Food Packaging Event - October 24, 2016

District Food Packaging Event: Saturday, November 12 at Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough

By Carol Toomey

Hunger. Starvation. Food insecurity. Not having enough to eat. And worrying about where the next meal comes from. All, have long-term impacts on educational achievement, workforce productivity, chronic-disease risk, and mental health. Children’s academic performance is negatively affected by food insecurity, and food-insecure adults have higher rates of absenteeism at work. Food insecurity is also correlated with higher rates of obesity.

The Rotary clubs in District 7910 are continuing our efforts to combat hunger. We are holding our annual District-wide Food Packaging Event on Saturday, November 12 from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. at the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough.

Last year with the hands-on help of more than 150 Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors and RYLAns, we packaged and distributed more tha 48,000 shelf-stable and nutritious meals. Several clubs brough prospective members, who later became Rotarians after participating in this hands-on project.

This year, we are partnering with Stop Hunger Now to provide meals to the international community. As always, we need your help.

We need help with both volunteers and raising money. We want you to bring your club, your Interact club, your RYLAns and your prospective members to help package food. We also ask that you help support us financially.

Ask your club members to volunteer. This is a hands-on event; we need your help. Please register to volunteer the day of the event – sign-up times will be posted shortly on the District website. Due to the nature of the food packaging, we need all volunteers to register in advance. Unfortunately, there will be no opportunity to help the day of the event without pre-registering.

Bring your Interact club. Food-packaging is a great way to involve the next generation in working on service projects with you, and get assistance in raising funds. Coordinate with your Interact club!

Bring prospective members. Research has clearly demonstrated that the best way to get new members is to have them be involved in hands-on service projects. What better way to demonstrate the power of Rotary than to bring a prospective member to a District-wide service project?

Raise funds - We need all funds in by November 4. Donate. Ask others to donate. Ask your Rotary club to donate. Ask your Interact club to donate. Hold an event to raise money for the project. Our fundraising goal is $15,000, and we desperately need help to reach this goal. Contact me at carolrotary@aol.com for fundraising ideas and where to send funds.