Please visit our "Centennial Twin Club" - The Rotary Club of Shanghai (Provisional) on the World Wide Web
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Please visit our "Centennial Twin Club" - The Rotary Club of Shanghai (Provisional) on the World Wide Web
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From the imagination of our club's Past President and Past District Governor Ken Ruskin came the idea of "PenPals," a project to send surplus writing instruments to schools where kids can't afford to buy any. Ken contacted another Rotary Past District Governor he had met, Jose Ma. Avila Flores of Ciudad (City of) Juarez in the state of Chihuhahua, Mexico about finding some children that could use these pens to help further their education. Sr. Avila found just such children and arranged for a small group of Rotarians from the Ciudad Juarez Oriente Rotary Club to deliver the pens to the children of the Nicolas Bravo School on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez. Not long ago the classrooms of this school were made of discarded wooden pallets and cardboard. Fortunately these have slowly been replaced with a more permanent structure that still lacks many amenities as can be seen in some of the photos. The Ciudad Juarez Oriente Rotary Club is currently working to improve the restroom facilities for these same students. The Juarez Rotarians made up 200 packets containing 2 pens each. Enclosed in each packet was a note indicating the pens were brought to them as a gift from the Jersey City Rotary Club (see slip below). The smiling faces of these students are testimony to the fact they were made to feel special and were very happy with the gift. (Click on pictures for larger image.)
Perhaps you have a drawer full of unused pens, or even as one of our Rotarians did, a number of cases of pens his company couldn't give away as advertising premiums as a result of an imprinting error? Or perhaps that old case of pens from before your area code was changed or you moved your office is still sitting taking up space in your supply closet. Why not look around and see if you could send us some pens or pencils so that we can put them in the hands of some kids who need them. For additional information about "PenPals" contact Ken Ruskin at 274professional@worldnet.att.net.
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You know that drawer that you have at home or in the office with all the pens
and pencils you've brought back from every hotel and conference that you've ever
been to? The ones that you'll never use up in an entire lifetime?
Well we've come up with a use for them that will not only give you more drawer
space, but will put those writing instruments into the hands of people who could
really use them - kids in countries poorer than our own.
Copyright
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 Rotary Club of Jersey City