Letter to the Editor: Thanks for Holiday Clothing Drive

The Neponset Valley Sunrise Rotary Club thanks Dedham donors and businesses for help in collecting money and clothing.

I would like to send out a big “Thank You” to all the people that helped the Neponset Valley Sunrise Rotary Club in our reprised Annual Holiday Clothing Drive. This first year after a short break we were able to collect over $1,000 so that we could purchase the small items that can be easily forgotten: socks, underwear, hats, mittens and personal care items. We also collected a huge amount of clothing, where, through the generosity of Lloyd and Roberta Gainsboro and the Dedham Health and Athletic Complex staff, we were able to set up a collection point in their lobby. The very generous patrons of Dedham Health responded with so many articles of clothing that we filled the truck! Along with Dedham Health, I want to acknowledge and thank the…

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Jan. 25

A Sunrise Rotary Club meeting and a Keep Well Clinic.

  "Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 1. Today’s weather forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a high of 43 degrees. The overnight low will be around 26. 2. The Neponset Valley Sunrise Rotary Club meets this morning at 7:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn in Dedham. 3. The Council On Aging will host its Keep Well Clinic at 10 a.m. this morning. Services include health assessments, blood pressure screenings, and a medication review, among others. No appointment is required. 4. Members of the School Building Rehabilitation Committee are conducting further research in regard to what should be done about the dirt pile near the Avery School site. The committee …

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Ducks Parade Along Charles River in Dedham

Ninth annual Duck Race on the Charles brings community together at Riverdale Park.

Pink, yellow and blue birds filled the Charles River on Saturday, proving the Bruins' victory parade was far from the only duck-filled show in the Bay State. The Neponset Valley Sunrise Rotary Club hosted its ninth annual duck race along the Charles at Riverdale Park. Hundreds of attendees "adopted" plastic ducks for a chance to win for cash prizes.   Event donations benefit NVSRC charities and programs. NVSRC volunteer Sharon Gearty said the group averages roughly 600 duck sales per year. This year's event gave attendees plenty to reasons to "quack" as it featured free food, pony rides and face painting.  "Just watching kids have a blast is great," Gearty said. "Every little one thinks his or her pink or yellow or blue duck is the [race] …

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Neponset Valley Sunrise, Dedham Rotary Help Fund Clean Drinking Water in Nigeria

Funds raised by several local Rotary groups will help villagers in Nigeria stave off water-borne illness.

Poverty-stricken areas of Nigeria will receive fresh, clean, solar-powered water thanks to several local Rotary clubs, including Dedham and Neponset Valley Sunrise. Groups in Westwood, Needham and Brookline joined in to raise enough money to construct a water well that club members said should be completed early next year. The groups used their own funds, plus a $35,000 grant from the Rotary Foundation to fund the project. "It takes the financial support of many Rotarians in local clubs here in New England, and Rotary International. They are the ones that handle the lion's share [of the cost]," said Mike Thornton, chairman of water projects for the Neponset Valley Sunrise Rotary club. A part of Rotary's mission is to provide clean drinking…

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