Maplewood Rotary Club to Honor Andrea Wren-Hardin at 16th Annual "Affair of the Heart" Gala

Are you ready for a wonderful Affair?  On Friday, April 19, 2013 the Maplewood Rotary Club will be hosting its 16th annual Affair of the Heart dinner/dance at the Maplewood Country Club. This event primarily supports the club’s involvement in Gift of Life NJ, a Rotarian- run charity that sponsors life-saving heart surgeries to children around the world. Join your neighbors and friends for a fantastic night and help support this amazing cause! 

The Maplewood Rotary is an organization that gives back to the community at every step. This event is one of club’s major fundraisers and brings together about 150+ guests; Rotarians, local supporters, family and friends to celebrate the joys of being a part of such an amazing community and to support our Gift of Life programs. Your Rotary hosts will be providing a wonderful cocktail hour, live and silent auctions, sumptuous buffet dinner and live entertainment. It is an evening to remember! 

As it does each year, the Rotary club will be presenting its Citizenship Award at the dinner. This award is given to an individual who truly lives by the Rotary motto of “Service above Self.” This year, the club is very proud to be presenting the award to Maplewood resident and “volunteer extraordinaire” Andrea Wren-Hardin.

Andrea gives of herself unselfishly, not only serving as a longtime member of the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education, but acting as the board’s liaison to Maplewood’s Open Space Advisory Group and to the town’s Youthnet project. She is also a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate for Essex County, helping people “have a voice” in the legal system.

Through her amazing service as a member of Morrow Methodist Church, Andrea is dedicated to relief work in Haiti, helps the homeless through the Interfaith Hospitality network shelter program, coordinates their Sunday school, serves as a confirmation mentor, and runs the Firstfriends program that provides visitation to those held in immigration detention. While doing all this, she also played an integral part last fall in the church’s efforts to bring relief to those suffering from the impact of Hurricane Sandy. Andrea is a true inspiration to all of us!

The Maplewood Rotary Club has been an active supporter of its district’s Gift of Life program for more than 20 years. More than 1,500 children around the world have been saved through the program’s sponsorship of surgeries at partner hospitals in the U.S.A., or on a medical mission abroad.

Last September, with your support, the Maplewood Club was able to be the sole sponsor of a mission to Kemerovo, Russia organized by the International Children’s Heart Foundation in Memphis, TN. This mission successfully operated on 12 children, including two “first-of-their-kind” heart surgeries in Russia. Without your help, many of these children would not be alive today. 

As part of our club’s involvement in other “Giving of Life” projects we also helped to drill a well for a new children’s school in Kopila Valley, Nepal. It is in this remote part of the world that New Jersey born Maggie Doyne is expanding her  “Blink Now” project to ensure young children in Nepal finally have access to a proper education. http://vimeo.com/16012184

There is always so much work to be done. More than 1% of the world’s children are born with heart defects. Many more kids like the ones Maggie is helping are waiting for their school to be built.  Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of this magnificent evening and help your local Rotarians work to save children around the world.

Reservations are required and tickets are limited. The cost to attend is $100.00 per person. To make a reservation or to obtain more information, please contact our event Co-Chairpersons, Rick Porter at rickporter10@gmail.com or Steve Gussen at sjgussen@gmail.com 

The Maplewood Rotary Club is recognized as a federal tax exempt organization under 501 (c) 4 of the I.R.S. Code.

Please Like the Maplewood Rotary Club on Facebook!

About Maplewood Rotary Club

The Rotary Club is an International Organization comprised of community leaders around the globe and is most famous for nearly eradicating Polio.  The Maplewood Rotary Club has been sharing their time, talents and resources to help make our community and the world a better place, since 1930. 

The Maplewood Rotary Club is always looking for new members. It is a service club, nonreligious, nonpolitical and open to every one. We meet every Tuesday at 6:30pm at Highland Place Bar and Grill (5 Highland Place, Maplewood, NJ 07040). Anyone looking to find out more information, please come join us in March for a meeting or go to: www.maplewoodrc.org or visit us on Facebook “Maplewood Rotary Club.” http://youtu.be/9_5GkaroMkY