanups — one in the spring and the other in the fall — are conducted entirely by volunteers, and the second spruce-up job for 2017 took place Nov. 12 following several October fundraising events.
In total, 36 volunteers from Port Jefferson got their hands dirty during the cleanup, including 16 Rotarians and four family members, and 13 Port Jefferson high school Interact Club members. Charles McAteer of the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Civic Association, Port Jeff high school principal Christine Austen, Senior Vice President for Administration at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital Kevin Murray, Port Jefferson Free Library Director Tom Donlon and Comsewogue Public Library Director Debra Engelhardt were among the volunteers from the Port Jefferson community at the event. Three members of Rocky Point Rotary and 17 Interact Club members from the Rocky Point school district led by Interact adviser Margaret Messinetti also lent a hand. Two members of Middle Island Rotary also pitched in.
“I have been taking the Interact students out to Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck for almost 15 years now,” said Deirdre Fillipi, director of the Interact Club at Port Jeff. The club has a similar mission to Rotary clubs and serves as a precursor to eventual Rotary membership after graduation. “It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to see how much they can achieve and the positive impact they can have on their community, especially when they combine their efforts. It’s nice to see how much they can achieve when working together.”
Dennis Brennan, Rotarian and past president, said the fall cleanup took a few hours and included raking the leaves of the camp’s 37-acre grounds, preparing dorms for future occupancy and much more.
“The youth are the most important part of having this whole thing,” Brennan said. “I think it’s important for one generation after another to realize what you have to do in order to prepare to get things ready for kids with special needs.”
Volunteers from the Port Jeff and Rocky Point school districts, among others, prepare Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck for next summer during a fall cleanup event. Photo by Yvette Hohler
Brennan said the younger volunteers don’t necessarily know who attends the camp before the cleanup begins, or what, for example, muscular dystrophy is or what it means to have it, but said an appreciation develops in the volunteers during the course of the day. He said the cleanup and volunteerism through the Rotary are a good preview for students interested in a pursuing a career in helping children with special needs and offer important perspective for others who aren’t.
“As they get older they’ll learn these are not people to feel sorry for, these are people who are different and who you can learn from,” he said.
Rotarian Sharon Brennan expressed a similar sentiment.
“When they’re out spending three hours raking or pulling staples out of the wall, hopefully the light bulb goes off that ‘I’m giving back to somebody who, for the summer, this is really important,’” she said.
Engelhardt, who attended the cleanup with her husband John and son Scott, said the event has become a tradition for her family.
“It’s special to work together as a family and to be a part of something bigger, through our local Rotary club, that benefits special needs children and their families from Suffolk County and beyond all summer long,” she said in an email. “It’s something we hope Scott will make a priority throughout his adult life, for his own health and for the health of our community.”
For more information about Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck visit www.camppaquatuck.com.
