Rotary Club distributes 7,000 masks to local organizations during Million Mask Challenge

On Saturday, Jan. 23, Warwick Valley Rotary Club, under the direction of its president, Edward Lynch, distributed 7,000 masks to representatives of veterans, police and fire department organizations, seniors, surrounding towns and villages, St. Anthony Community Hospital, Mt. Alverno, Schervier Pavilion, school districts, the Warwick Humane Society and others to help protect members of the community from Covid-19.

Lynch welcomed the large crowd of local community and Rotary District 7210 officials along with representatives of those organizations and agencies receiving the masks, students and others assembled outside St. Anthony Community Hospital.

“As I think about my 13 years as a Rotarian and having served as our Club Board for most of those years,” he said, “I can think of no better time than now to put service into practice.”

Eleven Rotary Districts, including that of the Warwick Valley Rotary Club, which is District 7210, recently received a distribution of face-masks for subsequent delivery to those in need. It was the second face-mask distribution project, entitled the Million Mask Challenge Tour (Take 2). The distribution, funded by the Rossi Foundation, included surgical masks for adults as well as a large supply of children designed surgical face-masks and an important supply of KN95s for first responders.

Rotary International is a service organization whose purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.

Lynch explained that locally the Warwick Valley Rotary Club supports the community in many ways such as youth leadership development and scholarships for students in local schools, supporting veterans or senior citizens or first responders or donating to local food pantries and those in need.

For additional information visit: www.warwickvalleyrotary.org.

- Roger Gavan