The Rockingham Rotary Club gathered on Monday to disperse part of the club’s funds that were raised over the past year.
“We’ve set a fund raising record this year,” said Robert Voorhees, club president.
The club raised $57,900 and many of the funds will be distributed throughout various organizations in the county.
Yesterday, representatives gathered to accept checks on behalf of their organizations.
Steve Crews accepted a check on behalf of Helping Hands of Hamlet.
“This organization operates Backpack Pals of Richmond County, which provides food for hungry school children during the weekends,” said Crews. “We’re an all-volunteer organization and this money will be used to buy food. We’re currently packing 539 bags of food every week.”
Debbie Rohleder accepted a check on behalf of Our Daily Bread Food Ministries.
“We are currently serving 500 to 650 families per month,” said Rohleder.
Melanie Carnes accepted a check on behalf of Sandhills Children’s Center.
“We will be using these funds to purchase an AED defibrillator,” said Carnes.
Bobbie Sue Ormsby accepted a check on behalf of L.J. Bell Elementary School.
“If it weren’t for the Rotary Club, I don’t know that we’d be able to continue our Early Readers program, which is what these funds will be used for,” said Ormsby.
Austin Andrews accepted a check on behalf of the Richmond Senior High School quiz bowl team.
“I’m captain of the team, and we travel around the state competing in academic competitions,” said Andrews. “These funds will help us cover the cost of travel.”
Jewell Price accepted a check on behalf of Richmond Senior High School.
“These funds will help us offset the costs of our annual awards banquet,” said Price.
Deborah Knight accepted a check on behalf of the Leath Memorial Library.
“This will help support our summer reading program,” said Knight. “Last year we had 2,800 children attend our program.”
Patrick Hill accepted a check on behalf of Samaritan Colony.
“Thank you for your continued commitment to Samaritan Colony,” said Hill. “We usually use these funds to pay insurance, but we’re hoping to do some expansions in the future.”
Chris Watkins accepted a check on behalf of the Boy Scouts of Richmond County.
“We will use these funds to keep costs down for our scouts,” said Watkins. “We’re the only council in the U.S. that provides rank advancements free of charge. We also help send scouts to camp who can’t afford the cost. We didn’t turn any scouts away from camp last year.”
Michelle Parrish accepted a check on behalf of the United Way of Richmond County.
“The last few years, we’ve used these funds to help with our ‘Live United’ T-shirts,” said Parrish.
Rick Deese accepted a check on behalf of Richmond County Crime Stoppers.
“We also have a joint effort with Campus Crime Stoppers,” said Deese.
Dennis Holloway accepted a check on behalf of AmVets Post 316.
“We are in place to help veterans,” said Holloway. “For example, we have some veterans who are in need of wheelchair ramps and these funds will help us cover that.”
Crystal McLendon accepted a check on behalf of New Horizons.
“These funds will be used to complete the privacy fence at our shelter location,” said McLendon.
Kay Sheppard accepted a check on behalf of the Richmond County Autism Society.
“This will help send some of our kids to Camp Royal, and will also help us provide educational books to parents of children with autism,” she said.
Benny Leviner accepted a check on behalf of Toys for Tots.
“Over the past five years, we have been able to give 24,800 toys to children,” said Leviner.
Christy Player accepted a check on behalf of the Rockingham Fire Department.
“We’ll use these funds to purchase car safety seats for children,” she said.
The Richmond County Health Department also received a check, but a representative was not present.
“We’ve given out $17,150 today,” said Rick Bacon, president elect.
The remainder of the funds to be distributed will be dispersed on Monday.
The organization’s District Gov. Allen Langley and District Foundation Chairman Firoz Peera attended the special ceremony in honor of the 19 individuals being recognized as Paul Harris Fellows for their contributions of $1,000 or more.
Fellows named were: Dr. Don Covington; Robert Voorhees; Bloddie McClanathan; Allison Farrah; Joe Davis; Jeff Dieffenbach; Dr. Masoud Ahdieh; Chuck Cobb; Tim Hayden; Don Bryant; Bobby Talton; Evans Sheppard; John Martin Page; Mark Human; Mary Ellen Shea; Bill Council; John Yates; Dr. Larry Weatherly; and Kim Covington.
— Staff Writer Kelli Easterling can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 18, or by email at keasterling@heartlandpublications.com.
Post a Comment
