There wasn’t enough room to fit all 40 Rockingham Rotary Club grant recipients into one room Monday afternoon, so the club is going to do it in two takes.

After formalizing its grant application process, the club received applications for grant funding from 50 local organizations. Twenty of those were awarded grants at Monday’s ceremony, and 20 others will receive theirs next Monday. All in all, $48,052 was given away.

“We really wanted to address specific needs,” said David Harling, club president-elect of the new grant application process. “We wanted (organizations) to tell us exactly how they were going to use the money.”

Rockingham Rotary raises the grant money through its annual auction and barbecue plate sale, and has donated $925,000 to charity since the first auction was held 53 years ago.

Rotary advertised the opportunity and solicited applications from the community, which Harling said got more groups to step forward that had previously not been affiliated with the club.

“Like Back Pack Pals — we knew about them, and we knew it was a good program,” said Harling of the emergency food program for children run by Helping Hands of Hamlet. “We had never funded them before. But they wrote a good (application) and we gave them a grant.”

Grant recipient Roger Staley of Foundation for FirstHealth Richmond said the money received by his organization will go to offset the costs of the wellness screenings it provides to the community.

“We had in excess of 1,500 people screened this past year,” said Staley. “And two of those cases were somewhat severe; they detected potentially life-threatening (conditions) that those two people didn’t know about.”

According to Lacy Sheppard of AmVet Post 316, his organization gives away 99.1 percent of what it takes in.

“We’re not above helping anyone who is in need,” said Sheppard. “That’s why we stay broke.”

He listed various groups and individuals that have received assistance from the post, including the families of recently-deployed National Guardsmen, widows of veterans, families whose houses have burned down, or veterans who simply need a helping hand.

“We recently helped one vet who was traveling through the county and down on his luck,” said Sheppard. “He came into the Health department looking for aid, and they called us. He had been on a park bench downtown for two days and two nights.”

The money Post 316 gave the man to get back on his feet comes exclusively from fundraising - and, now a rotary grant.

“We want to congratulate you for all you do in the community,” said Harling to the grant recipients at Monday’s function. “We sincerely hope that the funds you receive today will have a positive impact on the lives of many.”