Stories

Rotarians, family, and friends packed nearly 800 food bags for local families in need.  The monthly service project took place at Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.
A few hours of service created meaningful impact across the community.

It’s Farewell, Not Goodbye: A Night We’ll Carry With Us

by Anna D. Banks, Public Image Committee Chair, Rotary District 7475

Rotary District 7475 closed an unforgettable chapter with a heartfelt farewell dinner honoring our Japanese Short-Term Youth Exchange students from District 2670.

The students shared the beauty of Japanese culture through dance, singing, poetry, keyboard, flute, and violin performances—offering one final gift to the host families and Rotarians who had shared their journey.

After weeks of friendship, discovery, and experiences across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, the evening was a powerful reminder that Rotary Youth Exchange is about much more than travel. It is about building relationships across cultures, opening hearts, and creating memories that last long after the journey ends.

It was farewell—but certainly not goodbye.

Twenty Japanese exchange students are spending their final week with Rotary District 7475, creating memories across West Orange before heading to Phillipsburg. What began as a cultural exchange has grown into something deeper—friendships, connection, and a Rotary family that now stretches across the world.

Rotary District 7475 welcomed 20 students from Japan’s District 2670 for a day of global learning at the United Nations and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Now in its 48th year, this Youth Exchange partnership continues to build friendships, cultural understanding, and the kind of connections that help young people see the world—and one another—differently.

Rotary District 7475 joined regional leaders at the 39th Annual Strike-Out Hunger & Polio Dinner in Cherry Hill. District Governor-Elect Kalpana Patel, members of the Robbinsville-Hamilton Rotary Club, and Public Image Chair Anna D. Banks represented the district. Keynote speaker Mike McGovern highlighted Rotary’s global polio eradication work, while Ed Wade spoke about community service. The evening featured fundraising, recognition, fellowship, music, and a renewed commitment to service and lasting impact.

Why Join Rotary? Five Reasons Rotary Still Changes Lives shows non-members how Rotary creates real impact through service, leadership, friendship, global connection, and purpose.

November is Rotary Foundation Month! 

The Rotary Foundation, our 4-Star Charity Navigator charity, has transformed your gifts into life-changing projects for more than 100 years.

Thank you for your support! 

Together, our district raised over $309,000 in 2024-25. These funds are more than just donations — they enable the Foundation to address the world’s toughest challenges. This means helping people access clean water, education, health care, and disaster relief, while working steadfastly to eradicate polio. Currently, we are supporting three Global Peace Scholars from our district to complete their graduate programs aboard.

In addition, your generosity allows the Foundation to fund local service projects to help make lives better for our neighbors. Our clubs are now working on 45 projects ranging from fighting hunger to improving health and the environment, as well as supporting youth, education, veterans and the economically challenged. As an example, four of these projects are providing a total of 220,000 meals to fight food insecurity in our nine counties.

Let’s continue to invest in our future and do more good in the world. 

Take action now! Please click   HERE   to donate today.

Robbinsville Hamilton Rotary partners with Health Camp of New Jersey

Health Camp of New Jersey (HCNJ), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, hosted its annual Health Fair on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at the Robert Wood Johnson Fitness & Wellness Center in Hamilton, NJ. The event provided comprehensive medical, dental, mental health, and vision screenings, along with disease prevention education and counseling for hundreds of uninsured and underinsured participants. The event was held in collaboration with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – Hamilton and supported by numerous healthcare providers and volunteer organizations.

Since 1999, HCNJ has organized vital health fairs in various parts of New Jersey to benefit under-served members of the community.

Over the past 25+ years, HCNJ has screened more than 13,500 individuals and identified over 4,200 cases of chronic disease abnormalities. The organization marked its 25th Anniversary Gala in November 2023, announcing an ambitious goal to launch a Community Health Center by 2026 to provide ongoing care and follow-up services for underserved populations. This effort is led by HCNJ President, Plainsboro Rotarian Dr. Tushar Patel.

Dr. Tushar Patel is in the process of creating a Comprehensive Healthcare Rotary e-Club, working with medical professionals, vibrant community leaders, and anyone committed to the mission of early detection and prevention of disease.

Interested in building a healthy community? Please send an introduction email to Dr. Tushar Patel or DGND Kalpana Patel

Inside Madison’s grassroots fight against hunger

By ELISABETTA ARAYA Madison Ends Hunger May 29, 2025

Food insecurity is an issue that often goes unseen, especially in communities that seem affluent on the surface. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many in the Madison area found themselves struggling to put food on the table. That’s when Madison Ends Hunger (MEH) was born — a grassroots initiative designed not just to address immediate needs, but to create a sustainable, community-driven model of support.

In response to the food insecurity exacerbated by the pandemic, MEH was launched in July 2020 by the Madison High School Interact Club, where I served as president. We decided to direct all donations to the First Baptist Church of Madison’s food pantry on Cook Avenue, a long-standing pillar of support for many in our area.

Our model is simple: local families sign up as regular donors. Every other Saturday, volunteers collect non-perishables from their doorsteps and deliver them to the food pantry. In over 4.5 years, we’ve never missed a pickup —thanks to our dedicated volunteers and the generosity of Madison. Today, MEH is the primary food source for the First Baptist Church pantry, which serves thousands year-round.

As of this spring, we have surpassed 6,000 boxes of donated food, worth over $360,000. Reaching this goal has sparked in us deep gratitude and reflection, as we celebrate a major milestone in the program. This is more than a number  — it’s proof of what is possible when neighbors care for one another.

Personally, this milestone has given me a chance to reflect on what this journey has meant. My Christian faith has always grounded me in the belief that my time, resources, and blessings must be used to lift others up. Living in a community with such abundance makes it all the more important to shine a light on the challenges many still face — and to create a clear, accessible way for people to get involved in helping their neighbors.

In its early years, MEH received a National Karma for Cara grant, and I was honored with the 2021 Heroes Award from U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11. In 2022, we were one of eight global finalists, out of 10,700 candidates, for the international Interact Awards, and the only finalist from the U.S. While these honors are meaningful, the real reward is witnessing the lasting impact we’ve made in Madison.

Some of our early volunteers — and my former classmates from MHS — were kind enough to share their reflections:

• Meredith Weiner, College of William and Mary: “I was inspired by our direct impact and the community’s eagerness to participate. The food pickups quickly became my favorite way to spend a Saturday morning.”

• Rachel Wasserman, George Washington University: “Madison Ends Hunger showed me how powerful youth-led initiatives can be in creating something that lasts.”

• Owen Weller, Bowdoin College: “My eyes were opened to just how common food insecurity is, even though it is often invisible. It was a great experience to be able to positively impact people's lives.”

• Nina Kornchankul, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: “It has been so encouraging to make such an impact and see community members support one another in the fight against food insecurity.”

To everyone who has donated, volunteered, or spread the word — thank you. We wouldn’t be here without you or the First Baptist Church of Madison, whose tireless work underpins everything we do. I also want to personally thank the Rotary Club of Madison for its instrumental support since the beginning of the program.

Thank you for listening to the story of Madison Ends Hunger. We look forward to many more years of serving our community together.

Want to become a biweekly MEH donor? Email us at madisonendshunger@gmail.com.

To support the pantry directly, visit fbcofmadison.org/Food-Pantry.

The writer is co-founder of Madison Ends Hunger and a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies philosophy, politics and economics. She can be reached at arayaelisabetta@gmail.com.