Welcome to Rotary Club of The Hudson Valley

(A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity)

     We're part of the renowned Rotary International, a well-established network of 1.4 million  members in 220 countries.  We seek to promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.  We conduct projects in community service and international understanding and peace, and are supported by The Rotary Foundation, a top-notch tax-exempt charity with net assets of about $1.4 billion to assist, guide, and grant hundreds of millions of dollars for, charitable projects every year.

     Our members share a passion for community service - local, national, and international.   A passion for making the world a better place by promoting positive peace and friendship amongst communities and countries.  And a passion for networking and helping people.  Let's make the world a better place!  Join Us!  

2nd Annual "Bonding While Educating" Trip To Black History Museum, Washington, D.C. 
   
   On Feb. 18-19, 2025, during the 2025 School Winter Recess, we will take twenty-seven (27) middle-schoolers, each accompanied by his/her respective parent, by a chartered bus to Washington, D.C.  This overnight educational trip will focus on the history of the  civil rights movement, and on the travails of those who sacrificed so much in order to lay the path for us, and on the legendary figures in that struggle.
 
  In addition to this educational experience, this Trip will also provide opportunities for enhanced parent-child bonding, especially in single-parent families.  Providing a welcome respite from the monotony of daily grind. this Trip also gives the chance for learning together - and having fun and earning cash prizes!
 
  Substantially subsidized by the Rotary Club, this Trip will cost a mere $100 per parent-child pair.  Included are travel by charter bus to and from Washington, D.C., Museum Admission, dinner on February 18th. and breakfast and lunch on February 19th.  
 
  We've added two additional exciting features this year:  An Essay Competition, and A Speech Contest, each for cash prizes totaling $500.  Details of these to be announced.  
 
  We've added two additional exciting features this year:  An Essay Competition, and A Speech Contest, each for cash prizes totaling $600.  Details to be announced.  Registration Is Now Open.  Register here
 
Donations welcome! 
Each $500 donor may sponsor one parent-child pair. 
Give the experience of a lifetime to a Middle-School child!
  DONATE NOW
  By Zelle:  rotaryhudsonvalley@gmail.com
All donations are tax exempt from federal and state law.
Questions?  Email to:  rotaryhudsonvalley@gmail.com
 

Breakout Session At the Rotary International Convention, 2024
 
     Our Founder-President and Past District Governor Kris Chittur conducted a Breakout Session at the Annual Rotary International Convention in Singapore on May 29, 2024.  The Session was on "We Formed a New Club in One Week - And So Can You!
 
For a video of that session, click here.
 
Fifth Annual Basketball Training
 
     We are delighted to announce that registration for our Fifth Annual Basketball Training is now open.  Our Past President, the indefatigable Pete Spano , will be conducting this set of 4 training sessions comprising of Basketball skills, drills, and training.  The program will be supplemented by anti-bullying workshops with guest speakers, fun games, and snacks. 
 
  This Program, as with all the previous four programs is entirely free, and open to all children between the ages of 6 and 14.  It will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on four consecutive Saturdays:  April 20; April 27, May 4, and May 11, 2024.  Join us at the John Barton Park, Morningside Avenue, Yonkers (Behind 87 High Street).
 
 
To register, click here.
 
 
 
New Member Induction And Dinner
 
    Join us in welcoming THREE new members to our Club.  This Dinner will be held on April 18, 2024 at the Modern Italian Restaurant & Lounge, 310 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801, at 6:30 p.m. 
 
  Cost:  $50.  This may be paid by Zelle to rotaryhudsonvalley.org.
 
 
 
 
 
Parent-Child Civil Rights Educational Trip To Black History Museum, Washington, D.C. 
 
    We completed the celebration of Black History Month (February 2024) with a Parent-Child Civil Rights Field Trip to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.  

    During Spring break, on Feb. 20-21, we took twenty-five (25) middle-schoolers, each accompanied by his/her respective parent, by a chartered bus to Washington, D.C.  This was an overnight trip, focusing on the history of the  civil rights movement, and on the travails of those who sacrificed so much in order to lay the path for us, and on the legendary figures in that struggle.  The educational experience was enhanced by a tour of the Museum, and topped off with a tour of the landmarks in the nation's capitsl.  In the process, the trip also provided a welcome opportunity for enhanced parent-child bonding. 

