The Rotary Club of Westborough is excited to recognize service heroes in our community. On Wed., April 16, we will recognize and honor the following six service heroes who were selected from 30 nominations.
Adults
Nan Ford
Brett Borglund
Julia O'Neil-Welch
Youth
Prisha Konduru
Lukas Magatao
Ryan Summers
These individuals were chosen based on their integrity, inspirational leadership, and unselfishly serving the community to make our world a more kind and loving place. We hope you'll join us on Wed., April 16 at 6:00 p.m. at Arturos to honor these remarkable heroes.
Bicycles. Clocks. Rice cookers. Lamps. Necklaces. Knives. What do all these sundry items have in common? They can all be fixed at the Repair Café on Saturday, April 12 from 9:00 a.m. - noon at the Westborough Public Library. For over twenty years, the Repair Cafe, sponsored by the library and the Westborough Rotary Club, offers this free and popular event to the community.
Rotary members, who are people of action, volunteer their time to fix broken items and put smiles on peoples’ faces. “This is my favorite Rotary event,” says Reina Rago, President of the Westborough Rotary Club. “The Repair Café is an example of pure service—this is what Rotary is all about—bringing people together.” Given Rotary’s commitment to environmental sustainability, running the Repair Café is an excellent example of reducing waste and keeping stuff out of our landfills. “We have a Use and Throw Culture in the United States, and The Repair Café is a great way to encourage people to reuse and recycle items,” Rago states.
Reina Rago, President of the Westborough Rotary Club, shares her interview with Eric Hammond, this month's "Member Spotlight".
What motivated you to join? I have lived in Westborough for nearly 20 years and always wanted to volunteer for my community, however life, kids, and work had a way of getting in the way. I went through a career change that had me working out of my home and my kids are grown now…so there was no excuse not to volunteer. I joined the Westborough Rotary Club two years ago.
What are your passions and how have you been able to express your passions through Rotary? I have a passion for counseling young adults, so supporting anything youth related allowed me btings me joy. Whether it was supporting RYLA, (Rotary Youth Leadership Academy), being on the steering committee for our annual Rotary youth scholarships, or getting involved with the Interact Club at WHS…all filled me with a sense of pride by giving back to the youth in our community, and hopefully being a role model for others to volunteer.
Just as important as working with youth is volunteering…just for volunteering's sake. I try to pitch in whenever and wherever I can. Rotary does so much, but without folks pitching in and “doing” the stuff behind the scenes our service projects would not be possible. Volunteering at the Trex collection, the Repair Cafe, the senior center, cleaning up on Earth Day, attending the environmental awareness fair, placing flags for Veterans day, and helping to put on the winter lights are just a few examples of what I’ve done as a Rotarian. Seeing the event go off smoothly and seeing the joy it brings those who attend make the small sacrifice of volunteering well worth it.
What are some of the challenges that Westborough as a community faces? How has Rotary helped to address these challenges? In today’s ultra polarized society, genuine human compassion seems to have dissipated. We have become cynical and fearful of our fellow citizens, that we find it hard to grasp a basic truth, that we are in this together, and only “we” can make our community better. Rotary has allowed me to meet more people in the two years I’ve been a member than the previous 18 years living in Westborough. Rotary gives you the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and be a part of the solution to create a more compassionate and caring community.
How has Rotary influenced you? Changed you? Impacted you? Simply put, it has allowed me to “be the change I want to see”. It has significantly changed how I feel and act towards being part of a community…listening to understand instead of listening to react…lead with compassion and empathy…and to do all I can to make this great town a welcoming and thriving place for all.
For the past several years, the Westborough Rotary club has been working closely with Trex on an environmental initiative called the "Trex Thin Film Plastics Challenge." Trex, founded on the premise that ingenuity can help extract value from what was once seen as waste, is the largest manufacturer of high-performance, low-maintenance, eco-friendly outdoor living products, e.g., decks, benches. The club collects thin film plastics which are recycled into outdoor living products. We are honored to work closely with Trex to support the benefits of reclaiming and recycling materials to create a more sustainable world.
Our recent Trex Challenge film plastics collection was held on Saturday, March 8 at Kohl's Northborough. The volunteers at Kohl's during this event were: Scott Parker, Dave Kaiser, Eric Hammond On this cold morning we collected a total of 179 kgs (395 lbs.). It's easy to get involved and make a difference.
The fair is an excellent opportunity to interact with a wide range of community members to learn about actions on environment related topics. This year we expect about 40 exhibitors representing town departments, government agencies, utility providers, home energy service providers, community gardens, and various energy related vendors. These exhibitors will share information to help our local community members learn aboutvarious programs, services, and products available for environmental sustainability and climate resilience.
Dozens of students from all the Westborough schools have prepared science exhibits about the environment and environmentally themed art posters. There will be games for attendees of all ages providing a fun way to learn with prizes for winners. The Rotary Club will raffle a large tree donated by OSTA (Olympus Surgical Technologies America). For more information and registering for the event, please go to the following: https://www.westboroughma.gov/1143/Westborough-Environmental-Action-Fair
EARTH DAY CLEAN-UP
Our club is coming together on Saturday, April 5 at 11:00 a.m. at a designated location to clean-up a section of Westborough. Every "hand" is welcome-- the more hands the merrier! Here is the Sign-up link.
Once you sign up, you'll receive the exact location where we will meet. Just bring a pair of gloves and a smile!
Thanks to the fabulous speakers who have shared their experience, wisdom, and inspiration at our lunch meetings this year.
Each of the following individuals highlighted one of Rotary's key areas of focus.
January - Neil Angus, the Director of the Devens Enterprise Commission, oversees the planning and sustainable redevelopment of Devens that operates as one of North America’s premiere eco-industrial parks. He discussed "Pocket Forests", compact green spaces designed to mimic the structure and biodiversity of natural forests.
February - Tiffany Trevino, Rotary Globe Grant Scholar, is a dynamic public health professional dedicated to patient advocacy, health equity issues, and expanding healthcare access.
March - Jalila Waller, Communications Coordinator for Boston Area Gleaners, discussed how the organization builds innovative partnerships with local organizations and businesses in order to bridge food distribution gaps, improve healthy food access, prevent on-farm food waste, and create new markets for locally grown produce. Their vision is to sustain a permanent agricultural supply chain that will improve the viability of local farms and the health of communities who have historically suffered from inequity in the food system.
We invite anyone to attend a Rotary meeting to gain knowledge, perspective, and insight about making the world a safer, healthier, and more peaceful place.
Join Us for Lunch or Dinner!
Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m.
See Website for Detail
P.O. Box 903
Westborough, MA 01581 United States of America
Meeting times and locations vary. Please see our website home page for meeting dates & times.
www.westboroughrotary.org.
