Forty-seven volunteers from the Centerville Rotary Club, some 60 members strong, donned their gold Rotarian at Work shirts March 19 for an all-inclusive service day at six Dayton area charity venues. Six more volunteers will work a make-up day March 26 in the Centerville Washington Park District.
Forty-seven volunteers from the Centerville Rotary Club, some 60 members strong, donned their gold Rotarian at Work shirts March 19 for an all-inclusive service day at six Dayton area charity venues. Six more volunteers will work a make-up day March 26 in the Centerville Washington Twp. Park District.
Rotary’s motto is Service above Self, and besides the Centerville service club’s many donations and community and international projects throughout the year, the Centerville Rotary decided to dedicate one day to get as many club members as possible doing service together. Members got to choose from six different projects:
At Daybreak/Lindy & Company, 823 Wayne Ave., Rotarians worked at their on-site work readiness training facility for homeless youth, Lindy & Company, Daybreak’s gourmet pet treat bakery. Work included baking and then packing samples into individual packaging and then re-packing for use in their booths at local fairs, farmer markets, festivals and other locations. Two Rotarians, a family member and five Interact Club members from Centerville High School worked there.
At Daybreak/Lindy & Company, 823 Wayne Ave., Rotarians worked at their on-site work readiness training facility for homeless youth, Lindy & Company, Daybreak’s gourmet pet treat bakery. Work included baking and then packing samples into individual packaging and then re-packing for use in their booths at local fairs, farmer markets, festivals and other locations. Two Rotarians, a family member and five Interact Club members from Centerville High School worked there.
At Hannah’s Treasure Chest, 124 Westpark Road, Centerville, which provides winter coats and other items for children and families in need (the club has provided around 300 new coats each of the past two years), eight Rotarians and two family members cleaned overhead ceiling lights and replaced all burned out bulbs. They also organized, cleaned, helped with program needs, and re-organized inventory layout.
At Project READ, working from the office of Look At A Book, 661 Lyons Road, Centerville, one of its many partners in promoting literacy throughout the Miami Valley, eight Rotarians and one family member helped sort and pack 5,100 children’s books in a span of three hours.
Holly Elkins-Lopez, Education-Programs Outreach Coordinator for Project READ, said “Those books will be distributed to schools and literacy programs in the many months ahead. In addition to the book sorting, we are tremendously thankful for the Rotary’s support in the collection of books. The Rotary gave us the means to collect book donations throughout the community by supplying Project READ book bins. Project READ couldn’t do the things we do in the community without the support of the Rotary. We are truly grateful for this wonderful partnership.”
At the House of Bread, 9 Orth Ave., Dayton, eight Rotarians worked with the staff to help prepare and serve more than 200 hot, nutritious lunchtime meals to those in need. They also helped with the clean up afterwards.
At St. Vincent de Paul’s Community Store, 945 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd., Dayton, four Rotarians and one family member worked with other volunteers to sort food donations (mostly cans and boxes) and packed them into individual bags for passing out to the less fortunate through the store’s food pantry. They helped prepare over 400 food bags for the clients of St Vincent de Paul.
At Kennard Nature Nook, Grant Park, 6588 McEwen Road, Centerville, six Rotarians and one family member did a thorough spring cleaning of the Nook.
Work included cleaning tables/ chairs, cupboards/counter tops, appliances, floors, washrooms and washing windows and walls. They also did mulching around the building in the rain.
The Centerville Rotary Club meets at noon on Thursdays at The Clubhouse at Yankee Trace. You can see more photos and news about the club at the Centerville Rotary Club facebook page. You can donate new and gently used books for Project READ at donation boxes provided by Centerville Rotary at nine area Starbuck sites (thru April 10). You can also donate at Look At A Book at 661 Lyons Road, Centerville, and at Project READ at Building 3, Room 142, Sinclair Community College. Call ahead for curbside pickup at 937-461-7323.