 
 

Basketball Training and Anti-bullying Program

We've been running this Basketball Training and Anti-Bullying Program for the past five years, and are expanding it this year.  This Program is entirely free to the participants, and is a reflection of Rotary’s commitment to our children: Team sports help children develop many of the social skills they will need for life. It teaches them to cooperate, to be less selfish, and to listen to other children. It also gives children a sense of belonging. It helps them make new friends and builds their social circle outside school.  Join us in this wonderful venture - let’s make the world a better place for the next generation!

The Program is about 2 hours, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, on six Saturdays - August 12th to September 16 - at John Barton Park, Yonkers.  It is restricted to children between 7 and 14 years of age, and involves training in basketball skills and drills, followed by about 30 minutes of discussion on anti-bullying led by prominent guest speakers. Snacks and soft drinks will be provided.  The first fifty (50) participants who complete the Program will be given a “Back To School” package.  (What’s in the package?  Be on the lookout!).  To register, send us an email to rotaryhudsonvalley@gmail.com.
 
 
In the past, many adults also participated and volunteered their weekend to help us teach children basketball and life skills.  We thank them for their involvement - and invite them to do so again!
 
 
 
Public Health Initiative:  "Preventative Health"
       
 
This is a monthly series to keep you informed about important issues concerning your health.  Knowledgeable health professionals, experts in their respective fields, make presentations, and answer questions, on the THIRD Wednesday of every month in the Yonkers Public Library, Larkins  Center, Yonkers.  It's free and open to everyone.

*RELIABLE          *TIMELY          *FREE
 
We have had the following presentations thus far:
1.    May 17, 2023:  Dr. Maureen McEvoy, Breast Cancer Surgeon, Montefiore-Einstein Breast Cancer Center and St. John's Riverside Hospital, New York,  on "What we Know About Breast Cancer Prevention";  
2.    June 21, 2023: Jacqueline Burke, a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Functional Nutrition Counselor, and Lifestyle Modification Health Coach,  on “Using Food As Medicine;”
3.    July 19, 2023: Sandeep Prabhu, PT, MA, OCS, Director, Ivy Rehab Physical Therapy, Briarcliff Manor; Board Certified PT in Orthopedics; Masters in Movement Science, Teachers’ College, Columbia Univ., on “Hip and Knee Pain: Physical Therapy to the Rescue.”
Don't wait for months to see a specialist:  get your questions answered NOW!  It's YOUR HEALTH!                                 
 

Public Health Initiative:  Outreach For Early Detection Of Breast Cancer Lesions 

   We completed the Fourth Phase of our Outreach, which was conducted jointly with Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center, and  St. John's Riverside Hospital at the Yonkers Public Library, The Larkin Center, in Yonkers from June 11 - September 24.  The Free Outreach, based on an innovative, FDA-cleared device, iBreastExam, is based on tactile sensing technology, and  is (a) non-invasive, (b) portable, (c) radiation-free, and (d) gives results in minutes. https://vimeo.com/bravemakers/review/731006312/041106581b.   Read more  

 

To donate  Donate Here.  All donations are tax exempt under U.S. law.

To join, email us, rotaryhudsonvalley@gmail.com
 

 

Club News
We finished the fourth phase of our iBreastExam outreach in the Yonkers Public Library, Larkins Center, on September 24, 2022.  We intend continuing this program, and will announce further details shortly.  So, if you missed the earlier outreach programs, stay tuned!  And if you would like such an outreach to be held close to you, please contact us. 
 
