Chestnut Hill Rotary recently provided much-needed funding to the local public library for their after-school Build-It Club. The Chestnut Hill branch, which is part of the Philadelphia Free Library system, has been dealing with a myriad of issues, including a closure last November when the roof collapsed and the boiler stopped working.

Elliot Schwartz, long-time member of Chestnut Hill Rotary, has reported that numerous acquaintances of his have noticed that random lobsters were spotted in the Chestnut Hill area.

"This is really strange", noted Schwartz. "I would have thought we would start seeing lobsters starting to congregate closer to our Lobster Fest date of September 23. We have never had them start to gather so early."

Students from the NOMO Foundation recently attended an innovative program combining STEM learning, entrepreneurial skills with Aviation training. The program is in collaboration with Angel Flight East and The Business Center, which provides special educational programs for women, minority, and youth-owned businesses in the Northwest section of Philadelphia.

It turns out that people who live in Chestnut Hill are not the only ones who appreciate how charming it is. Producers at "Good Morning America” have chosen the neighborhood for their Fourth of July broadcast this year, as part of the show's "Main Street, USA" series, according to Courtney O’Neill, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business District.

President Andy Sears received special recognition at last week's breakfast meeting in appreciation for his leadership and dedication to the success of the Rotary Club of Chestnut Hill over the past year.

In recognition for his service, a donation from the club was made in his honor to Rotaplast International to provide corrective plastic surgery for children in low-income countries born with clef lip or clef palate.

Past District Governor Paul Quintavalla gave a wonderful, heartfelt presentation at the breakfast program last week on Rotaplast International, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities.

Chestnut Hill Rotary posthumously honors long-time member Ned Mitinger, by donating books to the new library at Jenks Academy for the Arts and Sciences. Ned, and his wife Rujean, who both passed away last year, were most passionate about literacy and early childhood education. Both Ned and Rujean frequently volunteered to mentor at Jenks by reading to students who were struggling.

With great sadness, we recently learned that one of our greatest Rotarians and active member of the Chestnut Hill community, Susan Bray, M.D., passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 6.

Susan joined Chestnut Hill Rotary on June 1, 2004, and was the first member to serve as club president twice, in 2011-12 and 2020-21. She regularly volunteered on almost every committee but was most active in international service. 

Everyone has heard terms like “artificial intelligence” and “machine learning” being thrown around. For decades, artificial intelligence, or AI, was the engine of high-level STEM research. Most consumers became aware of the technology’s power and potential through internet platforms like Google and Facebook, and retailer Amazon. Today, AI is essential across a vast array of industries, including health care, banking, retail, education, manufacturing, and even the arts.

Lena Kadar was born on a small Guyana Island, called Orealla, and orphaned at age five. By the time she was seven, she and her two little brothers were admitted to Hope Children’s Home in Guyana, South America. 

This past week, she graduated from Community College of Philadelphia and has been accepted into Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, majoring in accounting with a minor in finance. One of Chestnut Hill Rotary’s founding member, Rebecca Anwar, has been providing housing and other support for Lena over the past several years.