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Reverse Raffle Results!

What an amazing night we had giving away $5000 during our Reverse Raffle fundraiser! Congratulations to Robert Bennett and Adam Johnston who won our Pot of Gold Jackpot! Thanks to all that came down to Auburn Pitts Bar Grill to join us for a fun evening of games and hanging out with us as we drew down 300 #'s to find our lucky winner! We raised over $20,000 where 100% of the proceeds will be donated back to non-profit youth oriented organizations across Greater Manchester.

Thank you to all our amazing sponsors as well!

Pot of Gold Reverse Raffle - Wednesday, Sept. 11

The Queen City Rotary's Pot of Gold Reverse Raffle is BACK! Join us for a fun-filled night of excitement as we see who the luckiest person in the room will be!! This event supports the Queen City Rotary, allowing us to help youth-serving non-profit organizations throughout our Manchester community!

Date:                          Wednesday, Sept. 11^th
Time: 5:00-9:00pm
Location: Auburn Pitts Bar & Grill, 167 Rockingham Road, Auburn NH
Tickets:                     $100 each (300 max tickets sold)
Pot of Gold:             $5,000.00...the last ticket drawn wins the Pot 'o Gold.

Here's how it works:

Purchase a ticket for $100.00. Each ticket sold guarantees one entry in the $5,000 drawing and admits two individuals into the live event drawing.
Ticket holders do not need to be present to win the grand prize, but we hope you join the party so we can celebrate with you when you win!
The night consists of pulling each ticket, eliminating the individual listed from winning the Pot 'o Gold with every draw. (The LAST ticket holds the key).
We will continue to draw until TWO tickets remain. The remaining ticket holders may split the $5,000 pot (if both are present and consent) or continue for the final drawing for a sole winner. The last person standing is the overall winner (barring a split of the top prize). The ultimate winner does not need to be present to win, and you can let us know in advance if you would like to split the pot.

Keeping it Fun

The first ticket drawn and eliminated from the Pot o' Gold will receive a $100 to alleviate some of the hurt.
For those in attendance, smaller prizes will be awarded throughout the event. You need to be present to win these consolation gifts.
Games, cash bar and appetizers will be available.

Tickets:
Can be purchased through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pot-of-gold-reverse-raffle-tickets-916609372307or directly from a Rotarian by sending an email to us at queencityrotaryclub@gmail.com.

Sponsorship Opportunities:

If you are interested in sponsoring our event, check out the Sponsorship information and levels flyer under the Document Download section to the left.

THANK YOU TO OUR MAJOR SPONSORS!!

Toolship Scholarship Winners!

Since 1995, our club has presented Toolship Awards to deserving graduating seniors from the Manchester School of Technology. These awards help students get a head start in their career with funds to help purchase the necessary tools unique to their specific trade. This could include specialized clothing, tools, or equipment. Having the right tools for the job is a prerequisite to success in any trade profession.

This year’s recipients are Danielle Lapoint and Davian Yaguell! Danielle got accepted into the residential carpentry program at the NHTI, and Davian is pursuing aviation repair and maintenance at Nashua Community College. Congratulations to both winners!

Congratulations to Vick Mahindru our Ken Wakefield Scholarship Recipient

This year’s recipient of our Ken Wakefield Scholarship is Vick Mahindru. Vic is a West High School graduate and was recognized for his community involvement and academic excellence. Vick has served as the Manchester Ambassador for the SHOALS Marine Laboratory Program, as a SEE Science Center intern conducting Social Science Research, and interviewed U.S. Presidential Candidates, where he asked them “how the soaring obesity rate in the U.S. is in direct correlation with major companies branding chemicals & preservatives as healthy for our children,” Recently, he was awarded a $40,000 Amazon scholarship. https://www.mansd.org/article/1581865. This fall, Vick will attend St. Anselm College and major in Computer Science and Political Science to connect his passion for Engineering, Computer Science, and Journalism.

2024 Grant Program is CLOSED...We will get back to recipients by end of May!

The Queen City Rotary Foundation (QCRF) is pleased to announce the opening of our 2024 Grant Program. There are two grant opportunities for interested organizations. Applications are available in the Home Page Download File section to the left here.

1) The “Impact Grant” – This grant is targeted to organizations whose primary focus is serving the underprivileged youth in the greater Manchester area. It is limited to a maximum of 5 recipients each year. Grants will range from a minimum of $1000 to a maximum of $10,000. In the application, please provide an overall description of the organization and a comprehensive description of the project and how the award will be used (suggested 500 words +/-). We will also require a mid-year update on the impact the grant has made for the organization.

