The Rochester Rotary Club held a children’s Christmas party on Saturday, December 18th for 47 children and their families. Partnering with the Rotary were Rochester Area Neighborhood House, St. Andrew Catholic Church, Rochester Hills Public Library and Cranks Catering of Macomb Township.
“This is the second year we have held the party and it has become a much anticipated holiday event for the members of our Rotary Club,” said 
Rotary President Cyndee Andrews. “The invited children and their parents are so excited about the crafts, games, and lunch, but of course the highlight of the event is Santa!”
All the participating children were under the age of 10 and are “true believers”. Parents indicated what types of toys the children might be interested and Santa made sure to meet those requests. Toy requests included craft kits, Uno Attack, Barbie dolls, baby dolls, trucks, and action figures. Santa asked each child what they wanted for Christmas and explained the challenge of delivering puppies, a request from a few kids. He also asked the kids if they would prefer clothes or toys or candy or vegetables. Believe it or not, a few kids did say they prefer clothes and vegetables!
“I’ve worked on this type of event several times and it is so heartwarming,” said Christine Lind Hage, the event’s Chairperson. “My children are all grown up so to experience Christmas again through the eyes of young children is such a privilege.” Several Rotarians planned the event and there were students from local high schools that helped with the crafts and games.
Rotary International, of which the Rochester Rotary is a local chapter, is the world’s first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto “Service Above Self”. The Kids’ Christmas event exemplifies just one of the projects that Rochester Rotary does to enhance the life in the greater Rochester Area. For more information on Rochester Rotary visit the club’s website at www.RochesterRotaryClub.org for details. Rotarians meet every Tuesday for lunch at noon at River Crest. If you are interested in learning more, please contact a member through the Club’s website
About Tom and Ann Gendich