(above) Tom Reedy with United Way Award
Rotary Members Receive United Way Awards
Submitted by Michael Townley
Nearly 200 guests enjoyed the United Way of Greater Union County’s annual awards dinner on June 12, 2019 at the Hilton Gardens Inn where two members of the Rotary Club of the Plainfields received awards.
Among the honorees were Tom Reedy, who received the Dell Raudelunas Spirit of Caring Award for his leadership in social work, and Alexandra Pereira, who received a Rising Star Award for her leadership of the Interact Club at North Plainfield High School.
Tom Reedy, LCSW, has been executive director of United Family and Children’s Society in Plainfield since 1977. Prior to his time at United Family, he was an Assistant Vice President at Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center for mental health, addiction and crisis programs; he also served on the Ethics Committee
Tom has many years of experience in crisis intervention, mobile psychiatric screening and private practice. He is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and has a Masters in Social Work from Rutgers University. He received his BA in Psychology from Ohio University, where he graduated summa cum laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Tom has been an active and valued member of the Rotary Club of the Plainfields and is a past president. He has served on numerous committees and currently chairs the Scholarship Committee and the Dictionary Project Committee. He also currently serves on the Union County Human Services Advisory Board, a position to which he was appointed by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders for a number of years.
Alexandra Pereira is a Spanish language teacher in the North Plainfield School District, currently teaching at the Middle School level. She is also the adviser for the Interact Club at North Plainfield High School, a position she has filled for the past ten years. Her enthusiasm and leadership has developed the Interact Club into the most successful of all clubs at NPHS, now averaging over 100 members annually. The students participate in service projects for the Club, spending hours working for others, all because Alexandra encourages them to devote time after school hours to their projects.
Alexandra has also involved the students in assisting the Rotary Club with their projects as well. Two particularly popular Rotary projects are the fundraising done by both clubs’ members when they staff concession stands at Rutgers University basketball and wrestling events. The students learn to work as a team, “interact” with the public, and develop interpersonal skills. This fundraiser generates money for the Rotary scholarship initiative; all funds raised are awarded as scholarships to graduating Interact Club seniors.
Another project is the Giving Garden initiative. Students help the Rotary Club prepare garden beds and then plant vegetable seeds, weed and water the plots through the Spring until the end of the school year. Alexandra was instrumental in encouraging the students to participate, bringing them to the Garden as often as weekly.
There are numerous other projects that Alexandra has developed and encourage student participation, including blood drives, food drives, Valentine Hearts, and many others. She leads by example, devoting many hours to the members of the Interact Club, sacrificing her personal time so that the young men and women will learn and develop the value of service to others. She has been an inspiration to all who know her.
Interested in serving others? The Rotary Club of Plainfield-North Plainfield welcomes visitors to any weekly meeting (check the club website RotaryPNP.org for meeting locations). The first Wednesday is a Social Hour at The Coffee Box, 1354 South Avenue, Plainfield at 8:30 a.m. Come as the club’s guest and learn more about Rotary!
(above) Alexandra Pereira with United Way Award
