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11/02/2016 08:00 AMDona DeLeone has always been involved in East Haven where she has lived for the past 42 years with her husband Bill. Three years ago, she was working with the Foxon Recreation League and her friend Joan Adamczyk told her about the East Haven Rotary Club.
“I saw all the things they were doing for the community and she suggested I join” the Rotary, says Dona. “It’s nice to give back to the community.”
The Rotary Club hosts a variety of fundraisers and community events throughout the year, including Thanksgiving dinner delivery, Breakfast with Santa, a Clothe the Children drive, breakfast with the Easter Bunny, wine tastings, Shred-It days (the October Shred-It event raised about $400), and more. Dona is now the co-secretary of the Rotary Club.
This is not the first time that Dona has gotten involved in the community. Her son Joshua is an EMT with AMR and he is also a volunteer firefighter in East Haven. Dona joined the East Haven Company 1 Volunteer Ladies Auxiliary about five years ago.
“We’re a group of women who assist firefighters when there’s a big fire. We help them if they need water or coffee,” says Dona, who also has two daughters, Christina and Molly, who are both teachers. “We also do nice things for the community and have fundraisers. If there’s a fire in town, we make a donation to those residents affected.”
Dona works full-time as an expediting specialist for HB Communications in North Haven. She also has a part-time job with the Town of East Haven during election season as head moderator for town voting.
About 10 years ago, Joey Buonome, who was an assistant registrar of voters, asked Dona if she would be interested in working at the polls. She spent the entire day working and was hooked.
“It got more and more interesting and I decided that this is a good thing to do because you have a right to vote and speak your mind,” says Dona, who became head moderator five years ago. “As head moderator, I oversee the whole voting process throughout the town. I resolve issues that come up during Election Day and at the end of the day, all of the voting totals from the district come to Town Hall, we tabulate our votes, and submit them to the state.”
Once Election Day passes, Dona will refocus her efforts on the upcoming events for the Rotary Club. The next event the club is preparing for is delivering Thanksgiving meals to those in need. The Rotary Club works with Boston Market to purchase the food. Those in need can sign up by calling Town Hall.
“We put the meals together and deliver them,” says Dona, who is estimating about 165 meals to be delivered this Thanksgiving. “It makes you feel really good inside knowing that a person is not going without dinner or that they can have a nice meal if they’re not able to prepare one.”
Right after Thanksgiving, the Rotary Club plays a part in several holiday events. First it participates in the annual tree lighting on the East Haven Green. This year the Rotary Club will provide hot chocolate (the East Haven Fire Department will provide s’mores).
In early December, Rotary hosts one of its most popular events of the year, Breakfast with Santa. Santa’s Sleigh arrives at the Senior Center at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. Admission for ages 8 and over is $5 or a new unwrapped toy that will be donated to East Haven Fire Department’s annual Christmas toy drive. Admission also includes a pancake breakfast and the chance to create AMBER Alert identification cards.
“It’s a fun morning with games and the kids can take pictures with Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas,” says Dona, who noted a similar event is held in the spring with the Easter Bunny. “It’s all about giving back to the community, giving the kids a chance to go see Santa, and having a nice breakfast.”
There isn’t much downtime before the Rotary Club’s next annual event—the Clothe the Children Campaign. Every January, the Rotary Club teams up with Kohl’s to allow children in need to shop for $100 of clothes and shoes.
“The club receives names of children who can benefit from receiving clothes and shoes,” says Dona. “They get to come into Kohl’s and shop for things they like. Seeing their face when they pick something out is great.”
This spring, Dona and two other Rotarians will chair “Anginette Wars” at St. Vinny’s. The event was previously run by St. Vincent de Paul School. There will be three judges who will not only judge the best cookie, but also the best table-scape.
“Since the school closed and it was such a popular event, we decided to take it over,” says Dona, who loves baking, cooking, crafts, and spending time with her family. “It was a successful event that people enjoyed.”
Dona has enjoyed getting to know her fellow Rotarians and helping put on fun events for the community. She is also happy to take part in the fundraisers that allow the club to give back to the town. She is hoping that more people will join the Rotary Club, which meets on Thursday nights at 6 p.m. at the Twin Pines Diner.
“Just come to dinner and a meeting and see what we do,” says Dona. “We are always looking for new members who want to give back to the community. It makes me feeling good that I’m doing something with the community and for the community with such a great organization.”
For more information, visit easthavenrotary.org.