The Massena Rotary Club recently held a pair of December fundraising events to support some very important organizations in Massena. Both events were held Dec. 1 and were very successful in quality and attendance.

The 6th annual One Stop Holiday Shop was held at Massena Central School and featured numerous vendors presenting a wide selection of great items just in time for Christmas. Massena Rotary Club President Curt Wood had this to say about the event, “Darcy Sharpe and Tonya Moulton truly show the spirit of the holidays in their One Stop Holiday Shop event that once again broke records.” He added, “This year’s event yielded $2,050 for the Massena Boys & Girls Club and Massena Rotary is very thankful for the opportunity this club provides for the youth of Massena and are very happy to help them.” He also noted, “Next year Darcy and Tonya are planning to have the event on Sat. Nov 30, which will coincide with Shop Local Saturday! “ Over the course of its 6 years, the event has raised $9,600.

Later that day, activities moved to the Massena Elks Lodge for the 11th Annual Gourmet Foods, Wine & Beer Tasting. This event supported the three food pantries in Massena, St. Vincent de Paul, Massena Neighborhood Center and Salvation Army. Wood reports that this celebration of food and drink was a success again this year. “We are so happy that the Massena Rotary was able to donate $4500 to three organizations that help our community during the holidays.” He added, “Once again the Elks Club of Massena teamed up with Rotary and hosted a great event for the community. Wood noted that some special recognition was in order, “Tom Gramuglia, Roxanne Roberts, Gail Elman were three people who went over and above for the event and we are very grateful to them for their efforts.”

The Massena Rotary Club’s next big event is the annual Rotary Pancake Day on March 30 at the Massena Junior High School.

The Massena Rotary Club is in District 7040 of Rotary International, a district that includes clubs in Northern New York as well as Ontario and Quebec Canada. The club meets every Tuesday at Noon at Morley’s American Grill, 240 East Orvis Street in Massena. For more information on joining Rotary, contact John Murray at 315-764-0044. You can find them on Facebook at The Massena Rotary Club.

Jerry Manor

Seacomm, Massena