2017-01-01 Peoria North Rotary Clothing Drive

 
Peoria North Rotary Clothing Drive
By Bret McKeand - RC of Peoria North, President
 
Thanks to the efforts of The Rotary Club of Peoria North, three refugee families from Africa will enjoy their first Christmas in the United States with clothes and toys for their children, and a true sense of the generous spirit that exists in their newly adopted country.
 
The club chose to adopt three families who recently emigrated to the United States to escape their war-torn nations in North Africa. The families are sending their 11 children to the Carol G. Peck Elementary School, a Title One school in the Alhambra District, that is known for serving some of the poorest families in the Valley of the Sun.
 
The holiday adopt-a-family project was the idea of club’s service project chair Jason Braunstein. Jason’s sister is a teacher at the school and helped the club coordinate distribution of the gifts to the three families.
 
Club members were asked to bring donations to the club’s annual holiday party held Dec. 14 in Sun City West. Members brought boxes and bags of toys, clothing, toiletries and other gifts. In addition, the club voted to purchase $450 in Wal-Mart gift cards to give to the families.
 
The funds for the gift cards were the result of a clothing drive held in November. The club gathered clothes from members, friends and a local church. After donating some to the Peoria Police Department (to help with its homeless project), and jackets and coats to a local drive to support UMOM Day Centers, the remaining items were “sold” to Savers.
The Rotary Club of Peoria North partnered with Savers, a Valley-wide thrift store that benefits Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and received cash for every pound of clothing turned over. The club received nearly $400 for its efforts – and those funds were used to purchase the gift cards to support the refugee families.
 
“It was a lot of hard work,” said Club President Bret McKeand. “Our members collected over a thousand pounds of clothes and stored them in their garage for over a month, and then brought it all to Savers to claim our earnings. It felt pretty good to devote that money to families and kids who really need it at this time of the year.”
From left, members Ken Parsons, Gary Connelly and Bret McKeand prepare.