Events

On Saturday, December 14, Westfield Rotarians will join with members of the Optimist Club of Westfield to distribute baskets of food for the holidays to needy families in our area. The food baskets are provided at cost by Kings Supermarket in Garwood, and each includes all of the ingredients for a hearty holiday feast.  The cost of $55.00 per basket is covered by donations from individual Optimists and Rotarians,  by contributions from members of the public, and by a grant from the Westfield Rotary Club Foundation. 

Some of us will gather at 8 am at the side parking lot of Kings Supermarket in Garwood to pick up the baskets, all of us will meet at the home of Ray and Maria Kostyack to meet for breakfast and redistribuite the baskets to members' cars. At 9:30, the members will begin delivering the baskets to the designated families.

This event is special in so many ways;  many Rotarians and Optimists are accompanied by their significant others, and the fellowship at breakfast is heartwarming.  As we distribute the baskets, we bring a bit of joy and ease for the holiday season to those who are less fortunate.

We thank Kings Supermarket for their many years of participation, and very special thanks to Ray and Maria Kostyack for opening their home to us for this event!

You can sponsor one or more baskets whether or not you choose to attend!  The cost for each basket is $55. If you are participating in the distribution, you may bring  a check for $55 per basket, made out Optimist Club, to the event. If you are not participating, please mail your check to Optimist Club of Westfield, P.O. Box 2213, Westfield NJ 07090 so that it arrives by December 12.

Our own Chung Kun Shih is a man of many talents. After a long and successful career as an engineer, Chung has become a world-renkowned scholar in the study of ancient insects and their fossil record. He will discuss some of his studies realting to insects which fed on dinosaur feathers.  Please join with us to learn more about this fascinating topic at our regular meeting on Tuesday, January 7, at 16 Prospect.
 

In 2020, the town of Westfield will celebrate its 300th anniversary of its settlement as the West Fields of Elizabeth. Our town is planning a series of events known as Westifeld 300 to celebrate three centuries of our history. Darielle Walsh will address our meeting on Tuesday, January 14 about the planned events. Darielle is President of the Greater Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and serves as a member of the Steering Committee established by the Town of Westfield. Darielle has a long and distinguished history of work on behalf of our community, and was a member of our club for 20 years.Please join with us to learn more about this important milestone in our town's history and about opportunities for service to our town during the coming year.

We will welcome Father Anthony Randazzo, Pastor of the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity here in Westfield, and Dr. Peggy Rothbaum, a practicing psychologist in our town. They will discuss The Healing Project, which is directed to teaching the art of discussing issues civilly--an art which seems to be forgotten by many. For Rotarians dedicated to the principles of civility incorporated in our Four Way Test, we look forward to learning more about this project.

Guests are welcome to attend by invitation. If you would like to attend, just ask any Westfield Rotarian, or click the "contact" link above to contact our club president.

We will welcome Janet Sarkos, Executive Director of Caring Contact.  Caring Contact volunteer listeners provide answer calls every day of the week from people in situations ranging from lonliness to acute crisis where suicide prevention is the focus. The volunteers provide active, empathetic listening focused on the emotional needs and state of the caller. The volunteers are trained in listening techniques, mental health first aid and applied suicide intervention techniques, and serve an internship taking calls in a monitored environment. Caring Contact is member of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network, and answers calls on the national Lifeline as well as on its own hotline. The organization also conducts training and outreach in the community, focused on mental health and suicide prevention. Caring Contact has won numerous accolades, including recognition as Statewide Volunteer Program of the Year by the Governor’s Office of Volunteerism.

Please join us to learn more about Caring Contact, its mission and opportunities for service.

Guests are welcome to attend by invitation. If you are not yet a Rotarian but would like to attend, please click on the contact link above to e-mail our club president, or just ask any Westfield Rotarian.

Westfield Rotarians will gather at Limani Seafood Grill for a social evening highlighted by a delicious dinner. Please come and bring your better half--your spouse or significant other, for a chance to meet, greet and deepen the friendships which are the basis for our service. Looking forward to seeing you there!
 

Rebecca Tucker of Moms Hepling Moms, a New Jersey Baby Supply and Diaper Bank will be our speaker. Please join us to learn about this organization, its role in our community, and opportunities for service.

REMINDER-- new meeting location--Cosimo's

We will join with Rotarians from throughout District 7475 in this year's End Hunger event to make prepackaged meals for use by organizations which feed the homeless here in New Jersey, including the New Jersey Salvation Army, the Market Street Mission and others.  For more details see https://njrotary.org/event/end-hunger-3-6/

Please Join us for a Club Assembly. We will review the results of Breakfast With The Bands.

We will be joining Joe Mindak’s Park Bench cocktail evening at Addams Tavern to mix and mingle with this local group. Come enjoy complimentry appetizers and a cash bar, and talk about Rotary with a receptive audience of local people.

All Westfield Rotarians are cordially invited to join us online via Zoom, starting at 12:15 PM for a general discussion led by our President Liz and so that we can see and speak with one another during this crisis. An e-mail has been sent to all members with the a link which will let you log in to the meeting. If you are a member an have not gotten the e-mail, please contact Mike Hart or Marc Millet. You can click the button "contact event chair" and it will let you e-mail Mike.
 

We will meet online again via Zoom. All Westfield Rotarians should be receiving an e-mail with the login details.

If you do not receive the e-mail by Monday, April 6, please contact Michael Hart or Marc Millet.

On Tuesday, March 25 at 12:15 PM, we will meet online via Zoom and present the Philhower Fellowship award to Westfield Educator Jeanine Gottko.  Please see the story on our home page for further details.

All Westfield Rotarians should have received an e-mail with the link needed to join the meeting.

Members of the public are also welcome to request the link; please click the link at "contact" to e-mail our club president Liz Ensslin  and request the meeting link.

Richard Uniacke, Executive Director of Bridges Outreach will address out online meeting Tuesday, May 19 at 12:15 pm. Bridges Outreach works to serve homeless people in our communities. Please join us to learn more about this opportunity for service!

All Westfield Rotarians should have received the link to the online meeting by e-mail.  If you have not received the link, please contact Marc Millet or Mike Hart.

Please join our online meeting at 12:15 PM on Tuesday, June 2. Lonnie Sherman of General Needs will discuss their programs to help provide for homeless veterans. Our club has been partnering with General Needs to support to veterans at Home for Hope at Lyons VA Hospital.

All Westfield Rotarians should have received an e-mail with the link for the meeting. If you have not received the link, please contact Mike Hart or Marc Millet.