[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     HONORING RIVERDALE ROTARY CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, the Rotary Club of Riverdale is celebrating 
its tenth anniversary and in that relatively short time this fine group 
has reached around the world to help people.
  Rotary's motto is Service Above Self and its object is to encourage 
and foster the idea of service. The Riverdale Rotary Club is an 
exemplar of that motto and ideal.
  The Riverdale Rotary has made itself a part of the community by 
contributing to the community. We may say that its ideal is charity, 
the love of giving to others.
  Among its many activities are annual community awards, sponsoring the 
first annual Riverfest Music Festival, giving annual awards to area 
high schools, participating in the arthritis Foundation Mini-Grand 
Prix, contributions to the Rotary Foundation for Ambassadorial 
Scholarship for postgraduate study, contributions to the Riverdale 
Mental Health Association, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, the Bronx Municipal 
Hospital and Riverdale Neighborhood House.
  The generosity of club members reaches across the hemispheres to 
Kenya, where Riverdale Rotary sponsors two scholarships and contributes 
to a school library, and Ethiopia, where the club president Gilda 
Chirafisi travelled to join with Rotarians from Addis Ababa to 
inoculate hundreds of children against childhood disease.
  The Riverdale Rotary Club is an essential part of the community. But 
what marks it apart is its essential spirit of giving. I join the 
community in celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Rotary Club of 
Riverdale and look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries with 
them.

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