Submitted Photo From left are Rotary Assistant Governor Linda Blodgett, Public Image Chair Sheila Starkey Hahn, New Rotarian and Secretary William Pekrul, Past President Diane Hannum, New Rotarian Linda Hall and Youth Exchange Chair Lisa Powell Fortna.

Rather than spending much of their time in meetings discussing how much community service matters, the Dunkirk-Fredonia Rotary Club is looking to take action to get that message across.

The Dunkirk-Fredonia Rotary Club is set to launch a year-round “Adopt a Group” project, in which four groups per year – one in each quarter of the year – will be assisted with a project that advances the group’s mission. Eligible groups include non-profit organizations, coalitions, youth clubs, and more.

“We decided to change the format of our meetings, from once a week to twice a month now, to allow for more time to actually go out and offer assistance to our community by working with other groups that could use some extra help,” said Dunkirk-Fredonia Rotary Club President Melanie Witkowski. “Volunteers are hard to find right now. We thought this was a great way to help groups out by providing some extra hands.”

After consideration and a vote on which projects to adopt for the coming year, the selected groups will be notified on Oct. 1. Once selected, the process will get underway quickly, as the Rotary Club looks to begin work with their first of the four selected groups within the month of October.

“This can apply to youth and sports programs, non-profits, really anyone looking to help community that needs some extra hands. The requirements we have are really wide open,” said Witkowski.

For information, contact Dunkirk-Fredonia Witkowski at (716) 664-3608, Ext. 101