The Wakefield Rotary Club completed two hands-on projects during recent meetings. The first project involved hand making a dozen fleece children’s blankets to benefit the Melrose-Wakefield. The Rotarians spent an October meeting cutting and hand sewing the bright blankets which were then donated to Project Linus. The blankets will be given to children who are in day treatment or having overnight procedures. Rotarian Lisa Roderick commented, “It was great to see our members get together and teamwork to finish the blankets.”

The club then spent an afternoon in January making valentine cards for US troops. The cards carried messages of thanks and memories from veterans who are currently in the club. The cards were sent to Hugs for Soldiers. The club completed 50 cards in just over an hour. One Rotarian wrote “I was stationed overseas in the 60’s and I missed many holidays too. Stay strong; we appreciate you.”  

The two projects are part of a series of 12 hands-on projects led by Wakefield Rotary Club President Amy Luckiewicz. “We love our lunch fellowship time, trust me, but most of us want to do something hands-on, that we can feel we created,” explained Luckiewicz. “By doing some of these projects during actual meetings, it makes it easier for members who live out of the town of Wakefield to participate in more if they can’t make our off-hour service opportunities. The idea is to give the club at least 12 projects they can work on that don’t involve donating money.” Included in the series, the club volunteered at the Friends of Moulton Park play structure build in September and completed a food drive for the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry in November.

About the Wakefield Rotary Club: Founded in 1922, the Wakefield Rotary Club carries a tradition of local service and fellowship. A progressive service organization, the club recognizes the talents and passions of each member and empowers them to benefit the community. A part of Rotary International, the club is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 1.2 million Rotarians in 160 countries worldwide.  The first Rotary Club was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1905 by an attorney named Paul Harris and several of his colleagues. The name “Rotary” was derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among each of the members’ offices. The Rotary motto is “Service above self”.  For more information, visit www.wakefieldrotaryclub.org.