BLESSING THE COMMUNITY: Local Rotary clubs connect through service

BLESSING THE COMMUNITY: Local Rotary clubs connect through service

Story by JEN CALHOUN Photography by MATT LEDGER

Lafayette Rotary members teamed up with Dunkin’ Donuts for the Purple Pinkie Donut fundraiser for Polio.

When one of the members of the Rotary Club of Lafayette first came up with the idea for the club’s new Blessing Box, the group immediately embraced the idea.

After all, the box — a 3-by-3-foot outdoor container that holds nonperishable foods, toiletries and other items — could help members of the community in times of need without them having to ask for it. “We felt like it would really be utilized,” says Cindy Gammons, a longtime member of the club and an upcoming regional Rotary governor.

But the Blessing Box is just one of the ways Rotary clubs in this region help to make a difference. “Service over self is what Rotarians do,” says Ernie Stafford, president of the Scottsville Rotary Club. “We want to serve our communities any way we can.”

WHAT IS ROTARY?

Both the Scottsville and Lafayette Rotary clubs are part of Rotary International, a group of more than 1.2 million members worldwide who apply their experience and commitment to help improve their communities and the world.

Members of the Lafayette Rotary Club have built a Blessing Box at the Macon County Chamber of Commerce, which will have resources for people in need.

A Chicago lawyer formed the organization in 1905, and it got its name from the way early members would rotate meetings between their offices. As a whole, the organization has invested more than $200 million and 16 million volunteer hours to promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, save mothers and children, support education and grow local economies, Rotary International says. Special Rotary projects include helping provide polio vaccinations to children all over the world and promoting literacy.

ROTARY CLUB OF LAFAYETTE

Local chapters do good works for their own communities, too. Lafayette’s club plans a project each month in addition to its ongoing efforts. In September, the club collaborated with local health organizations and other entities to put on the 23rd Annual Makin’ Macon Fit event, which takes place on the Saturday of the first full week of September. Activities include a 5K run, a 3-mile walk, a bike rodeo, an obstacle course and a bouncy house for children. “We offer all kinds of different activities for different age groups as a way to encourage people to be more active and healthy,” Gammons says.

Cindy Gammons, with the Rotary Club of Lafayette, was named District-Governor nominee.

The club also donates dictionaries to every third grader in the county each fall. “And they’re more than just dictionaries,” Gammons says. “They have maps of the world, sign language, a list of the presidents and the states, and other reference tools. A lot of kids will tell us that this is their very first book they’ve ever had.”

In addition, the Lafayette club donates school supplies to local children in need, offers scholarships to local students, supplies library books to students in Africa, cleans local parks and maintains trails, raises money for polio immunizations by selling Dunkin’ Donuts and more. “There are so many people that don’t have what we have,” Gammons says. “It’s important for us to help people out and do what we can to make things better for others and our whole community.”

SCOTTSVILLE ROTARY CLUB

Scottsville Rotary Club also serves as a driving force in its community. Each year, the club provides scholarships to students and helps local food pantries, among other goals.

One of the club’s biggest events is the Rotary Club Food Pantry Packaging Project, or Pack Shack, in February. During the event, members hold a drive to collect and box food items for families in need. “Last year, we boxed up about 22,000 meals,” Stafford says.

The event includes help from the high school’s Interact Club, which is a subsidiary of Rotary for children ages 12 to 18. Another offshoot of Rotary is Rotaract, which is geared toward younger adults ages 18 to 30. “Everybody is involved in the annual food packaging event in February,” Stafford says. “People of all ages help out. It always brings a smile to my face to see how hard everyone is working to make it happen.”

The Scottsville club’s other big fundraisers and events include a steak sandwich sale in October and the club’s popular annual radio auction. The auction, which WVLE/WLCK 99.3 FM broadcasts, takes place over two evenings in April.

Ernie Stafford, president of the Scottsville Rotary Club.

During the event, people can check out the items on Facebook or listen to the radio for a description. From there, they can call in to place bids. Products can range from restaurant gift cards to zero turn riding lawn mowers. The money raised goes to scholarships for students, literacy efforts, the food drive and many other projects. “It’s our largest fundraiser by far,” Stafford says. “We’re always trying to make it better, and I think we’ve done that in the last few years.” 

Volunteers with the Scottsville Rotary Club Food Packaging Project, or Pack Shack, boxed up 22,000 meals in 2019.

Rotary Events in January and February

To find out more about Rotary Club of Lafayette in Tennessee or Scottsville Rotary Club in Kentucky, visit the clubs’ Facebook pages for meeting times and upcoming events. The Lafayette club will hold its annual Rook tournament in January, and the Scottsville club will conduct its annual Rotary Club Food Pantry Packaging Project in February.

The Blessing Box sits outside the Macon County Chamber of Commerce at 685 Highway 52 Bypass West in Lafayette. Anyone in need can take items from the box. Residents can also donate items.