After the tragic murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994, the Rotary Club of Robbinsville Hamilton Sunrise got to work turning what was a terrible location into a memorial park called Megan’s Place.
The project consisted of knocking down the house on Barbara Lee Drive in Mercerville that was the site of the murder and putting a park in its place. At that point, the club had only been around for two years. It was a major undertaking for an organization in its infancy, but the Rotary Club somehow raised $120,000 in donations and convinced local businesses to give both funding and services.
“We took a horrific site and made it a beautiful park in her memory,” said club historian Greg Blair, former rotary president and a member since the club’s inception in 1992.
Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, and with many other projects under its belt, the Rotary Club is going to revisit its first major accomplishment. Megan’s Place will be receiving a much-needed update this year under the direction of president Donna Williams, who chose this project as the main goal for her July 2012 to July 2013 term.
Williams, who has a background in teaching martial arts to kids, wants to complete this project as a way of renewing awareness for child safety. She plans to place lighting in the park, remove weeds and plant new vibrant flowers in areas that have been in need of attention over the years.
Fundraising for the park’s renewal is already underway. There will be a “Magic for Megan’s Place” fundraiser held on Jan. 19, 2013 at the Robbinsville High School. It will feature Cassidy, a comedian and magician who performs with balloon animals. All the proceeds will go to maintaining the park and to educating children on safety.
Over the past two decades, the club has become involved with many charitable causes including Meals on Wheels, the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton, disaster relief funds, Habitat for Humanity, Head Start and Womanspace. They have benefited communities locally and around the world.
After the Megan’s Place project was completed, the club decided to expand their reach as they raised funds to help children in need in Brazil. This international project, started in 1998, was called Adopt a Child/Save a Life.
Local residents and organizations donated $1,000 or more to the project. The funds went to support City of Youth, a school located in Campinas, Brazil run by an organization called Hope Unlimited.
The organization helps take kids off the streets of Brazil and gives them a better chance at a good life by teaching them a trade.
“When they go back out in society they were able to survive and succeed,” Blair said.
Blair said the club also partnered with a Rotary Club in Brazil and received a grant from Rotary International to develop Hope Mountain, an organization similar to the City of Youth. The grant was several hundred thousand dollars.
“To this day this is the largest grant ever given by Rotary International,” Blair said.
In 2004, club members set their sights locally again as they founded the Miracle League of Mercer County, the first of its kind in the Northeast. With help from the Hamilton YMCA on Sawmill Road, they built a special needs baseball field made of rubber that features a painted baseball diamond and flat surfaces so disabled players can move around freely.
Each year there have been over 100 children who play on the field.
Robbinsville Hamilton Sunrise has also been a key player in Early Act, a club similar to Interact for high school students. These clubs encourage children in elementary and middle school to volunteer their time and get involved with their communities. The Early Act concept has since spread world-wide.
The club holds four yearly fundraisers to help raise money for all that they do. Its 43 active members, as well as local community members, can take part in charity golf outings, art auctions and other events like the recent Woof Walk. The Woof Walk, held on Oct. 7, was a 1.5 mile walk around the Robbinsville Town Center for owners and their dogs to raise money for the K9 Department of Robbinsville, Police People for Animals and Megan’s Place.
These are fun ways the rotary raises money for the multitudes of charities they have become involved with.
“We’ve done more than some clubs have done ever,” Blair said. “Everyone who is a member is pretty proud of all we’ve accomplished over the years.”
The club meets Friday mornings at 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at the Golden Dawn Diner on Whitehorse-Mercerville Road in Hamilton. The meetings feature socializing and keynote speakers. Anyone is welcome to attend. For more information go to rhrotary.org.
