The Rotary Club of Hamburg will once again host a shredding event with Lincoln Archives from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 4 in the parking lot of Northwest Bank, 5751 South Park Avenue, Hamburg.  

The public is invited to bring personal and business documents – bills, medical files, tax documents and more – to be shredded on site (customers can stay to watch or just drop off their documents).  

The cost was $10 per standard bankers 12x17x10 box or bag, with the cost of an oversized box to be determined at the site. 

The Rotary Club of Hamburg enjoyed meeting fellow Rotarians from area clubs in Western New York and Southern Ontario at the 2023 Rotary District 7090 Conference at Niagara County Community College on April 15. The occasion marked the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that the district was able to meet in three years and passings were noted for members who are no longer with us. Attendees learned of new developments, shared knowledge and skills and enjoyed fellowship during the event. Pictured are from left: Brandi Reed, a former Hamburg Club member and current member of the Lockport Club; President Diana Straube, Lisa Avery, Wendy Hvisdak, Michele Hanley, Eileen Hotho and President-elect Tim Straube. Lisa Avery also presented information on the Paul Harris Foundation.

 

 The Rotary Club of Hamburg hosted speakers from Harmonia Collaborative Care at their April 4 meeting at Uncle Joe’s Diner on Southwestern Boulevard in Hamburg. The non-profit provides counseling, senior care, home health care and care companion services from locations in Hamburg and Derby. Pictured from left are: Taylor Butterfield, CarePanion Manager, Rotary President Diana Straube and Jennifer Gunia, Director of Senior Services. The Rotary Club was founded in Hamburg in 1942 and is part of District 7090 covering Southern Ontario and Western New York. The motto of Rotary International is Service Above Self.  

The Rotary Club of Hamburg has been addressing food insecurity in Western New York since 2018 under the direction of Rotarian Earl Knauss and in 2022, it distributed 102,000 pounds of produce to food pantries in Buffalo and Erie County, serving about 3,000 families.  

The produce distribution program has been in operation since 2007 when it was founded by Knauss with the assistance of a few volunteers who took donated food to several food pantries. Five years ago, the Rotary Club agreed to join Knauss, making the production one of its official projects and christened it Farms to Families with expenses to be borne by the Rotary Club of Hamburg. The food distribution runs from May through December delivering the vegetables that are in season or available Monday through Saturday each week.  

Spring through fall, pairs of Rotarians and volunteers travel to participating local farms and pick up fruit and vegetables, most of it with slight visual imperfections. The donations are then distributed to the dining rooms and pantries for meals and distribution to those facing economic challenges.