Click the above 30 second video to learn how Abilene SW Rotary Club used District Grant funds available because of member Rotary Foundation donations to fund a fantastic project right in their home town.
The project is actually fairly large scale, encompassing all of Abilene Independent School District (ES,MS & HS) as well as 9 other surrounding rural school districts. Carepacks For Kids distributes 1,500 packs each week of the school year (25 weeks), therefore approximately 37,500 packs are distributed each school year. The average cost per pack is $3.50,which puts the annual cost of food donated each year at $131,250. Our donation was able to purchase 350 of the packs to be given to the kids.
The program has "Pack Nights" every other Tuesday where volunteers gather to pack the food into individual packs for the kids. The packs are then delivered to the school districts where they are discreetly given to the students who request them. Each pack consists of shelf stable items that are easy for kids to open and consume without adult help, simply because a lot of them don't have it. The program does a tremendous job of stretching the donated dollars to help as many kids as possible.
The packs typically consist of the following items:
2- High Protein Chocolate Milks
1- Sugar Free Gatorade
1- Apple Sauce
1- Beef Jerky Stick
1- Snack Crackers
1- NutriGrain Bar
1- Roasted Peanuts
1-Whole Grain Cereal
Abilene Southwest Rotary began volunteering at the Pack Nights in 2019.
A large project such as this would not be possible without the generous donations to The Rotary Foundation annual fund by club members every year.
This years grant was matched with funds from TRF that were donated by club members 3 years ago.
50% of the Abilene SW RC annual fund donations in 2017-2018 Rotary year were available for a district matching grants during the 2020-2021 Rotary year. The club funded the remaining 50% through club fund raisers. That matching grant provided funds to deliver 350 Carepacks for Kids that would have gone without food otherwise.
I would like all Rotarians to consider donating the The Rotary Foundation as me and my fellow Rotary members at Abilene Southwest Rotary Club have over the years. If you do, those donations come back for projects in your own community.
This year, there is added incentive to donate. This year, District 5790 is matching every dollar (minimum $250) on a one for one basis with recognition points. So, someone who is not yet a Paul Harris Fellow can become one with a $500 donation to the annual fund.
Are you already a Paul Harris Fellow? Why not be a PHF+1. If you have 1500 recognition points and you donate $250, the district will match it with 250 recognition points so that you can become a PHF+1.
I am happy to answer any other questions about our project. Should you be interested in the point match program please contact Janice Kane via email at msjkane1@gmail.com or via phone at 817-360-0684 before Jan 31, 2021 to arrange your donation and point match.
Josh