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the voice of the abingtons abingtonsuburban.com | Dec. 1, 2016
Ebenezer Scrooge will be the guest of honor at a church dinner |PAGE 2
Girl Scouts, in costume, visited Clark Summit Senior Living |PAGE 3
PTA members have planned a festive Christmas bazaar |PAGE 4
BElls ArE rinGinG Rotary volunteers collect for the Salvation Army By Linda Scott
SPEciaL to tHE aBinGton SUBURBan The Rotary Club of the Abingtons performs acts of kindness throughout the year. But during the holiday season, they join the army — the Salvation Army, that is. Rotary members participate in the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Drive, helping those that are less fortunate. Bell ringers can be found at the Wine and Spirits Store at 222 Northern Boulevard in Clarks Summit starting this weekend. Volunteers will work in two-hour shifts starting at 11 a.m. and continuing until 7 p.m. They will solicit donations Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout December and also during the week of Dec. 18 to 24. The Rotary Club of the Abingtons got its start in 1927. The club provides services locally in the community, the district and internationally. Members participate in the “end polio now” campaign, distribute dictionaries to school children in the Abington Heights School District, take part in the Taste of the Town event and
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Rotary president Bruce Valentine, rotarian Howard Hyde, who has rung the bell for almost 50 years, rotarian co-chair Diane Calabro, Salvation Army Capt. Lawrence Shurtleff and rotarian co-chair Gail Cicerini.
the annual fireworks display on July 4th, sponsor Boy Scout Troop No. 160, and more. “The Rotary has been helping with the bell ringing for quite some time. It brings about community awareness,” said Salvation Army Captain Lawrence Shurtleff. “The donations are used year round for social services including rent and utilities. It makes people feel good by giving and people need the help.” Shurtleff has been involved with the Salvation Army his whole life. He and his wife Jen have been with the Scranton Salvation Army for three years. They relocated to the area from Dover Delaware. “In the beginning, when we started the bell ringing, we would be in three or four places. We used to be in the middle of the road but the police stopped us, saying it was too risky,” explained Howard
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Hyde, a Rotary member, past president and a former bell ringer. “It is fun to meet people who are very kind and you even meet your friends. I will be 98 by Christmas and can’t ring the bell anymore.” “We used to be in the road where Sliver Spoon is now,” said Gail Cicerini Rotary member, past president and chair of the bell ringers. “We have been at the Wine and Spirit Store for the last couple of years. It can be very cold but people are nice to us. The Rotary club is always looking to add places to ring the bell.” Diane Calabro, a Rotary member, past president and bell ringer, is also a cochair of the bell ringers. “I have been collecting money for the Salvation Army for 14 years. I enjoy meeting and greeting the people,” said Rotary member Dominic Scott. “They place something in the kettle to purchase
something for someone less fortunate then they are.” In the past, the Rotary members, family and friends would ring the bell on street corners, other stores and the Clarks Summit Post Office. “We are able to give the Salvation Army between $8,000 and $10,000 every year,” Scott said. “They indicate that as a club we collect more money for them than any other groups.” “We have individuals and groups help out as bell ringers. There are 29 bell stands in Lackawanna County,” said Steve Oaten, a Salvation Army employee and the bell ringer coordinator. “About half of our volunteers have come to the Salvation Army at one time or another for help. This could be for material things or spiritual because we are a church. It is their way of giving back by being bell ringers.”