Mantua – Around the world, 1.4 million individuals in over 46,000 Rotary Clubs band together as a force of good in their local communities. They work on projects ranging from promoting literacy, to clean water and health in nations across the globe. Locally, the Rotary Club of Mantua has an on-going service initiative to help support Crestwood Schools.
While they serve the schools in a variety of ways, this August the group collected school supplies for Crestwood Primary and Intermediate Schools. Project chairperson Sandy Karm contacted the schools to procure a wish list of materials for each grade. Throughout the month, club members donated supplies ranging from crayons to cleaning wipes, which were then divided by grade level. Just prior to the start of the school year, the Rotary’s Supply Donation Committee delivered boxes of items to the two schools. Karm, with Rotary member Helen Hazlett, was joined by several future Rotarians: Landon, Jaxson, Cameron and Kora Bilsza and Andromeda Brown. The donations were gratefully accepted at each school; Superintendent David Toth thanked the group for their service to the district’s students and teachers.
Fundraisers were the club’s focus in September and October, beginning with the much-anticipated pierogi booth at the Mantua Potato Festival at the start of September. The booth, which was a collaborative effort with Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation, sold 60 cases of pierogies over the three days of the festival. The proceeds earned were divided between both organizations and will fund community efforts the two and local service projects.
In mid-September, the Mantua Rotary held their second annual Poker Paddle. That idyllic late summer day, 50 participants brought kayaks or rented them from Camp Hi in Hiram and spent the afternoon paddling the Cuyahoga River to Buchert Park in Mantua. Along the route, participants collected five playing cards to vie for best poker hand. At the end of the paddle, the top poker hand was awarded a $500 prize, while the second won $250 and the third best hand won $100. Hilltop Christian Church CYF helped with registration and by handing out cards at specified stops along the river. Debbi Haylett was the official poker hand reader at this year’s event.
This year the Rotary Club of Mantua celebrates an impressive 75 years of service in the community. The group meets the first three Thursdays of each month at 6:30 pm at Restoration 44 Coffee Company. According to Sue Steinberg, the first week is a business meeting, while the club sponsors speakers at the second and third meetings each month. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information or to reserve your spot at an upcoming meeting, email mantuarotary@gmail.com.