2) The “Youth Services Grant” – This grant supports organizations that have a youth related focus. The maximum award is $1000. In the application, please provide a three to five sentence overall description of the organization, details of the request, and how the funds will be used. Mid-year follow up will not be required for the Youth Services Grant.

The Queen City Rotary Foundation Grant Committee will review the applications for both award levels and make recommendations to our Board of Directors for final grant approval. This committee includes members serving for multiple years to establish and maintain continuity over time.

Please send completed application forms to queencityrotaryclub@gmail.com no later than Friday, April 19th, 2024.

Shilpi Mehrotra, President
Queen City Rotary Club

Welcome Dianne Mercier!

We are excited to welcome the newest member to our club Dianne Mercier! Dianne has served as a champion for the nonprofit sector for many years. She supports the Boys and Girls Club which holds a special place in her heart having helped her as a single mom and serves on multiple boards. Diane is a retired President of People's United Bank and was also named the 2017 Citizen of the Year by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Welcome to our Rotary family Dianne.

Laughing All Night Long for a Great Cause

Another successful Comedy Bowl is in the books! Thank you to all that came out to support our event and all of our amazing sponsors. For those that purchased Super Bowl Squares, check the Download Files column to the left to get your #'s and GOOD LUCK!

Sponsors to thank:

Super Bowl level:
Clark Insurance and Elliot Hospital Solutions

Touch Down level: ARMI, Bank Prov, Crown Chimney, Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Harvey Construction, Bangor Savings Bank, Eastern Propane and Oil

Club level: Guaranteed Rate, Re/Max Prime, Saint Anselm College, Edward Jones, Morin Contracting, Essex Private Wealth, Robert Singer

Kickoff level: Sheehan Phinney, Primary Bank, McMahon Group of Wells Fargo, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, Bay State Financial, Matuszewski Architects, Puritan Backroom, Waypoint, Berry Dunn Partners, Sullivan and Sullivan, College Bound Movers, GSC IT Solutions, Boufford & Sons Funeral Home

Safety level: DuganPR, Bank of New England, Linda Seabury, Arias Spa, Karen Metz, Tokena, Art Burns, Bangor Savings, Write Connection, Red Carpet Realty, John K's Professional Painters, Kim Griswold, Fran Ciriello, Raymond Area Rotary Club, Pro Cut CNC Machine, Wadleigh Starr Peters, Cambridge Trust, Primerica, Pelletier Realty Group, NH Demolition, Granite State Tire Golf League,

In Kind Sponsors: Amoskeag Beverages, Angela's Pasta and Cheese Shop, Christian Party Rentals, Special Events Rentals, St. George's Greek Orthodox Cathedral, NH Print & Mail Services, Frank DiDonato/Keller Williams Realty, Martinetti, Mr. Mac's Macaroni and Cheese, Puritan Backroom Restaurant, Rig A'Tony's

Lastly, thanks to all of our amazing club members who organize, sell, cook, wrap, set-up, tear down, clean and in general work VERY HARD to bring you this event and make it AMAZING!

Announcing our 2024 Comedy Bowl!

Magic in Manchester

On Saturday, December 9th there was magic in the middle of Manchester at An Evening at the North Pole. The pictures capture it all! Thank you to our amazing sponsors who made this possible!

Set-up Crew!

The Actors!

Tech Team

A special thank you to Harvey Construction who were instrumental in helping to provide the space, build and storage of our train until we can return to the North Pole next year! Thank you all for your support!

We've Got Something Magical in the Works!

We are very excited to share a new event that our club has been working very hard on....An Evening at the North Pole! Kids from non-profits in the Greater Manchester area will be invited to join in on this magical evening!

Welcome Osman Sari to our Club!

Osman Sari is one of our newest club members, but he is not new to Rotary. Osman shared with us that he is from Turkey and currently studying at SNHU. In Turkey, he was a founding member of a Rotaract Club (a Rotary Club for young professionals). Osman’s energy and sense of humor are infectious, and the Club is lucky to have him as a member. Welcome Osman!

Reverse Raffle Winners and Thank You for Your Support!

A big THANK YOU to all that took a chance on winning the $5,000 Pot of Gold as part of our Reverse Raffle Fundraiser! In the end, the two remaining ticket holders decided to split the Pot of Gold, each walking away with $2,500. Congratulations to Judy Tremblay and Laurie Proulx! We are still tallying our final #'s, but estimates are we raised over $20,000 to return back to youth charities in the Greater Manchester area.

