The Rotary Club of Marlton will host its third annual karaoke night fundraiser at Zed’s Beer in Marlton at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30, with all proceeds benefiting the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation.
“Rotary’s motto is ‘Service Above Self,’” said club member Chuck Childers. “What’s inspiring to me the most is just to give back to the community. We help to change the world by doing something locally.”
The Rotary Club started in 1970 and was previously part of the Medford-Marlton-Vincentown Rotary Club. Since its inception, the Marlton group has actively worked with Evesham Township schools, served local veterans and the elderly, helped the food insecure and completed township beautification projects.
During COVID, the club aided food banks and helped set up a drive-in movie theater.
Such efforts have a big impact that matters, Childers explained. The club meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at Marco’s Restaurant at Indian Spring Country Club in Marlton.
Childers has been a club member for about 12 to 13 years and previously served two terms as president. He was originally invited to join by his wife and her cousin, also fellow Rotarians, but was also inspired because his father was a long-time Rotarian.
Aside from other activities and projects, one of Childers’ favorite things to do with the club is attend its pancake breakfast in early spring and late winter, when he can really see the community come together as a whole.
The mission of the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation – named for Emmanuel “Manny” Vizzoni – is to provide New Jersey families faced with pediatric cancer a place to turn for comfort and relief through free supportive services uniquely tailored to each family.
The foundation’s regional offices across the state offer free in-home supportive counseling and advocacy; food, gifts; toys; and other material assistance, as well as emergency funds to help pay for urgent expenses such as rent and utilities; webinars; support groups; and events that strengthen families.
More information can be found at www.emmanuelcancer.org.
“Rotary International has seven avenues of service,” Childers noted, “and one of those through this particular event is the health and well being of mothers and children. So we thought that the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation was a great, worthy cause and it fits into the overall Rotary mission.”
From Childers’ perspective, Rotary International has evolved over the years and is no longer considered a “men’s only” club. The 1989 Council on Legislation voted to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide after the decades-long efforts of men and women from all over the Rotary.
Rotary isn’t about members sitting around and talking about how to change the world, Childers emphasized, but about people making changes for the better.
“It’s about a sense of camaraderie,” he pointed out. “(The Rotary Club of Marlton) treats everyone like family; we treat everyone with respect. No idea is a bad idea, and that’s another reason why we want people to join the club.
“Rotary has been around since 1905,” Childers added, “so the better and more new ideas and fresh ideas we can get, the more we’re going to grow and expand and be able to create that lasting impact in the world.”
Tickets for the karaoke fundraiser are $20 and will include pizza; snacks; and non-alcoholic refreshments, as well as plenty of Zed’s beer. Childers expects it to be a fun night where guests can blow off steam and help a good cause at the same time.
For tickets or for more information on the club, visit www.marltonrotary.org or email info@marltonrotary.org.
The Rotary Club of Marlton’s third annual karaoke night fundraiser on Aug. 30 will benefit the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation, which provides New Jersey families faced with pediatric cancer a place to turn for comfort and relief through free supportive services tailored to them.
