Our Projects

The Period Product Initiative

Suffern Rotary’s Period Product Initiative (PPI) began a period product drive in 2022. We participated in the Rockland Women’s Distance Festival, to raise funds and collect period products for females at the Sloatsburg Food Pantry (SFP). Since then, each year on a quarterly basis, we have supplied the SFP with period products and periodically with educational materials on the safety and proper use of tampons and cups. We continue to participate in the Rockland Distance Women’s Festival yearly, raising awareness on the issue of period poverty, collecting donations and products for PPI.

We’ve partnered with our local hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital-Bon Secours Charity Health System, to raise awareness, collect donations of period products at several hospital sponsored events (ie. Women’s Annual Gala, Breast Cancer Awareness Event). We’ve engaged with our local school district and have begun to engage local houses of worship to highlight the issue of menstrual equity and to support and encourage their efforts toward making period products available at every bathroom used by females at their facilities.

The PPI has received financial support from local businesses, private donors and grants. Our most dedicated sponsor and supporter is the Palisades Federal Credit Union, whose support is unmatched and has been critical to our mission. Most recently, we were awarded “Project of the Year Award” at Rotary’s District 7210 end of the year Gala. Rotary District 7210 includes Rockland, Greene, Orange, Ulster, Dutchess and Sullivan Counties.

Our Suffern Rotary President, Evelyn Oberkircher is in dialogue with other Rotary Club Presidents in Rockland County to create a County-wide event that will highlight this issue, raise funds and products for females served at Food Pantries in Rockland County. We hope to raise awareness among other Rotary Clubs across the State of New York so that other Rotary clubs also embrace this initiative. We seek to support for state legislation that will help make these products available to all.

The United Way of Rockland County is partnering with us to find product providers willing to donate period products for other Food Pantries across Rockland and to secure a storage facility to house the products awaiting distribution.

We utilize Suffern Rotary Club’s social media and seek opportunities to highlight this plight so that we can help usher in the end of period poverty. Rotarians are on the move, as “People of Action”.

Palisades Federal Credit Union Bank has been a sponsor.

New PPI project logo designed by Shari Baitcher.

Collection of products at The Women's Distance Festival 2024.

Our project relies on the generosity of donations from our community members. If you are interested in making a donation please use the QR code to order products which will be delivered directly to the Sloatsburg Food Pantry, drop off product donations at the Sloatsburg Food Pantry at All Souls Community Church at 81 Washington Ave, Suffern or mail a check made out to Suffern Rotary Community Fund memo PPI and mail to Suffern Rotary Club P.O. Box 103 Suffern, NY 10901.

Weekend Snack Attack

The Community Services Committee in 2016 had identified the need for children from low income families were lacking healthy & nutritious snacks over the weekend. The club applied for a District 7210 grant to supplement the club's budget to purchase weekend meals in the Suffern School District elementary schools for food insecure children. Committee members shop for the foods, package a variety of the selections at the food pantry into baggies for individual children, and place them into bins for each elementary school. Other committee members deliver the bins of foods to the school nurses and return the empty bins to the food pantry.

The Suffern Rotary Club's Keep Suffern Beautiful Committee works together with Keep Rockland Beautiful to maintain a one mile section of Route 202 from Colline Drive to Viola Road litter free.

The Route 202 Clean Up event happens once in the spring and in the fall. The volunteers meet at the Town of Ramapo Senior Center at the corner of Route 202 and Mayer Drive.

All community members are welcome to join us as "Many hands make light work" in this situation. Those that do help become invested in helping to prevent litter! It is a great way to provide and important community service in a couple short hours with instant results!

To find out how you or your business or organization can adopt a Beautification Site check out the Keep Rockland Beautiful webpage. www.keeprocklandbeautiful.org

Scholarships for Suffern's Graduating Seniors

Together with the support of the Suffern High School Interact Club, Suffern Rotary raises monies to supplement the Suffern Rotary Graduating scholarships. There are approximately 7 different scholarships students can apply for depending upon the specific requirements for qualification.

The Suffern Rotary works together with the Interact Club Supervisor and the school district staff to put on the Annual Spaghetti Dinner in October at the Suffern High School. The Rotarians help with food prep and the Interact Club sets up the cafeteria, serves the food and clears the tables. Students present musical performances to entertain the diners. A 50-50 Raffle is also held to raise more monies.

Funds raised are invested through the Suffern Community Fund which is managed and maintained by club members.

The Scholarship Committee works with the Interact supervisor to collect applications from the graduating seniors. The committee choses the student recipients and they are announced by a scholarship committee member at the high school's Evening of Excellence. A luncheon for the recipients and their parents is given in June to congratulate the recipients and wish them well in their future studies.

Arbor Day Tree Sapling Project

Rotary is committed to our the care of our environment.

One of the club's long standing projects is distributing tree saplings to each of the elementary school students in the Suffern School District.

The students of the Suffern High School Interact Club help with packaging the individual saplings into baggies with a small amount of soil and water with directions for planting the saplings. They are then bagged for each class for distribution.

The club has received photo

Full of initiative, Rotary members are working for a stronger, and better tomorrow. Operating independently but pooling resources enables multiple plans and actions to be in motion at once. These action groups serve as resources, collaborating to undertake effective, sustainable approaches to dominate world issues.

123rd Annual Bike-A-Thon

Last year's ride raised over $196,100. Last year, in 2016, a record high of 101 Riders joined us for a glorious day and a mountain of fun in Pongo, London. Every year is another step closer to our goal. We are developing new technologies, and new clinical procedures.

Our ride is 84 km from Anityville to Pongo Dalmation Resort. We have 3 checkpoints along the way for beverages, security cars en route in case anyone gets into difficulty, a repair van to assist with those inevitable blown tires. Add in an enthusiastic welcoming committee at the Finish, and you can see why our Bike-A-Thon is so uplifting. The resort spas are open for your enjoyment and recovery after a long day of cycling. The day is concluded with a stylish fashion banquet and prized seamstress.

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