New Rotary fundraisers at West Springfield Due to declining revenue, the Rotary club had to cancel Taste of the Valley and instead devise two other fundraisers, a music concert and a 5K run, for which there is a good response.

The Rotary Club of West Springfield (Massachusetts, US – D 5930), longtime organiser of West Side’s Taste of the Valley, says the organisation is working on other public fundraising efforts to replace the outdoor food festival.

The decision by the Rotary Club and Town of West Springfield to cancel Taste of the Valley, Rotary’s largest annual fundraiser, was a tough one, according to Dan Marini, the club’s president.

“The difficult decision was made because of declining revenue due to a number of factors, including weather,” Marini said on Thursday.

The Taste, as the event was commonly known, had been hosted by Rotary since 2002.

“We are pleased to report that, over the past sixteen years, the event has hosted hundreds of thousands of visitors and raised and donated over $280,000,” Marini said.

Proceeds from the annual festival — held in August in recent years and in June before that — have helped fund scholarships, community grants and other local projects for the betterment of the community, according to Marini.

The Rotary club donated all proceeds from its June 2011 event to West Side’s tornado recovery efforts.

The deadly storm hit just before the Taste was held, Marini said.

Plans are underway for two fundraisers: An Aug 17 concert by Back to the Garden 1969, a well-known Woodstock tribute band, at the Morgan Road Pavilion, and the Oct 21 Donut Dash 5K at Mittineague Park, an outdoor event during fall foliage season.

“We are excited about our new fundraisers and hope to see our many Taste fans at one or both of these events,” Marini said.

Source: Mass Live