At the November 19 lunch meeting, Bristol Rotary was proud to induct two new members into the Club. In the picture below, second from the left, is Nancy Coelho who is the Branch Manager of the Centerville Bank in Warren. Nancy was raised and lives in Bristol.

 

To the right of Nancy is Deborah Metaxas, who is certainly not new to Bristol Rotary, but we are delighted to have her back. Deb was President of Bristol Rotary in 2013. She had been a member of Rotary from 1999 to 2015 and was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow award in 2014.

 

Welcome back Deb and welcome aboard Nancy!

 

From Left to right: Gina Helm, Nancy, Coelho, Deborah Metaxas, Jacques de Labry and Bruce Cox, President of Bristol Rotary.

Posted in the Bristol Phoenix, Monday, November 3, 2025 2:50 pm

 

Bristol Rotary Club has received urgent requests from both the East Bay Food Pantry and the Friends of St. Elizabeth's Food Pantry. Due to the continued government shutdown and the suspension/reduction of SNAP benefits, both organizations are experiencing a critical shortage of food supplies.  
   
On Tuesday, Friends of St. Elizabeth's Food Pantry saw an unusually high number of clients, to the point that they ran out of essentials such as bread, milk, cheese and eggs.
   
To help address this immediate need, Bristol Rotary donated funds to both organizations and setup a web page where anyone can donate with a credit card. All funds will be split evenly between to two local food banks. We made this web page for our members to participate, and now, we make it available to anyone who wishes to meet this critical need. This will a tax deductible donation.
   
If you would like to join our donations to the food pantries, you can go directly to the donation page by clicking on this link:
 
bristolrotaryclub.com/foodpantries
 
After you click on the donate link, there will be a "Leave Note..." box on the left. Write "Food Pantry" in the Leave Note... box. Then click on the right, in the box that says "Debit or Credit Cards" and make your donation. 
   
If you prefer to write a check, send it to Maria Cesario at Bristol Rotary’s Charities Foundation, P.O. Box 469, Bristol RI, 02809.
   
This is a critical time and Bristol Rotary is trying its best to help. Remember, all donations through Bristol Rotary’s Charities Foundation (a 501(c)(3) are tax deductible. You will get a receipt for tax purposes.

Such a message.

In 1985, Bristol Rotary established a Bristol Rotary Scholarship Fund at Roger Williams University (RWU). Its objective is to provide financial assistance to any student from Bristol attending the University, and also, to be made available to any high school student who is a resident of Bristol needing financial aid to attend RWU. As we come to the end of this academic year at RWU, we are proud to mark the 40^th year anniversary of the existence of this scholarship fund.

 

The University makes distributions from the Fund in accordance to a spending policy adopted by its Board of Trustees. The award rate provides for the university to allocate approximately 80% of the annual interest for the grantees and reinvest 20% for future growth.

 

Below, Amy Berkeley, Vice President of Institutional Advancement at RWU, hosts representatives of Bristol Rotary highlighting not only the 40-year Anniversary, but also for a donation of $10,000 this year to the fund.

 

Bristol Rotary also provides financial support annually to Bristol high school level students to assist them to move to their next level of education. In addition, as a result of fundraisers and individual donations, Bristol Rotary’s Charities Foundation, a public charity & 501(c)(3 ), has donated this fiscal year to over 30 charities and schools in the community.

 

In the picture below, left to right, in front of the statue of Roger Williams: Jason Regan – RWU Leadership Advancement Officer, Amy Berkeley - VP Institutional Advancement,  Mary Jo Tavares - President of Bristol Rotary, Maria Cesario – Treasurer of Bristol Rotary’s Charites Foundation (BRCF) and also an Alumna of RWU, and Jacques de Labry – President of BRCF.

Since its establishment in 1929, the Bristol Rotary Club's mission has been to support the charitable needs of the local community. In 2014, in order to increase its ability to provide financial support to serve the many local charitable projects, the Club created the Bristol Rotary’s Charities Foundation which was given a “public charity (501(c)(3)” designation from the IRS. That approval allowed the Club to give tax deductions for any donations and fundraisers which subsequently increased funds available and its scope of giving. Every year the amount of donations made grew. 2025 became a record year when the Rotary Club of Bristol was able to donate over $107,000 to more than 30 local charities and to some international projects of those local charities.