We can't thank enough all of our amazing sponsors!!!

Leprechaun and Our Major Sponsor:
BankProv

Queen's Gold: Eastern Propane Oil, Elliot Hospital, Law Offices of Parnell, Michels & McKay, PLLC, Bangor Savings Bank, McMahon Group of Wells Fargo Advisors

Rainbow: Clark Insurance, Monarch Title Services, J.N. Boufford Funeral Home, The Truncellito Family, Sullivan and Sullivan

Pot of Gold Reverse Raffle - Thursday, Oct. 12th

Date:                          Thursday, October 12^th
Time: 5:00-9:00pm
Location:                 Manchester Music School – 2291 Elm Street, Manchester, NH
Tickets:                     $100 each (350 max tickets sold)
Pot of Gold:             $5,000.00...the last ticket drawn wins the Pot 'o Gold.

Here's how it works:

Purchase a ticket for $100.00. Each ticket sold guarantees one entry in the $5,000 drawing and admits two individuals into the live event drawing.
Ticket holders do not need to be present to win the grand prize, but we hope you join the party so we can celebrate with you when you win!
The night consists of pulling each ticket, eliminating the individual listed from winning the Pot 'o Gold with every draw. (The LAST ticket holds the key).
We will continue to draw until TWO tickets remain. The remaining ticket holders may split the $5,000 pot (if both are present and consent) or continue for the final drawing for a sole winner. The last person standing is the overall winner (barring a split of the top prize). The ultimate winner does not need to be present to win, and you can let us know in advance if you would like to split the pot.

Keeping it Fun

The first ticket drawn and eliminated from the Pot o' Gold will receive a $100 check to alleviate some of the hurt.
For those in attendance, smaller prizes will be awarded throughout the event. You need to be present to win these consolation gifts.
Games, cash bar and appetizers will be available.

Tickets:
Can be purchased through the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/705705513187?aff=oddtdtcreator or directly from a Rotarian by sending an email to us at queencitryrotaryclub@gmail.com .

Sponsorship Opportunities:

If you are interested in sponsoring our event, check out the Sponsorship information and levels flyer under the Document Download section to the left.

Taking time to give back at Families in Transition

Taking time to help Families in Transitions with a new facelift on their Market Street Property.

QC Rotary Club Welcomes Dan Bednarski!

Our club continues to grow with amazing new members! Welcome Dan.

Transitioning to a New Rotary Year and President

What an amazing night celebrating our transition from one president term to the next. We celebrated our success through the past rotary year and our outgoing president. Check out all of our achievements in the attached video.https://youtu.be/0s5fU-XFpM0

Thanks Tom Stewart for leading us this past year and all the amazing achievements we had. Shilpi Mehrotra is our incoming president and will take the helm of our club starting on July 1st.

Giving Back! Our FAVORITE part of being a Rotarian.

The Queen City Rotary Club is pleased to share the distribution of $50,000 within our community through our grant giving program. We grant two award levels - Impact and Youth Services,

Our “Impact Grant” recipients receive a larger grant level to support youth programs that make an impact in our communities. The club also looks to partner with these organizations with further support throughout the year through volunteering.

Aviation Museum of NH
Boys and Girls Club of Manchester
CASA of NH
Friends of Aine
Girls at Work, Inc.
UpReach Equestrian Center
Hope NH
Little Green Newspaper
Manchester Police Athletic Association
Safe Sports Network
Webster House

Our “Youth Services Grant” recipients receive smaller grant awards that also support youth programs in our communities:

Boy Scout Troop 292
Breakthrough Manchester
Central High School - First Robotics Team
Franco American Centre
Majestic Theatre
Manchester Community Music School
Manchester School of Technology Cosmetics
Manchester School of Technology - MST Skills
Mayhew Program
Palace Theatre Trust
The Pass Along Project
QC Bike Collective
Waypoint
UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center

2023 QC Rotary Club Scholarship Recipients

Each year our club gives well deserving kids in our community funds to help out with their extended schooling after graduating high school.

Our Toolship Awards focus on the trades and we give out two $1500 awards to graduating seniors from the Manchester School of Technology (MSOT). Our recipients this year were Savannah Alves (left) who will be studying Cosmetology, and Hannah Jenkins (right), who will be studying Architecture. Congratulations to both!

We also give out a Ken Wakefield Scholarship to a graduating high school senior who demonstrates a passion for giving back to our local community through volunteering. This year's recipient is Emily Bisson who will be attending Mount Holyoke College in the Fall.

Congratulations to all three of these amazing young ladies!!

