Monongahela Rotary donates 100 books to libary
In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation in 2017, the Rotary Club of Monongahela recently donated 100 children’s books to Monongahela Area Library.
To raise the $1,700 needed to purchase the books, the club recently held a raffle for four Pittsburgh Penguins tickets, which were donated by 84 Lumber.
“Literacy has long been a focus of Rotary International, and so when our Club considered ways in which we could mark the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation in our local community, we wanted to incorporate literacy in our centennial project,” said Dr. Stephanie Wehrle-Davies, Monongahela Rotary Club president.
“And when we thought of literacy, we naturally thought of our local library. Our club is very grateful to everyone who sold or purchased our raffle tickets and to 84 Lumber for donating the Penguins tickets.”
The Rotary Club worked with Monongahela Area Library children’s director Becky Dudzik, who selected the children’s books to purchase.
“What a generous gift,” Dudzik said. “These 100 books will benefit so many children in the coming months. We thank the Rotary Club for choosing our library for its centennial project.”
After the books were purchased, members of the club attended a children’s story hour at the library and were able to interact with the children, who ranged from 3 to 6 years old, as well as some of their parents and grandparents.
“Children at that age group are so impressionable,” Wehrle-Davies said. “We hope that this small gesture from our club will impress upon these youngsters the importance of literacy, as well as the importance of doing something good for others and for your community.”
Chartered in 1921, the Rotary Club of Monongahela performs numerous community service projects, including distributing Rotary dictionaries to local third-graders and providing annual scholarships to graduating seniors of Ringgold High School. It recently packed food boxes at the Greater Washington County Food Bank and is preparing for its inaugural Monongahela Rotary Rubber Duckie Derby in June to raise money for its charitable projects.