Rotary Club of Freeport-Merrick

 

     The Freeport Rotary Club became officially chartered on November 27^th, 1943 with 19 members at the Elks Clubhouse (currently the Elks Plaza). Nearly 200 Rotarians and guests from 16 Rotary Clubs on Long Island attended. A quote from one of the guest speakers, Halsey B Knapp, of Farmingdale: “The price of Rotary is a little time salvaged from the oceans of time men waste, and harnessed to a purpose not far removed from the Golden Rule”.

     Over the years the club has embarked on many projects. In 1944, the club sent Overseas Letters to more than 200 Freeport servicemen on duty at active battlefronts, “a touch of home away from home”. In September, 1944, the Rotary club started something called the “work pile project”, which was a survey to help estimate the Village’s war needs and opportunities.

     In 1947, The Freeport Rotary Club forwarded a resolution to the school board requesting that school gymnasiums be kept open during the Christmas and Easter holidays in an effort to curb juvenile delinquency.

     Some of the more current projects are: sponsoring a Gift of Life child, making contributions to many non-profit organizations in the community such as Operation Pride, The Little League, the INN, Feed the Children, Thanksgiving turkey donations, Salvation Army bell ringing, and high school scholarships. The club is currently involved with a well project in a rural area of Haiti.

     Over the years, the membership in the club has changed as some members moved away or passed on, with new members always stepping in to fill their shoes. On July 8, 2008, the Freeport club expanded its charter to include Merrick. Through the years, from 1943 to the present, the mission of the club has remained unchanged: to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders-Service Above Self”.