HAMPTON — Adlai Stevenson once said, "It is not the years in our life, but the life in our years that count!"
Every year, around Thanksgiving and Christmas, the members of the Hampton Rotary Club are treated to a talk by one of our past presidents which addresses of the concept of "Thanks-living." In his talk, he reminds us how the struggles and convictions of people who have come before us, through a spirit of gratitude and kindness, have helped to advance the sometimes unseen foundation of our humanity called charity. It causes us to reflect on our own lives, and it inspires our club's membership to enthusiastically continue our work to help build goodwill and peace throughout the world.
As with all generous endeavors, benevolence cannot be done alone. Generally, a kind act, though generated in a single place, can have a ripple affect throughout a community, even though its origins may never be known to those who receive it.
The Hampton Rotary Club's work can be partly summed up by this concept. Though we have an extraordinary ability to raise charitable funds, (and have fun doing it!), we cannot always know the vast corners of our world where those funds will help to affect those who need them.
We, therefore, rely on a network of other charities, civic leaders, and idea-minded individuals who come to speak to us at our weekly meetings, and who help us to identify the areas in our world where those funds can be distributed.
The purpose of this article is to recognize some of those people or organizations that have assisted us in our search for these areas of need, and who have helped us in reaching our objective of "Thanks-living," by advancing that ripple affect of kindness throughout the first half of our 2009-10 fiscal year.
We wish to show our gratitude for the work that they do in our community.
* The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. One of its current goals is to eliminate polio from the face of the earth, with the assistance of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
* The Dana Farber Cancer Institute provides expert, compassionate care to children and adults with cancer.
* The Housing Partnership provides quality, affordable homes for more than 500 adults, children, senior citizens, and disabled persons on the greater Seacoast each year.
* Water.org is a U.S. based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to people in developing nations.
* God's Baby Closet provides diapers, wipes, and gently used clothes to those mothers in need in our community who are in need of them.
* Friends Forever is an organization that promotes peace through international, cross-community youth work in areas like Northern Ireland and Israel.
* SeaCare provides access to medical care for people on the Seacoast who cannot afford health insurance.
* Rotary District 7780 Philippines Relief of the typhoon disaster provided potable water, food, medicine, and clothes to people affected by this disaster in September, 2009.
* The Village Pre-school and Seabrook Head Start offer affordable before- and after-school care programs for Hampton kindergartners and/or school readiness programs for children in our area.
* One-revolution.com distributes wheel chairs and hand cycles to disabled persons and paraplegics in Africa.
* Hampton Cub Scout Pack 377 builds the character of young folks in our community. This donation supported their famous Pinewood Derby event.
* The Guatemala Literacy Project is a Rotary Partnership that provides badly-needed textbooks, library materials, and computer labs to underprivileged children in Guatemala.
* Ageless Dreamer makes long-held, heart-felt, dreams come true for our oldest generation, and enhances their quality of life.
* Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Greater Seacoast provides adult mentors and role models for "at-risk" youth in our area, between the ages of 6 and 17.
* The Rockingham Community Action Fuel Assistance program provides fuel and warmth to those in our community who are without it.
* The St. Vincent De Paul Society's Food Pantry distributes tangible items including food and health-care products to those in our community who need them.
* New Generations provides support to homeless women in crisis during pregnancy, and to mothers and children, in order to foster a new generation of healthy, self-sufficient, fully functioning, and happy families.
* The Interfaith Hospitality Network makes a difference in the lives of families experiencing transitional homelessness in the Seacoast.
* The Seacoast Workforce Housing Coalition is a business-community led effort which recognizes the link between housing availability and regional economic vitality.
* The Gundalow Company promotes awareness, stewardship, and education along the waterways of the Piscataqua River region and its estuaries.
* The Boys and Girls Basketball Boosters at Winnacunnet High School. It is well-documented that participation in high school athletics keeps our youth physically fit and out of trouble.
* Boy Scout Troops 380 and 177 in Hampton to support Eagle Scout projects and participation in the 100-year anniversary of scouting. What more can be said about the volunteers and participants in this program that help to build the character of our young people by training them in the responsibilities of participating in citizenship.
* Safer is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless and feral cats in the seacoast area by removing them from infested areas and finding them homes.
* The Center for Wildlife treats over 1600 injured animals each year in the greater Seacoast area and serves as one of largest animal rehabilitators and environmental educators in New England.
* The Veterans Count Club provides financial assistance to veterans and their families who are in need of emergency services.
If you are currently serving your community in some way, we thank you for your work and encourage you to continue. If you are not, and this article on the goodwill that we provide in Hampton, North Hampton, Hampton Falls, and Seabrook has peaked your interest, we welcome you to join us any Tuesday, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., at the Ashworth Hotel on Hampton Beach. Happy New Year!
Rick Neville is a past president of the Hampton Rotary Club.
