OUR OBJECTIVE
“To provide the Family Assistance Centers with a resource reference guide,
comprised primarily of Rotarians who are willing to have their (or their company) services included in the guide, so they may be called upon when the need arises. Such services or products will be provided at the going rate. No free service is desired and any discounting is appreciated on a voluntary basis only”
In January 2009 the Pennsylvania National Guard 56th Stryker Brigade will be deploying to Iraq for one year. These men and women will be leaving behind careers, jobs, loved ones and family members. This deployment is likely to affect between ten and twenty thousand family members. Many of whom are our neighbors, employees, acquaintances or just fellow Pennsylvanians whose relatives volunteered to the Guard to protect us and are now called to duty.
Regardless of your political views about the war, we have an opportunity to be a source of support to these families. Not financial support, but a neighborly helping hand. Could you imagine how daunting it is to have to deal with things we take for granted? Who do you call when the faucet leaks? Who should you call if the furnace doesn’t come on? The engine light comes on in the family vehicle? There’s water in the basement, what do you do? One of the children needs help with math homework, who could help?
At the Newtown Rotary club we felt we could and should help. We are looking for like-minded Rotarians who are willing to leverage our Rotary “deployment” which has many clubs near concentrations of Guard families. We envision creating a database of service providers indexed by service, proximity and alphabetically.
What Is The Idea Behind This Project?
The data base will be comprised of Rotarians who are willing to help. We are not being asked to provide free or discounted services, only to be available as a ready resource when the need arises. We appreciate your help and input. We just started this project, so there are likely to be many questions to which we don’t have the answers yet. However, we know this much: by June, as the unit goes into pre-deployment training, this support network needs to be in place. These volunteers come from as far west as Erie and as far east as Philadelphia and we as Rotarians have an opportunity to help. We believe that this could become a worthy service project which will enhance cooperation among many clubs throughout Pennsylvania.
Mark Craig, President
Gadi Naaman, Committee
Newtown Rotary Club
stryker@newtownrotary.org
What Do We Hope You Will Do?
Below you’ll find a partial list of the types of services which are most
likely to be required. By listing your name, company name, and means of contact, you avail your services as a resource in your area. In case the needs arises, a family member will contact the Family Assistance Center who will then refer them to the nearest service provider. Since it is expected that all services provided will be at the prevailing rate (unless you or your business decide to offer additional consideration, strictly on a voluntary basis), participating in the program will become free advertising for your business or service and a potential source of referral of new business.
At the time of publication, we don’t have yet a mechanism to enroll volunteers, but we envision an on-line registration feature in the future. If you or your firm offer such programming services, we’d appreciate hearing from you via e-mail: stryker@newtownrotary.org
Others who want to participate may contact us via the same e-mail. We’ll get back to you when registration is available on-line.
Services & Skills Most Needed
01 Adult & Youth Services
01A Social & Emotional
01B Tutoring & remedial School Work
01C After School Programs for Children
02 Legal Referrals
02A Landlord/Tenant/Mortgage Issues
02B Re-Employment Issues
02C Litigation
03 Vehicle Maintenance & upkeep
03A Oil Change
03B Tire Replacement (Alignment)
03C Tune-Up
03D General Repairs
04 Home Maintenance & Repairs
04A General Services & Repair
04B Lawn & Garden care
04C Plumbing
04D Electrical
04E Heating & Air conditioning
05 Real Estate Services
05A Rentals
05B Buying/Selling
06 Cleanup & Restoration Services
06A Water/Fire Damage
07 Foreign Language (Fluent)
08 Veterinary Care
08A Veterinary Medicine
08B Pet Boarding
09 Transportation Service
10 Accounting / Tax Preperation / Budgeting
11 Other (specify)
