Weekly reading by Club members at the elementary school at Cedar Knolls. Each week, a Club member volunteers to read at the Little School at in the Cedar Knolls Union Free School District (www.hcks.com).  This school, located in Hawthorne, NY, is situated on a campus owned and operated by the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services and provides a safe and therapeutic residential option for students in crisis.  Both residential students and day students are placed at Cedar Knolls by their local Committees on Special Education, and all students work on improving their social/emotional functioning and academic skills. As part of the reading program, the Pleasantville Rotary Club donates 100+ books per year to the School to add to its library.  On a weekly basis, while school is in session, a member will read from one of the books donated by the Club.

Held annually on Homecoming Day, this event benefits the Pleasantville Community Scholarship Fund. To celebrate Pleasantville High School’s Homecoming game and raise money for the Community Scholarship Fund of Pleasantville (www.pvillecsf.com), the Club runs a Pancake Breakfast.  At this event, which has taken place for over 35 years, Club members serve over 300 breakfasts of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage.  Last year, the Club donated $1,500 to the Community Scholarship Fund, which awarded $45,000+ in scholarships to graduating High School seniors.

New details for this event will be posted HERE

Annual distribution of smoke alarms to the kindergarten class at the Bedford Road School. Since 1990, the Pleasantville Rotary Club has given a smoke detector to every kindergartener in the Pleasantville Elementary School.  The event takes place during Fire Safety Week and is coordinated with the Pleasantville Volunteer Fire Department’s (www.pleasantvillefire.org) visit to the school.  During the school assembly where the smoke detectors are distributed, Fire Department representatives explain to the children what they should do if a fire breaks out in their home.  It is estimated that the Club has provided over 2,500 smoke detectors in the past 20 years.

Donation of bi-lingual early childhood books to local organizations through a grant from Mahopac National Bank. Started in 2006, the Pleasantville Rotary Club has used grant money from Mahopac National Bank to purchased bi-lingual early childhood books and distributed them at a variety of community organizations – Neighbor’s Link, Open Door and HeadStart.  In addition to its funding for the Pleasantville Club’s program, Mahopac National Bank has supported over 40 initiatives from Rotaries all across Westchester and has made grants totaling over $50,000.

Donation of turkeys to the Pleasantville Senior Center. Each November, the Club donates turkeys to the Pleasantville Senior Center for their Thanksgiving lunch.

Sale of oranges and grapefruits to benefit the Rotary Community Scholarship Fund. Starting in mid-November, the Club takes orders for cases of navel oranges, juice oranges, and grapefruit for delivery in early December.  We typically sell more than 200 cases of fruit as one of our fundraising efforts.  The proceeds of the sales go to the Rotary Community Scholarship Fund.  A case of fruit costs $15 and contains 30 to 36 oranges or 18 to 20 grapefruit.  Check back in November for an opportunity to order your fruit.

Our biggest event of the year to benefit community groups and organizations as well as international charities our club annually supports. The Westchester Wine Experience is our primary fund raising event of the year.  This year’s 11th annual event was held on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at Pace University in Pleasantville.  The WWE was a great success with about 400 attendees which helped us raise $12,000.  Proceeds of the event are donated to the Food Bank for Westchester and other local charities and organizations. For more information go to (www.westchesterwineexperience.com)

Distribution of saplings to fifth graders at the Bedford Road School. In celebration of Arbor Day, the Club gives out sapling trees to all 5th graders in the Pleasantville Bedford Road Elementary School.  Additionally, the Rotary Club has planted street trees through out the Village of Pleasantville.

Participation in the annual Pleasantville Day celebration. The Rotary Club participates annually in the village’s Pleasantville Day celebration held in mid-May.  Our manner of participation varies from year to year, but it is always with a desire to provide a service to the community.  In the past, we have held raffles to raise funds for a local charity, distributed child ID kits to parents, and held basketball shooting contests.  At this year’s Pleasantville Day, the Club sold tee shirts to raise money for FROM THE GROUND UP, a documentary about four 9/11 widows doing philanthropic work (Executive Producer is Andrea Garbarini).

Hosting of a barbeque dinner at the Pleasantville Senior Center. The Pleasantville Fire Department holds its annual parade in June.  As part of the celebration, the Rotary Club holds a barbecue for the members of the Pleasantville Senior Citizen’s Club.  Hotdogs and hamburgers are cooked by club members for the seniors to enjoy before gathering to watch the parade.