The Rotary Club of Georgetown set time aside during its weekly meeting last Friday to wipe out weekend hunger for 800 Central Texas school children. Members packed weekend food kits for children who rely on school meals during the week but live in homes that are food insecure. Envisioned by Rotary District 5870 Governor Shannon Coleman of Pflugerville, the district-wide hands-on service project is designed to help feed thousands of children who might otherwise go hungry.
District 5870 Governor Shannon Coleman
The Rotary Club of Georgetown is the 22nd Rotary club Coleman has visited and recruited to participate in the effort. Before starting the assembly line, Coleman told the Georgetown members that they were the largest club so far to undertake this project and so she expected them to set a record for weekend food kits packed. She brought Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Pflugerville to help with the set up and provide an orientation to the process. Georgetown club members came ready. They quickly moved from station to station adding food items such as cereal boxes and granola bars to bags. In 35 minutes, the club had filled 800 bags. The completed bags from all the District 5870 clubs Coleman visits will be distributed in local communities by Backpack Friends, a Pflugerville non-profit.
Earlier in the meeting, the Rotary Club of Georgetown also recognized Helping Hands of Georgetown for its summer food program. The club had provided $6,000 to support that program and the food it provided to summer campers. Rotary Club of Georgetown President Cat Phelps expressed her appreciation to the club members for always putting service above self. She says, “Ensuring that children do not go hungry is central to Rotary's commitment to giving children a healthy future.”
Rotarians form an assembly line to pack weekend food kits.