#159 Gainsville Haymarket

President Alan withe the 200/200 Certificate

A creative place for storage

Well, I made the attempt to visit this club several weeks ago and after a series of mishaps did not make it to the club on time for the meeting.  So I was very pleased to not only arrive, but to meet this very ambitious and young club.The club is involved in a multitude of projects and has a new website, which was most helpful although a bit on the bright side.  Signature projects include Polio Plus, the Children's Wellness Festival and Earth Day.


 The Children's Wellness Festival; is the collaboration of the Gainesville/Haymarket, Manassas, and Bull Run Rotary Clubs with a joint effort of the Manassas City Public School Health Advisory Board to sponsor an outreach health education program for needy children in the western Prince William County area to include Gainesville, Haymarket, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

The mission of the Children's Wellness Festival is to reach as many needy children in the identified area as possible, to educate these children and their parents in healthy lifestyles through proper diet and exercise; to make referrals to professional medical services where the need is identified; and provide information on resources within the community to accomplish and maintain a safe and healthy lifestyle. 

Another notable project is Earth Day, each April the Rotary Club partners with the Town of Haymarket and many other community organizations to celebrate Earth and environmental awareness. This is a large project in which over 90% of the membership participates and gains a lot of public awareness for the club. The event includes recycling services, town clean-up effort, environmentally conscience booths for the local merchants, a children's treasure hunt through participating Haymarket businesses, bands and food.  Attendees from Haymarket and the surrounding area enjoy celebrating Earth Day in Haymarket. Attendance has grown to nearly 2,000 in the three years they have been partners putting Rotary in the spotlight as a community leader.

One notable item; meeting at Uno's Pizza Grill, the manager devised a place to store the clubs banners and materials; in the space below the benches of the waiting area.  A very creative use of the space.  Thank you to President Alan for giving me the opportunity to share my story with the club.