Giving Rye: Meet the Rotary Club of Rye
Giving Rye is a feature series highlighting non-profits and community groups in and around the City of Rye. Today meet Cathy DeMartino of The Rotary Club of Rye.
Your Name: Cathy DeMartino
Name of your organization: The Rotary Club of Rye
Your role: President
MyRye.com: Tell us your organization’s mission.
DeMartino: The Rotary Club of Rye, New York, is a volunteer organization that provides service to others, promotes integrity, and advances world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. We welcome members of all different ages from all walks of life. Rotary International’s six sustainable global initiatives are:
- Promoting Peace
- Fighting Disease
- Providing Clean Water
- Saving Mothers and Children
- Supporting Education
- Growing Local Economic and Community Development
How long have you operated in Rye?
DeMartino: The Rotary Club of Rye has proudly served the Rye community for over 60 years, since 1962. As a local organization, we are deeply connected to the area and its residents, ensuring our programs and services are tailored to meet this vibrant community’s unique needs and interests. Our membership represents a cross-section of the community’s business owners, leaders, executives, and professionals. We are part of 1.4 million businesses and individuals united worldwide to provide humanitarian service and help promote goodwill and peace through service to others. Rotary International was founded by Paul P. Harris in Chicago, Illinois, on February 23, 1905, as the world’s first volunteer service organization. Today, Rotary operates over 46,000 clubs in 220 countries around the globe.
What programming or work in Rye is the organization best known for?
DeMartino: We are involved with a great many projects in the Rye Community; it is impossible to include them all. This is just a sample of the work that we are doing:
- Rye High School Scholarship Program: Rye Rotary is best known for its support of the Rye High School Scholarship Program. We sponsor Rye High School students through the Rye Rotary Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We invite Rye High Schoolers to apply for consideration for assistance with college tuition or special community-focused projects. Additionally, for the past 32 years, we have sponsored the Rye High School Varsity Girls Basketball Team’s special basketball annual “Rotary Challenge” Basketball Tournament.
- Rye/Harrison Sportsmanship Luncheon & Awards Ceremony: The Rye/Harrison Sportsmanship luncheon is a longstanding tradition. It typically occurs the day before the varsity football game between the Rye Garnets and the Harrison Huskies, commonly referred to as “The Game” due to its notoriety as Westchester’s biggest rivalry football game. In an effort to promote sportsmanship, Rye Rotary hosts a pre-game luncheon attended by school officials, coaches, athletic staff, and team captains from both teams. Rotary’s involvement doesn’t end with the lunch. After the game, each team elects one player from the opposing team who, in their view, demonstrated the highest level of sportsmanship during the game. These two players are awarded a Sportsmanship plaque at a separate event typically held in the Spring.
- Rye’s Above Community Arts Partnership: We partner with the Rye Arts Center to host Rye’s Above, a fundraiser to support the arts in the community. This past year was our third joint event; you probably saw the butterflies on display on the village green that were auctioned to raise funds to support local artists, programming at RAC for the community, and the Rye Rotary Scholarship fund.
- Community Food Drive: Our annual Rotary Feeds the Sound Shore Food Drive takes place in the month before Thanksgiving. We collect dried foods & diapers to restock local food pantries such as the Don Bosco Center, the Carver Center, Giving Tree Global – Bread of Life and the Harrison Food Pantry.
- Polio Plus: Rotary is an international organization, and one of our key initiatives is the eradication of Polio globally. In 2024, one of our members, Michele Thomas, ran a hugely successful event to raise funds to support these efforts by selling purple donuts.
Looking forward to 2025, what will be your top initiatives?
DeMartino: In 2025, we plan to expand our reach in the surrounding communities by partnering with neighboring Rotary Clubs and increasing our membership in areas that currently have no Rotary Club representation. Additionally, we have plans to expand upon the huge success of the Purple Pinkie Project for Polio Plus. This past year, we raised a significant sum, which secured matching grants from the Gates Foundation. In 2025, we intend to have an even bigger impact by doubling the size of the project and further raising awareness. This is a critical service project as Polio case numbers start to tick up around the world, notably in Gaza, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. We are expanding the reach of our Rotary Feeds the Sound Shore annual food drive to include additional communities and deserving organizations in the surrounding communities.
