Rotary Club enlists help of other clubs to fill needs of Clothe-A-Kid program
NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019 — During this past year, the Bardstown Rotary Club has donated several thousand dollars to local charities in Nelson County. The club has helped launch a Drug and Opioid Coalition, provided funding for children and senior programs in the area and hosting fundraisers to produce even more results for the quality of life for people in Nelson County.
None of these efforts have eclipsed the new-and-improved Clothe a Kid program the club has organized for the past several years. Formerly Coat A Kid, the local Rotary Club made a few changes this year. Instead of collecting new and used coats and distributing them to the public, the club’s new approach this fall was to work with the Family Resource Centers in Nelson County Schools to determine kids’ needs.
Family Resource Centers are focused on the welfare of their students, and working with the Bardstown Rotary Club seemed to be a perfect combination. However, the need far exceeded the expectations. The Rotary board allocated $2,500 to take care of this as this was the budget for the former program. As the list of needs grew, the club found it was in a lot deeper than the original plan could handle. After enlisting the aid of the Bardstown Optimist Club, the Knights of Columbus and several local merchants in the Bardstown area, the project was completed this year coming in with a price tag just shy of $10,000. The final distribution of clothes, clothing accessories and hygiene products took place this week with each of the local public schools travelling to the Guthrie Opportunity Center to meet with local Rotarians to make this mission a reality.
Raffo Wimsett III, who chaired the committee overseeing this project, was overwhelmed by the need, the outpouring of help and what more needs to be done. Plans are already underway to determine how to better manage this program in 2020. The Bardstown Rotary Club is made up of more than 40 local leaders from Nelson County and is always looking for more members to join in. They meet every Wednesday at the Nelson County Public Library for lunch, discussions of local needs and hearing from a guest speaker on current topics of interest. The organization hosts a variety of fundraisers throughout the year and distributes the money raised to local and international causes affecting people everywhere.
To learn more about the local chapter, check out bardstownrotaryclub.org.
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