Recipients of auction proceeds selected
PRESQUE ISLE — The Presque Isle Rotary Club is gearing up for its 64th annual Rotary Auction, which will be held Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Club officials have announced they have selected the recipients for this year’s auction proceeds.
Area non-profit organizations that were chosen for funding from 2011 Auction regular proceeds are:
• Homeless Shelter of Aroostook ($3,000), to purchase new commercial grade, energy-efficient laundry machines to serve the shelter. The Homeless Shelter of Aroostook, located in Presque Isle, provides emergency shelter and outreach services to individuals and families. Last year, the shelter served 426 individuals.
• Central Aroostook Humane Society ($2,000), to replace several outside dog pen doors to ensure the safety of the dogs, staff, volunteers and visitors. The Central Aroostook Humane Society provides physical shelter, emotional care and necessary medical attention to pets in need from 27 communities in central Aroostook County.
• Presque Isle Garden Club ($2,000), to renew the trees and flowers of Presque Isle’s Downing Park, a true attribute to the city’s bike path and the city’s only endowed park. The Presque Isle Garden Club has spent nearly 75 years beautifying Presque Isle and soon plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Downing Park in the year 2013.
• Wintergreen Arts Center ($2,000), to support the “Saturday Open Studio” program that serves young children and their families, providing them with an opportunity to use their creativity, while developing their fine motor skills. Wintergreen Arts Center, located in downtown Presque Isle, focuses on providing meaningful experiences that encourage an appreciation of the arts in children and adults.
• Northern Maine Fair Association ($1,500), to support the development of a “little hands on the farm” project which will expose children of all ages to the importance of agriculture, including where our food comes from, the nutritional value of fresh foods, and the importance of a good work ethic.
• Atlantic Salmon for Northern Maine ($1,500), to support the completion of an education center at the Dug Brook Salmon Hatchery, which provides educational sessions and tours to children and adults regarding the salmon and its environmental importance. Atlantic Salmon for Northern Maine is a private, non-profit, totally volunteer organization that was established in the early 1970s in order to restore Atlantic salmon to the Aroostook River.
• GIFT: Grace Interfaith Food Table ($600), to purchase a new freezer to enable the food pantry to offer more food options to needy families. GIFT, a non-profit partnership established in 2003, distributed over 730 food boxes to 1,517 clients last year.
The Presque Isle Rotary Club also chooses a project or organization to receive Special or Major Project status. Past major projects have included mammography, dialysis and other much-needed equipment for the local hospital, a new roof for the Catholic Charities of Maine warehouse in Caribou, upgrades to Mantle Lake Park, and lighting at the Nordic Heritage Center, just to name a few.
This year’s special project goal of $25,000 is earmarked for the establishment of a non-profit dental clinic to serve the needs of disadvantaged children in the area. The proposed St. Apollonia Dental Clinic is intended to fill an overwhelming need in Aroostook County where an estimated 30 percent of residents have not had a dental visit in the last two years. Proponents suggest that disadvantaged children are at higher risk for dental disease, yet are least likely to have access to dental care. Currently there is only one dental clinic for qualifying persons in Aroostook County and it is located in Eagle Lake.
The Presque Isle Rotary Club maintains a membership of approximately 100 individuals and is part of a worldwide organization of community volunteers. The slogan of Rotary is “Service Above Self” and the club seeks to live up to this ideal by supporting a variety of causes for the betterment of the community.
For over 60 years, the Presque Isle Rotary Club has held an annual auction to raise funds to support various charities and non-profit organizations. Last year, the club raised over $60,000 for various organizations and charitable causes including Catholic Charities of Maine, Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery, Easton School Department, CANCER, Northern Maine Museum of Science, Francis Malcolm Science Center, Aroostook Football and the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library.
Auction co-chairs Joy Barresi Saucier and Ralph McPherson, along with the Rotary Club as a whole, are in full planning mode and looking forward to another exciting auction this year. The club could not successfully complete this enormous task without the support of donors, viewers, listeners and bidders.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about Rotary and its ideals can visit www.PresqueIsleRotary.org or contact any Rotary member.
