Reading Rotary is pleased to announce that Betsy Schneider of ReadingCares will be honored as Hero for her service to our community. Ms. Schneider will be honored as part of Rotary District 7930’s A Celebration of our Heroes on November 11 at Danversport Yacht Club starting at 5:30 pm. Reading Rotary selected Ms. Schneider as a special person in our community who wakes up every morning and puts others before herself and dedicates her work to helping others in need, truly embodying the Rotary motto: “Service above Self.”
Reading Rotary will present Betsy with a Paul Harris Fellow Award, one of the highest honors Rotary can give to an individual. In addition to the recipient's recognition exemplifying the highest ideals of Rotary, Clubs or Rotarians recognize Paul Harris Fellows from donations made The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International which supports Rotary’s world-wide programs. Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary International.
Betsy Schneider heads the volunteer organization ReadingCares. A founding member, Betsy has developed Reading Cares from a concept to an active and depended on part of the Reading town community.
ReadingCares is a town-wide mission project that was started in 2008 because of a desire in the First Congregational Church of Reading, UCC to inspire and increase volunteer involvement. It serves as a central resource for community service projects, connecting organizations in need of volunteers to those who wish to engage in hands-on community service.
ReadingCares is part of the fabric of Reading. Sponsoring many onetime town-wide events, Reading Cares is most associated with three annual events:
ReadingCares organizes the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, which this year became 21 Days of Service. Co-sponsored with the Reading Clergy Association, MLK Jr. Day of Service has involved nearly 100 volunteers, multiple sites and a dozen projects;
The annual Bike Recycling and Giveaway, co-sponsored with Reading Cares and the Reading Climate Committee, signifies spring is arriving; and
Annually, Reading Cares and the Reading Rotary work together to ensure that those who might go without do not. The Adopt-a-Family Program is an annual holiday program that matches anonymous donors and recipients for Thanksgiving dinner, holiday dinner and gifts for dependent children. With usually 50 families in need and often more willing to donate, this program has been helping residents for over 30 years.
Betsy Schneider, a Reading resident and member of the First Congregational Church of Reading. Because Betsy and ReadingCares represent the best of our community. The skills that are required for connecting, coordinating, and managing the logistics of each of these activities are not often found in one person – but Betsy quietly does it all.
A Reading resident for over 25 years, Betsy, her husband Jim, and children Rebecca and Grant, are each involved in volunteerism and support of our community.
For those interested in joining in honoring Betsy, please contact John Douglass at jldouglass@comcast.net.