On Wednesday, the Santa Clarita Valley Rotary Club will be holding a dedication service in memory of local heroes who have died overseas since September 11, 2001.  The service will be at 11:00 a.m. at the Rotary Club’s garden located near the George Caravalho Sports Complex.  A lunch will follow in the Community Room.

Designed in the shape of the Rotary wheel, the garden was begun in 2005 and is 36 feet in diameter.  A portion in memory of recently fallen heroes features a headstone with the inscription “Dedicated to our fallen military since September 11, 2001” and accompanying tiles with the names, ranks, and date the soldiers died.

“We just want the families of veterans to know how much our community and our club appreciates their sacrifice and how much we want to honor them and their children.” said Jim Lentini, Committee Chair of Membership for the SCV Rotary Club and head of the project to create the garden.

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Lentini describes the service as only one phase of the SCV Rotary Club’s plan to reach out to those in active military and veterans.

The SCV Rotary Club is working with COC’s Veteran’s Affairs Office to offer monthly informational lunches.  Speakers will offer assistance with insurance, banking, loans, and job applications.  The SCV Rotary Club will be sending a report of their work with COC’s veterans to Rotary headquarters in Chicago and may serve as an example for other Rotary clubs seeking ways to reach out to veterans across the nation.

Recently, the SCV Rotary Club has raised money to send to troops overseas and to support veterans and their families.  They have also collected jars of peanut butter and written Christmas cards to send to those in active duty and recovering in the Brookes Army Medical Center.

“Nobody can help better than Rotary because one hundred percent of the money we raise goes to the project.  There’s no cost when Rotary runs a project.” Lentini said, showing confidence in the SCV Rotary Club’s ability to make a difference in veterans’ lives.

The Rotary Garden is located at 20880 Centre Point Parkway, Saugus.  Tickets for the lunch on August 25 are $30.  To RSVP, call (661) 251-5086 or email rotaryvet@socal.rr.com.