 

Some highlights of Rotary’s special fiscal year (7/2024 to 6/2025) are: The Bristol Rotary became the top donor to The Autism Project’s annual Imagine Walk fundraiser for families affected by autism spectrum disorders by donating $15,000 to the Walk. In the summer and Fall, Rotary ran a “Dinner for 2 Anywhere in the World” trip contest that raised $28,000. Its proceeds were designated to support organizations combating food insecurities, and was evenly split between East Bay Food Pantry & Thrift Shop and Friends of St. Elizabeth’s Food Pantry. Upon return, the winner of the trip was quoted as saying, “The trip was wonderful! It was a trip I will never forget!”   

 

 In the Spring, funds were raised to provide over $16,000 in financial support for students graduating from high school and for the Bristol Rotary Scholarship Fund at Roger Williams University. Coincidently, 2025 is the 40^th year anniversary of the Fund at Roger Williams.

 

During the recent 250^th Anniversary of the Battle of Bristol in 1775, Bristol Rotary was pleased to fund 3,000 tickets for all students in the Bristol Warren Regional School District to tour the tall ship in the historical reenactment, docked at the Herreshoff Museum.

 

In addition, some samples of other organizations among the 30 receiving donations are: The Women’s Resource Center, the DECA Team at Mount Hope High School, Multitude Ministries for the homeless, Friends of Bristol Animal Shelter, Parents as Teachers (Looking Upwards), Food Gift cards at Thanksgiving and Christmas for Benjamin Church Senior Center and Franklin Court Independent Living, HEZ Student Needs Projects at Kickemuit and Mt. Hope schools, Bristol/Warren Village supporting seniors with home care, and, through local charities, orphanages in the Azores and Haiti, and many more.

 

Over the years and through major impacts to our community, such as Covid, Bristol Rotary has evolved from a hands-on field organization, running an occasional food drive, to one that provides financial donations to organizations that have the special or unique expertise to help the people they support. Rotary’s membership is comprised of business leaders and local professionals who donate their personal time and sometimes their money to the Club’s charitable objectives.  Internally, the membership’s motto is “Service Above Self” or, contribute to the community of yourself in addition to what your job contributes. Bristol Rotary volunteer members are self-motivated, unpaid and have supported the community in Bristol now for 96 years. The motto for Bristol Rotary’s charitable objectives is “Help us Help Others.” As the previous information has attempted to show, tax deductible donations to its Foundation and fundraisers have helped Bristol Rotary to highlight and provide financial support to the needs of many more local charities and projects.

 

To Help us Help Others, please visit the Bristol Rotary website at “bristolrotaryclub.com.” An application to request a charitable donation from Bristol Rotary can also be found on the website.

At our May 7 Lunch meeting, two outstanding individuals became the newest members of Bristol Rotary: Lynette-Marie Lacerda (below, far left) and Jason Regan (far right), Center: is President, Mary Jo Tavares & Sponsor, Jacques de Labry.

 

Lynette-Marie is a real estate agent for Revolv Real Estate in Somerset, and prior to that, she had an impressive career. She is fluent in Spanish, and resides in Bristol. 

 

Jason Regan is a young higher education professional working in development for his alma mater, Roger Williams University, with a primary focus on community engagement, alumni fundraising, and professional pipeline cultivation. 

 

We are looking forward to having their backgrounds and motivation add new skills to the support for our many charitable activities.  Welcome aboard, Jason and Lynette-Marie

 

“Help us Help Others”

When a hard charging organization like Bristol Rotary has just one banner left, originally sewn by Betsy Ross, it’s time for action! That action came from our new Rotarian, Ian McLellan, President and Owner of Hill House Graphics, LLC. In the picture below, Ian (right) and his colleague Danny Liew are displaying some of the banners he has donated to Bristol Rotary.

 

The banners are made of indestructible materials that vary from tent cloth to vinyl to a hardwood structure that can stand on its own. Only a few are shown.

We thank Ian for creating these banners for any occasion, most of which will be fundraisers or recognition events even yet this fiscal year.

 

Thanks again, Ian!

In the promotional ad for the Autism Imagine Walk of 2025, Bristol Rotary is the top donor for the second year in a row (see below). This fundraiser is The Autism Project’s (TAP) largest fundraiser event of the year, and all of the funds raised go directly to activities to support families dealing with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).  Bristol Rotary has been a donor to this worthy organization since 2015 when we raised over $70,000 to create an East Bay Support Center, to help over 2,000 families with ASD in the East Bay. Since then, Bristol Rotary has been a consistent supporter of this very necessary organization. The sponsors page below reflects that Bristol Rotary is currently the top donor with a contribution $15,000 to sponsor the Imagine Walk at Goddard Memorial Park on April 27.   This page, part of TAP’s promotion for the fundraiser, will go out every day until April 27, and we will also be part of all the other advertising as well as a formal thank you at the Park at the beginning of the Walk.