Bay Ridge

Rotary Club of Verrazano donates $20K check to guild for wheelchair-accessible van

February 23, 2018 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Members of the Rotary Club of Verrazano present $20,000 check to the Guild for Exceptional Children. Eagle photos by Arthur De Gaeta
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Members of the Rotary Club of Verrazano routinely give back to the community, and their generosity recently made quite an impact at the Guild for Exceptional Children. Members of the club donated a $20,000 check to the Guild that will be put toward the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible van.  

Rotary Club President Joseph Speziale said that his organization had discussed purchasing the van for quite some time and that he’s happy that they were finally able to do it.

“We wish the Guild all the best and we will continue to help them as best we can.”

The Rotary Club of Verrazano is one of more than 30,000 rotary clubs in 160 countries worldwide. Members work to help feed the hungry, procure open heart surgeries for children overseas and support a variety of local projects.

Rotary Club member Ralph Succar explained the Rotary Club’s motto is “Service Above Self.”

“That means it’s all about the service that we provide for others,” Succar said. “It’s not about us.”

The presentation of the check took place on Monday at the Guild headquarters at 260 68th St. in Bay Ridge with several members of the Rotary Club of Verrazano in attendance including Speziale, Succar, Vincent Nativo and Carl Campagna. Accepting the donation was Paul Cassone, executive director and CEO of the Guild.

“The van was donated in the memory of Cono De Paola who was very much involved with the Guild,” Campagna told the Bay Ridge Eagle.  

De Paola was a volunteer with the Rotary “Club’s Gift of Life” program, which helps kids born with heart defects get the life-saving surgeries they need to live healthy, productive lives.

“The 41-year-old Rotary Club of Verrazano has always donated its time and money to worthy causes in our community,” Campagna added.

The Rotary Club distributes free turkeys at Thanksgiving to the needy and to the families of service members at Fort Hamilton Army base. Members also sponsor toy drives at Christmas for the children of the soldiers at Fort Hamilton and support local community groups including the Guild and HeartShare Human Services of New York. Recently the Rotary Club donated $10,000 in aid to the Puerto Rican relief efforts following Hurricane Maria.

“We’re here today with the Verrazano Rotary Club,” Cassone said. “We’ve been blessed with their friendship and support for many years. They are an extraordinarily generous group of people who stepped up to the plate and helped us buy a wheelchair-accessible van to use for our people with disabilities. Many of our folks are becoming disability-challenged and living to a ripe old age. But with that ripe old age comes challenges. So we are absolutely thrilled and thankful to the Rotarians.”

The Guild, a nonprofit agency, provides housing, education and job training for developmentally disabled people in Brooklyn.

Established in 1958, the Guild currently has 17 group homes in the neighborhood and offers quality residential services to the 123 adults living in them.

Guild resident Melvin Matos was thrilled with the new van. He said that it will allow him to go places and that it means a lot to him and the other kids in the Guild. Melvin showed his gratitude by performing a rendition of Elvis Presley’s “The Wonder of You,” with new lyrics to reflect his gratitude for the Guild and the Rotary Club.

Upcoming Rotary Club events include their annual fashion show which will be held on March 2 at 7 p.m. at Gargiulo’s restaurant in Coney Island.

On May 4th they will hold their 40th annual Dinner Dance in Above Rooftop in Staten Island.

The 11th annual Joseph Campagna Memorial Golf Outing will take place in September at The Dyker Beach Golf Club.

Proceeds from these fundraising events will be earmarked for various local charitable organizations in the community, according to officials.

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