Rotary clubs in Eastern United States and across the Caribbean Basin are combining resources to feed hungry children from Delaware to Trinidad and the Rotary Club of Downtown Roanoke has chosen the Pack A Snack Program at Highland Park Elementary School to fulfill the organization’s commitment.
It is a startling reality that in America children go hungry on a daily basis. In 2012, 22 per cent of children in the U.S. lived in poverty. Almost 16 million children right now live in what is termed as “food insecure household.”
Andrea Milliron, President of the Rotary Club of Downtown Roanoke and long time Roanoke Valley resident shared “67,000 Rotarians in as many as 1,500 clubs will be collectively making a difference for thousands of families in hundreds of communities. Rotary Club of Downtown Roanoke is committed to helping feed dozens of hungry children. When the call went out for donations, with a match by the board, $1,097 was raised in just a few days to provide nutritious foods for children who otherwise might go without.”
This donation is being made in partnership with “Southwest Congregations in Action,” a group made up worshiping congregations in and around downtown Roanoke including Beth Israel, Second Presbyterian, Green Memorial UMC, St. Marks Lutheran, St. John’s Episcopal, Central Church of the Brethren, Christ Episcopal and First Christian Church. The group regularly provides snacks and other resources for Highland Park Elementary School where there are currently 93 students who receive weekly snack bags on Fridays, and well as support when other needs arise. The Pack a Snack Program provides nonperishable, easy to prepare foods for these young elementary age students to have food to eat over the weekend while school is out.
This project, known as “Rotary Has Heart,” is an annual event held each February. The Rotary Club had planned to use Valentine’s Day as the target date for shopping and delivering snacks to Highland Park Elementary but “The Great Snow of 2014” delayed the shopping efforts of the Club. Instead, Rotary Club members will shopped on Friday February 21st and delivered over $1,000 in healthy foods to the school at noon.
For more information contact Andrea Milliron at 540.797.2744 or email [email protected]