Tell us about the population you serve and how they can get involved with your programming and services.
DeMartino: Rye Rotary is dedicated to serving the Rye and surrounding communities. Rotary is where neighbors, friends, and problem solvers share ideas and take action to create lasting change. We actively support The Carver Center, Don Bosco Community Center, and the Special Olympics with our sponsorship of the Polar Plunge at Rye Beach. We serve waffles and popcorn at the Rye Nature Center’s Winter Wonderland and host freebie games at Mistletoe Magic.
Are you a 501(c)(3) non-profit with tax-exempt status?
DeMartino: The Rye Rotary Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with tax-exempt status. All our fundraising activities and community support flow through the foundation. The Foundation has a separate board made up of Rye Rotary club members who meet to consider each application with great care and attention.
Looking back across 2024, what were your organization’s top achievements?
DeMartino: Our largest event in 2024 was Rye’s Above. This collaborative initiative, led by The Rotary Club of Rye and The Rye Arts Center, is aimed at uplifting the community through the arts while supporting educational programs in the community. This innovative public art project invites artists to contribute to the beautification of our community while raising critical funds for children’s education. The project featured large, medium, and small steel/aluminum butterflies, which artists transform into unique works of art. These mesmerizing sculptures are displayed throughout the summer in various locations across Rye. The highlight of the initiative is an auction benefit in the fall, where these extraordinary butterflies were available for purchase. Proceeds from all sales support local educational initiatives.
How can local residents support your organization?
DeMartino: We are actively recruiting new members who are interested in serving the local community to join our ranks. Rotary is a vibrant club with dedicated members who wish to give back to the Rye community and the surrounding area. We meet bi-weekly on a Friday to plan service projects, discuss community and international issues, and enjoy fellowship. We offer multiple service opportunities, committees, and leadership positions. We encourage everyone interested to join us for our next 9 am breakfast or noon lunch meeting, held in the Club Room at The Osborn Retirement Community. Please contact the President at [email protected] for more details or reach out to us on Instagram or Facebook. If your time is limited, please consider supporting Rye Rotary through a donation that can be made through our website.
What local Rye residents and area businesses have been the longest, steadiest supporters of your organization?
DeMartino: At Rye Rotary we are honored and privileged to receive support from a wide range of individuals and businesses within the community. Greenwich Hospital, White Plains Hospital and The Osborn are consistent supports of the work that we do in the community.
Tell us about you:
How long have you been in your current role?
DeMartino: I have been a member of Rye Rotary for three years now, and I assumed the role of President of the Club in July 2024. The president serves a one-year term. When my term is complete, I will move on to other leadership opportunities within the club.
Is the role full time or part time? Paid or volunteer?
DeMartino: This is a part-time volunteer position. My work with Rye Rotary complements my professional role as a Holistic Financial Advisor based in Rye. My work allows me to serve the community in multiple capacities, whether they are individuals, families, or small businesses.
How would your friends and family describe you in one word? DeMartino: Compassionate
Where did you grow up?
DeMartino: I am a Brit – I grew up in England, about 30 miles outside of London. I moved to New York to work for 2 years on Wall Street over 30 years ago, and I never left! I am married to an American and we raised our two kids in Westchester.
What is your favorite unimportant thing about you?
DeMartino: I like collecting teapots!
If the next five years is a chapter in your life, what is this chapter about?
DeMartino: At this point in my life, my focus is on using my energy and expertise to improve the lives of others. Rotary’s motto of “Service above Self’ resonated with me, and that is the reason I decided to join the club. I am living out this ideal through my leadership of Rye Rotary and my professional work as a financial advisor, inspiring individuals, families, and small businesses to achieve financial success so they can live their lives with confidence, clarity, and security.
What would you do if you were not afraid?
DeMartino: Embrace my creative side. I have always thought I had no talent for music or the arts – I would like to learn a new language, learn how to play the piano, and start painting.
Where do you live in Rye, and how many years have you lived in the City?
DeMartino: I currently live in Purchase with my husband, Anthony. We are now empty nesters as our kids are in college and forging their own paths.
Thanks Cathy!
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