Stories

Update - AND THE WINNER IS TONY! Congratulations to Denise for selling the winning ticket! A big thank you to the winner for donating back a portion of the prize. Thanks to him and everyone who bought tickets, the real winners of the day are St Johnsbury Meals on Wheels and Mealsite and Rotary Kingdom Impact Vermont! We split the proceeds, so each organization received donations of just over $3,100! Wow!!

 

 

The Caledonia Hockey Club (CHC) received a special welcome at their season kick off on October 20^th.  When the girls arrived at Fenton Chester, they each received new, CHC branded neck guards that were gifted to the club by Rotary Kingdom Impact (Rotary KIC).

 

The idea for the project started with a quick conversation between CHC leader, Ken Burchesky and CHC parent and Rotary KIC member, Jay Miller. Ken shared with Jay that neck guards would be required for all who skate with CHC, and that he was looking for support to purchase them as it is a free/by-donation league. Neck guards provide important protection from lacerations that can cause serious injury.

 

This led to Rotary KIC applying for and receiving a grant from Rotary District 7850 to purchase the neck guards. The club had been looking for a way to give back to the community that would help them honor the memory of Melynda Miller, a member of the club who passed away in January.

 

When asked about the project, Rotary KIC President Katheryn Laferriere said, “Our club was so happy to have this project come to fruition in memory of our friend and founding board member, Melynda Miller.  We hope that the neck guards will allow a new generation of young women to get out on the ice and learn to love hockey as much as Melynda did.”

 

Rotary International has a strong goal of empowering girls and young women. Through this project, Rotary KIC aimed to help meet this goal by giving the CHC members equipment needed to pursue the sport, and that would serve as a point of pride for the members by having them branded with the CHC logo. 

 

The rink was abuzz as the girls got ready for their first skate and Rotary KIC members gathered along with the family of Melynda Miller. They shared a moment to remember Melynda and to show all involved with CHC that community members believe in them and support them.

 

The Caledonia Hockey Club is a free/by-donation no-check, skill-based ice hockey program for females age 2-20. The CHC has been in existence for more than 20 years. For more information, contact coach Ken Burchesky at 802-626-3235.

 

Quinn Macdonald, a junior at St. Johnsbury Academy (SJA), recently came up with an idea to help fellow students. She stated, “SJA has so many awesome resources for students, but one thing we were lacking was hygiene products.” Along with the price of food, the cost of hygiene products has increased, which can create hardship for many people.

 

Quinn said, “For a while, I didn’t know where to start in helping my community, but I knew I wanted to.” She connected with Brynn Evans, the director of development at SJA and the founding and current president of the newest Rotary Club in the Northeast Kingdom.

 

“Our new club, Rotary Kingdom Impact, is focused on service projects, and the timing of my conversation with Quinn was perfect as we were looking for our next project,” said Brynn. “Rotary does a lot to work with youth, so the thought of helping a high school student bring their idea to life made it even more special. I brought the idea of a hygiene product drive to our group, and everyone jumped on board. We also wanted to broaden the impact, so we decided to hold the drive to support both students at SJA and clients of Umbrella.”

 

Throughout the month of March and into April, Rotary Kingdom Impact held a community-wide drive to collect items like shampoo, soap, body wash, lotion, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and deodorant. 98 Mill Italian Pub & Grill held a promotion on Mondays for anyone donating, and drop-off locations were also offered at SJA, Do North Coworking, and Union Bank on Portland Street in St. Johnsbury. Passumpsic Bank donated products, and the club held an in-person drive at The White Market in St. Johnsbury.

 

Brynn said, “Yet again, our community stepped up with product and monetary donations. The number of products we ended up with was tremendous and more than we could have hoped for. The generosity we experienced will have a big impact on our local high school students and women and children who work with Umbrella.”

 

“Umbrella’s mission is to cultivate a Northeast Kingdom where all people thrive free from abuse and oppression,” said Jordan Cady, Umbrella’s associate director of development and communications. “We offer many different programs that serve survivors and children of survivors who experienced intimate partner violence, sexual violence, dating violence, and stalking. Our advocacy team provides a wide range of services, like identifying emergency housing options, including at our shelter.”

 

Jordan continued, “These hygiene products will be used for people and families who stay in our shelter. Thanks to Rotary Kingdom Impact, this will provide another layer of comfort for survivors.”

 

The products donated to SJA will be made available to students through the Student Life Office and Health Services. “I am so thankful to Rotary Kingdom Impact for making this idea a reality so quickly,” said Quinn. “I know that all of the supplies we collected will be used by those who need them.”