NH4Ukraine

Brian and John are friends and both retired from their respective careers. Brian was a business owner and John was an air traffic controller. Together they decided they needed to help the Ukraine people survive this horrific war. They presented a sad but hopeful tail of their humanitarian trips to the Ukraine battle zone.

Speaker Series Continues

Visiting us at today's weekly meeting was Heather Newell who is the founder of Pearla Adult Day Center. Pearla provides a safe and secure environment for adults 55 years and older who seek a local option for socializing and staying active with fellow aging adults. Families who use this service benefit by knowing that their loved ones are enjoying both mental and social stimulation while they work or attend to a busy life schedule. Heather has 25 years of experience as a skilled nurse caring for aging adults.

Activities that are offered include music, art, knitting/sewing, crafts, outside presenters, physical activities, singing, board games, bingo and cooking. The clear benefits for the aging public are social interaction, independence, reduces need for nursing home facility, helpful to families caring for aging adults, reduces loneliness/isolation and prevents a large number of hours in front of a television or computer. Thank you Heather for coming in and sharing what surely is a much needed service in our communities!

Comedy Bowl Success! A BIG THANK YOU!!

Our Comedy Bowl event held on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 4th was a HUGE SUCCESS! The #'s are in, drumroll please.... over $45,000 DOLLARS raised with ALL proceeds to be granted back to our local community non-profit youth oriented organizations in the coming months.

There is much THANKS to be given to pull off this major fundraising event. First our sponsors (identified below) which provided us the foundational funds to build from. Second, our 400+ amazing guests that came out in the frigid cold and joined us that evening and reached deep into their pockets to buy raffle tickets, bid on auction items and provided drink donations. We hope you enjoyed the event and had lots of laughs with our comedian line-up. And lastly, a big shout out to all of our fellow Rotarians who worked tirelessly to pull off this event. Efforts included the endless solicitation of sponsors and auction items, ticket selling, venue set-up (including our amazing stage backdrop), venue tear down and clean-up, food and bar prep, serving and cleaning, silent auction management, raffle ticket and Super Bowl Square selling, front-desk check-in and coat check crew...the list goes on. Truly an amazing Rotary VILLAGE effort by all.

The success of our largest fundraising event would not happen without our sponsorship support! Please join us in supporting these amazing businesses who are doing good in our communities!

Our major Super Bowl level sponsorship is CLARK INSURANCE!

Touchdown level: BanProv, Matuszewski Architects and Morin Contracting Services

Club level:
College Bound Movers, Edward Jones Investments, Guaranteed Rate Mortgage, Harvey Construction, Lally Property Source, Pro Cut CNC Machine, St. Anselm College, Tokena Corp.

Kickoff level:
ARMI, Bank of New England, Berry Dunn, Boufford Funeral Home, Elliot Hospital, GSC IT Solutions, LAZ Parking, Monarch Title, Parnell Michels & McKay, Primary Bank, Sullivan & Sullivan, Truncellito and Davis Insurance, Waypoint

Safety level:
Arias Spa, Art Burns, Butenhof & Bomster, Cambridge Trust, Franne Ciriello, Craig Donais, Dugan PR, Essex Private Wealth Management, Friends of Aine, Mike Domingue, Granite St. Tire Golf Leauge, Kim Griswold, HarborOne Mortgage, Karen Metz, Primerica, Safe Sports, Linda Seabury, The Write Connection, Wells Fargo

Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours!

Shopping to make Christmas Morning Wishes Come True!

Every year we help to make Christmas morning a little brighter for some families in need. Here are some of our Rotarian’s shopping and wrapping for 8 children who will find their Santa wish list items under the Christmas tree! We delivered these wrapped gifts to the Boys and Girls Club who will make sure they get to the right place for Christmas morning.

Taking The Time to GIVE to Those in NEED!

Every Thanksgiving our club collects money from our members, shops and donates food baskets to those in need. This year we were able to deliver 12 baskets to 12 families who are facing a housing crisis and staying at The Way Home on Spruce Street in Manchester. Lindsey Lussier, Housing Counselor at The Way Home, was thrilled to receive our donations which would provide a Thanksgiving meal for all the families staying at the home and additional food for the coming weeks.

Fellowship Fun

Besides giving back to our community with fundraising and volunteering, our club takes time to have some fun! This year we had our first cornhole tournament with a potluck dinner and Brian and Judy Tremblay even brought their pizza oven over for freshly cooked pizza pies! Great competition during this events, but Kim Griswold and Brian Tremblay took home first place with their skilled playing! Congrats!