For 25 years, the Endicott Rotary Club has counted on her for almost anything
Darlene Leonard, of Endicott, cleans up parking lots, hangs Christmas lights for a local nursing home and hands out dictionaries to third-grade pupils as a member of the Endicott Rotary Club.
“I like the principles they stand for: Service above self,” she said of the Rotary Club and its motto.
In July, Leonard will celebrate her 25th anniversary as a member of the 55-member club. During that time, she’s held every office except treasurer. She currently serves as assistant governor of District 7170 and previously held the same post from 2013 to 2016.
Rotary members are involved in international as well as local projects, Leonard said. One of their international projects is trying to eradicate polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the last two countries around the globe where polio is endemic.
“It reaches so far across the world,” she said of Rotary.
On the local level, she and other Rotary members hand out dictionaries to every third-grade pupil in the Union-Endicott Central School District every year. They also planted trees outside local elementary schools last year.
“The kids can watch them grow,” she said of the trees that were planted.
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Around holiday time, Leonard and other Rotary members hang up Christmas lights outside the United Health Services Senior Living at Ideal in Endicott, she said.
“They can enjoy the Christmas lights when they look out the windows,” she said of the Ideal residents.
Another holiday tradition of the Endicott Rotary Club is donating food to families in need. Last year the club packed and delivered 125 boxes of food, she said.
This time of year, Leonard spends a lot of time at Binghamton University basketball games where she pops popcorn, pours soda and runs the cash register at the concession stand. She and other Rotary members run the concession stand there in exchange for payment by the university. That money funds other projects done by the club.
She and other club members also clean up parking lots and maintain the Chugnut Trail in Endicott, she said.
In addition to her volunteer work for Rotary, Leonard also serves as chairperson of the annual Endicott Holiday Parade, vice president of the board of directors for Meals on Wheels of Western Broome and vice president of the advisory board for the Willow Point Nursing Home in Vestal. She serves as an AARP safety driver instructor.
On Friday evenings, she’s usually serving food for the soup kitchen run by her church, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Endicott. She serves as co-chair for the soup kitchen, which has 240 volunteers, and also runs a volunteer team.
“It makes me feel special that I can do this,” she said of her numerous volunteer and charitable activities. “You only need a smile in return.”
Leonard said she puts in at least four to six hours of work per week for Rotary alone. That doesn’t count all the other projects she’s involved in. But, while her volunteer work keeps her busy, she has no plans to slow down, she said.
“It’s what I get up in the morning for,” she said. “Who can I help today?"
More about Darlene Leonard
Home and hometown: Endicott
Career: Retired executive director of the Johnson City Senior Center. Still works per diem for the Broome County Office of Aging.
Family: Husband, Dennis; three grown children
How to Help: To learn more about the Endicott Rotary Club including how to join, go to portal.clubrunner.ca/3561 or find them on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Endicott Rotary Club volunteer Darlene Leonard celebrates 25 years
