Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/rotary-club-of-watertown/page/4/)
The Watertown Rotary Club would like to invite you to our first ever Service Saturday, Feb. 24 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Service Saturday provides local residents the opportunity to engage with the local community. On Feb. 24, volunteers will first gather at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. From there, participants will pick from service activities to engage in for two hours.
Karen and Steven Mey have been sweethearts since high school, but they now face a life-changing challenge after Karen was diagnosed with ALS. They have been given helping hands from their community to assist the couple deal with Karen’s limited mobility. Karen received the diagnosis of ALS – also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease – in June, but they symptoms began four or five years ago. “I had a pain in my right hand which lead to weakness in my right arm,” Karen said. “Then I began to have weakness in my left arm, and then it went to my legs.
A new program sponsored by the Rotary Club, called Food for Thought, is providing some Watertown students who might go hungry over the weekend with two breakfasts, two lunches and two snacks each week.
During the week, these students can get free or discounted meals at school. About 30 percent of the students in Watertown are in the Free and Reduced Lunch program, said Watertown resident Lilia Weisfeldt, who came up with the idea for the program. “Over the weekend the kids don’t have access to the program and a lot of kids go without any food,” Weisfeldt said. “We give them a bag of food over the weekend so they can go back to school Monday not hungry and ready to learn.”
On Tuesday, November 22 over 90 kids, parents, teachers, community members and Rotarians headed to the Watertown Middle School to pack over 10,000 meals through the Stop Hunger Now program, the Rotary Club of Watertown announced. The Rotary Club of Watertown hosted the packing party not only to help feed thousands of people around the world but also as a way to foster a spirit of community service among the school children of Watertown. The meals prepared during the Stop Hunger Now Packing Party are distributed through feeding programs operated by partner organizations in developing countries that promote education, encourage children to attend school, improve students’ health and nutrition, address gender inequalities, stimulate economic growth, and fight child labor.
Dr. Mary Burke a Senior Economist from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston spoke at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Watertown.
Dr. Burke presented a very insightful and comprehensive view of the state of our economy. The Rotary Club meets at noon every Tuesday for lunch at Oakley Country Club in Watertown.