Service Above Self For More Than A Century
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 2:48PM 
Buffalo Rotary Club’s Mission to Serve
By John McClive
It is 8:30 on a recent Saturday morning and Paul Marzello, a local printer and business professor wearing his trademark smile, is rounding up his team of volunteers from Rotary Club of Buffalo to descend upon the Bailey-Kensington neighborhood of the city.
“There are a total of 13 homes to paint today and our homeowner is a warm-hearted, elderly gentleman who is very much looking forward to our help,” Marzello explains to his team. “He would like to be on a ladder to help us paint, but our job is to keep his good intentions on the ground and do all the work for him.”
Marzello recruited 38 volunteers to participate in this year’s BrushUp Buffalo, which revitalizes neighborhoods and builds community pride by painting the homes of low-income homeowners. He has been participating in BrushUp Buffalo for five years because he believes in Buffalo and helping it shine.
“We had an amazing team this year that did an amazing job. We did a lot more than paint,” Marzello beamed at day’s end. “We trimmed trees and hedges, pulled weeds, repaired gutters, reset paving stones and replaced a door. We also helped reenergize an entire neighborhood to take a more vested interest in the upkeep of their properties.”
Going above and beyond for the city they love is typical of Buffalo Rotarians. Guided by their motto “service above self,” they not only partner with local community organizations to improve the quality of life in Buffalo, but boast a very long list of their own accomplishments over a century-long history.
Since its founding in 1911, Rotary Club of Buffalo has raised and disbursed more than $2 million for local community projects ranging from the small to the very large. Projects have ranged from a new ambulance for the Red Cross, mentoring at Lorraine Elementary School and Amistad displays by the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society to rehabilitation for returning war veterans, Cornerstone Manor at the City Mission and a new Children’s Zoo at the Buffalo Zoo. The club’s Wines of the World (WOW) event, held every spring, is a major fundraiser.
In addition to one-time grants, Buffalo Rotary has created a legacy in the city with its highly visible signature projects, including Rotary Field at the University at Buffalo (1923), the Boy’s and Girl’s Club (1926), Sunshine Day at Cradle Beach (1945), Rotary Lane in Delaware Park (1965), Rotary Rink in Fountain Plaza (1991), Rotary Park and the Frank Lloyd Wright Fontana Boathouse (2008) and the 100-foot-tall Rotary Flagpole at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park to mark the club’s 100th anniversary (2011).
“Buffalo Rotary has accepted major funding challenges to help provide wide-use facilities like Rotary Rink and significant landmarks like the Boathouse to enhance our pride in the community and to be a magnet for increased tourism,” said Rotary Club of Buffalo President and executive recruiter Ron Caruso. “As we start our next 100 years of service above self, we are proud of our legacy and are confident Rotary will be there to assist as the needs of our community evolve.”
Rotary Club of Buffalo is part of Rotary International, a worldwide organization founded in 1905 in Chicago. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 34,000 clubs in 214 countries and geographical areas. Rotary Club of Buffalo was the 28th club in the world and regularly contributes to projects across the world, including the Shanghai China Relief Fund, the rebuilding of the village of Padhar, India, and Rotary International’s signature project, Polio Plus.
Since Polio Plus began in 1985, Buffalo Rotary and more than 1 million Rotary club members have volunteered $700 million worth of their time and personal resources to protect more than 2 billion children in 122 countries from polio. Rotary club members also provide valuable support in the field during National Immunization Days and work diligently to secure essential political and financial support from both polio-free and polio-affected governments.
Student exchanges are very important to Rotarians, as well. They participate in the District Youth Exchange Program for high school students, and for many years exchanged students with Buffalo’s sister city, Kanazawa, Japan. They also welcome business leaders from other countries and graduate students studying in Western New York.
Buffalo Rotary has created a legacy in the city with its highly visible signature projects As the holiday season approaches, Buffalo Rotary is planning its second annual Magical Memories on Main Street, a return to the “good old days” when downtown businesses thrived each holiday season. Buffalo Rotary helped fund the purchase and painstaking restoration of dozens of AM&A’s figurines from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s and will again return to the windows along the 600 block of Main Street for all to enjoy.
“Public response and media coverage for this feel-good attraction was overwhelming,” said project
co-chair and financial advisor Therese Vita. “Not only did the windows serve as a reminder of what once was, but they were an inspiration for what could be yet again.”
This year, Buffalo Rotary also is proud to be a supporter of the literacy project Read to Succeed, which helps prepare at-risk children from birth to age five for school and distributes 6,000 free books to East Side children annually.
The Rotary movement has been an inspiration since Paul Harris, a young lawyer, met with three friends in 1905 to discuss the idea that businessmen should get together periodically in the spirit of camaraderie to enjoy each other’s company, enlarge their circle of professional acquaintances and, most importantly, develop better ways to help the community based on high ethical standards that advance world understanding, goodwill and peace.
“Rotarians use the Four-Way Test to guide the things we think, say and do,” explained Caruso. “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Any business or community leader who would like an outlet to put these guidelines into practice should consider joining Buffalo Rotary.”
Currently there are more than 150 members in the Rotary Club of Buffalo, which belongs to District 7090, an international district with 73 clubs in Western New York and Southern Ontario. One way to get involved is to attend the club’s weekly luncheon speakers series every Thursday from 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. at Templeton Landing. To find out more about the Rotary Club of Buffalo, including upcoming speakers, visit their website at www.buffalorotary.org.
