Byesville
Rotary: the little club that could
Challenge number 1: the
23 members of the club came up with new ideas to raise money. Project
co-chairs—Jordi and Dennis Harding—set the goal at $8000 to provide for 200
families.
The Stuff Santa’s
Stocking fundraiser could be done outside at an intersection. Members could
wear masks and keep an arm’s length away from people in vehicles. Club members held
2 of these fund raisers raising 1/3 of the budget needed.
The club wrote and
submitted 3 grants: a Rotary District grant, a United Way grant, and a third
grant written when the club was invited by Byesville mayor Jay Jackson to
submit a grant for CARES funds received by Byesville. To date, the club has
been awarded a Rotary District Grant and a CARES Grant from Byesville.
A GoFundMe Charity
account was established. That account raised $1,960 in 1 month.
Challenge number 2:
ensure that each dollar spent was used as effectively as possible to buy
non-perishable items. Project co-chairs worked with the Main Avenue Methodist
Food Pantry to purchase non-perishable items from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Perishables
were purchased from local business.
Final
challenge—recruit enough club members and volunteers to pack 400 food boxes—2
for each family—and develop a system to keep all volunteers safe. Thank you,
Jordi for all your planning.
On December 18, club
members, friends, family members and student volunteers from Rosencrantz and
Shenandoah, high schools, Mideast CTC and Mount Union College met to fill
baskets. On December 19, a drive-by distribution process allowed families to
pick up their food baskets without getting out of their vehicles. Baskets were
distributed to 200 families—totaling about 800 people that will be supported by
the Christmas food baskets.
Two boxes of food
were provided to each family with enough food to provide a Christmas dinner and
several good meals to start the new year. Perishables included a turkey, turkey
breast or ham, 1 gallon of milk, butter, eggs, potatoes, oranges and apples. A
second box of non-perishables included cans of fruit and vegetables, noodles,
pasta, peanut butter or jam, dish soap, cereal, tomato sauce and mac and
cheese.
Without community
support, this project could not have happened.
Byesville Rotary is a
small club but a club that is blessed to have individuals from the community
and local businesses make contributions toward this important service project.
Club members are very grateful to each person that drove by our Stuff Santa
Stocking volunteers and made a donation. You have helped make this Christmas
happier for 800 people. Thank you.
Connect with #ByesvilleRotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com , Twitter Byesville_Club, or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. Watch the Byesville Rotary Facebook page for details. #6690
Example of box with perishable items.
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