In this phase, we tested about 200 tests by specially trained iBreastExam examiners from Montefiore-Einstein Cancer Center from June 11, 2022, on alternate Saturdays.  Earlier, we had conducted outreaches in 2021, with Dr. Castaldi from Westchester Medical Center.  The first phase was held in United Community Center in New Rochelle, from May 22 - June 12. The second phase was held in the Kiley Youth Center in Peekskill from July 17 to August 7. The Rotary Club of Peekskill was a partner in the second phase.
A HUGE thanks to every one - Rotarians and non-Rotarians, including the medical team led by Dr. Castaldi and her hand-picked team from Westchester Medical Center.
The dedication and commitment of Rotarians and some non-Rotarians was commendable! Tireless efforts embodying "Service Above Self!
We are delighted to launch this new Public Health Initiative to bring reliable, accurate, and timely information on contemporary health issues.  This will be an ongoing series of presentations by respected, well-established, local health professionals.  The series will be held on the third Wednesday of every month, from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Yonkers Public Library, Larkins Center, Yonkers.  Admission is free, and open to the public.  
Exciting opportunity to make new friends, build lasting relationships abroad, and learn another culture while having fun visiting another country!
Our Club has organized this Friendship Exchange, a unique way to promote cultural understanding and help Rotarians build international network of friends - and even business partners - by exchanging teams between Rotary Clubs/Districts in different parts of the world. Instead of visiting a foreign country/city as typical stranger-tourists, Team members stay with local Rotarians, sharing their home and their family life. Sightseeing, logistics, and other aspects of the visit are jointly decided, with invaluable input from local Rotarians - much better than flying blind into a foreign country! https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/friendship-exchange.
The Team, comprising of upto five Rotarians with a possible adult companion each, i.e., a maximum total of 10 persons, to Israel is tentatively scheduled to leave on the first week of March. The trip will last 7-10 days; Team members may choose to spend more time in Israel at their own expense. Participating Rotarians bear their own airfare, medical insurance and personal expenses; hosting local Rotarians will provide lodging, boarding and transportation. Reciprocally, each Team member is expected to host, or arrange for hosting, a Rotarian guest couple from Israel when the reciprocal Friendship Exchange Team from Israel visits us.
This is extremely meaningful and fulfilling in terms of cultural and international understanding, and leads to long-term relationships. What a breathtaking difference from the usual made-for-tourist filter through which we usually get to see places!
Only five Rotarians can partake in this Exchange, and will be selected on a first come-first serve basis. Interest is expected to be very high, so if you’re interested, let us know asap by email at rotaryhudsonvalley@gmail.com.

We just completed the Fourth Phase of our Outreach in September.  This phase was conducted jointly with Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center at the Yonkers Public Library, The Larkin Center, in Yonkers.  We conducted eight (8) outreaches, based on an innovative, FDA-cleared device, iBreastExam, which is based on tactile sensing technology, and  is (a) non-invasive, (b) portable, (c) radiation-free, and (d) gives results in minutes. https://vimeo.com/bravemakers/review/731006312/041106581bRead more

Earlier, we had conducted nine (9) outreaches in three phases:  four outreaches in United Community Center in New Rochelle, from May 22 - June 12, 2021; three in the Kiley Youth Center in Peekskill from July 17 to August 7, 2021, with the The Rotary Club of Peekskill as a partner, and on September 23 and 30 in Yonkers YMCA, Yonkers.  These were supervised by Dr. Maria Castaldi, Chief of Breast Cancer Surgery in Westchester Medical Center.  We have screened over 400 women in these outreaches, largely minorities.
 
A HUGE "Thank you!" to all the Rotarians and Non-Rotarians who participated in this massive Public Health Initiative and made it a success!  True Rotarians, living upto our motto, "Service Above Self".
 
We intend continuing this program, and will announce further details shortly.  So, if you missed the earlier outreach programs, stay tuned NOW!  If you would like a similar outreach in your area, email us:  Rotaryhudsonvalley@gmail.com   
We finished the third phase of our iBreast Exam outreach in Yonkers on October 23, and October 30, 2021, at the Yonkers YMCA.  We intend continuing this program, and will announce further details shortly.  So, if you missed the earlier outreach programs, stay tuned NOW! 
 
Earlier, about 200 tests were conducted by specially trained iBreastExam testers on from May 22 to August 7, 2021, in two phases. The first phase was held in United Community Center in New Rochelle, from May 22 - June 12. The second phase was held in the Kiley Youth Center in Peekskill from July 17 to August 7. The Rotary Club of Peekskill was a partner in the second phase. A HUGE thanks to every one - Rotarians and non-Rotarians, including the medical team led by Dr. Castaldi and her hand-picked team from Westchester Medical Center.
The dedication and commitment of Rotarians was commendable! Tireless efforts embodying "Service Above Self!

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