Through The Years.....
90's The nineties has seen a rebirth of the City of Bridgeport - and Rotary is part of that - it's a Club of its time....responsive and proactive....
Efforts to assist the elderly, persons with disabilities, the homeless and others in need continue with teams of Rotarians painting and repairing as part of the Christmas in April Programs; and the Past Club President Mike Leone leading a major effort to convert the former Sterling Home for use as a shelter for the homeless. The Club sponsors two community literacy conferences led by Rotarian Bill west; a high school mentoring program is launched in cooperation with the University of Bridgeport Talent Search Program; a program awarding scholarships to outstanding seniors in each of the City's high schools established; with Rotarian Hugh McCann's leadership the Club adopts Lonfellow School; and the student of the month program flourishes under the direction of Rotarian DeNorris Crosby.
1992 saw the first Gold Raffle - the idea of Rotarians Phyllis Gustafson, John Annick, Sarah and Hugh McCann- it has provided lots of fun and much needed income to support many of the Club's various projects.
In 1992-1993 a team effort involving Bridgeport Rotary, Bridgeport Hospital and AmeriCares brought used but usable hospital furniture to needy hospitals overseas. The project was initiated and coordinated by Rotary. The hospital provided hundreds of beds, over-bed tables, bedside stands and chairs. AmeriCares located the needy hospitals and arranged for transportation. Rotary found available factory space and took on the task of disassembling the items into interchangeable and stackable components...and loading same into sea containers. Over the period of a year, 57 Club volunteers devoted more than 1,000 hours to this work. In total, furniture from 245 rooms (2700 components) was shipped to hospitals in Peru and China. Rotarians Rhodes Blish and Leete Doty led this effort.
Past Club President Bob Vossler is elected District Governor in 1997; Abe Gordon is named a Rotary International Director in 1998 and the Club hosts the Urban Concerns Seminar under the leadership and direction of past Club President Jonh Annick.
00's