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The Rotary International motto of “Service above Self” will be fulfilled in more than one way as the Spring-Ford Rotary Club hosts its 30th annual breakfast buffet on Sunday, March 2, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Friendship Fire Co., Green Street and Third Avenue, Royersford.
Not only do Rotarians and their families serve the hundreds of hungry diners, but the proceeds serve the community through a number of area organizations which receive funds from the Rotary Club.
The Spring-Ford Rotary Club held its first pancake breakfast in 1978 to raise money for a local family whose child was born with severe medical problems. Since that time, the club has raised more than $120,000 through the annual pancake breakfasts.
Among the organizations that have received donations are Project Outreach, the Royersford and Spring City public libraries, Spring City Revitalization, Spring-Ford area Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, Phoenixville and Spring Valley YMCAs, Spring-Ford and Limerick historical societies, the Manderach Memorial Playground, Friendship Fire Co., Spring-Ford Youth Athletic League and other youth athletic programs.
New to the list of benefiting organizations this year is the Spring City Pool, a recreation facility run by the Community Association of Spring City.
When the breakfast was first begun, the club needed someone with experience in the food service industry to help organize the event. John Moorehead, or Moorehead’s Catering and a long-time Collegeville Rotarian, helped get the breakfast rolling. The Collegeville Rotary Club had already been conducting an annual breakfast for about 10 years.
The first breakfast was so successful the Spring-Ford Rotarians decided to make it an annual event to raise money for charitable causes and non-profit organizations in the Spring-Ford area.
Moorehead continued to help the club with the breakfasts until 1984 when Bill Hoffman, owner of the Spring City Hotel, joined the club and took on the responsibilities of breakfast chairman.
In 1990, eggs and corn fritters were added to the menu to make it a full breakfast buffet. In recent years, shoo fly pies from First United Church of Christ, Royersford, were added.
Rotarian Tom Smith became chairman of the annual breakfast in 1993 and continues in that position today. Nearly every member of the club is involved, either in set up, cooking, serving or clean up.
Each year between 700 and 1000 people are served at the breakfast, which has always been held at Friendship Firehouse. Feeding that many people takes a lot of food. In 1998, for example, the breakfast consumed 2000 eggs, 2000 sausage links and 55 gallons of orange juice, in addition to the pancakes, toast and corn fritters. And as far as the toast goes, 1995 numbers show that 29 loaves of bread were used.
The all-you-can-eat buffet includes pancakes, eggs, sausage, toast, corn fritters, beverages and dessert. Price is $7 for adults; $6 for seniors age 62 and over, and $4 for children age 5 to 12.
The breakfast buffet also features a prize raffle, including $500 cash; a Spring Valley YMCA family membership; 150 gallons of heating oil from Oehlert Bros.; one year of chiropractic care from Connelly Chiropractic; dinner for four at Spring-Ford Country Club; a year in flowers from Beth Ann’s, and many other prizes and cash awards.
Tickets are $2, or 3 for $5. Prizes must be claimed within two weeks of the drawing.
Breakfast and raffle tickets are available from any Spring-Ford Rotarian or at the door.
Those attending the breakfast are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items for Project Outreach.
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