Santa Clara’s service clubs are a bonus to our local economy and behind the scenes contributors to our residents.
Clubs like Kiwanis, Lions, Soroptimist and Rotary provide a bridge between individuals who desire to give and those in need who are recipients.
While these clubs are nonprofit, there is more to their purpose than collecting money from the local community for do-good projects.
Every member of a service club is a volunteer, including the officers and directors. They offer their time to run club meetings, plan projects and raise funds to complete projects that benefit residents of our city.
Earlier this month, Santa Clara Soroptimist Club held its annual Christmas Store, which provides free gift shopping to families who are not in a position to shop. Toys, clothes and household items were made available by club members who did the shopping and stocked the Christmas store. Funds for this project were raised at the Soroptimist annual Classy Bag Affaire.
And the Santa Clara Rotary Club held its Christmas 4 Kids luncheon, where 150 children were treated to a bus ride, lunch and a visit from Santa, who delivered a bag of toys for every child. In addition, each youngster received a new winter coat. These toys were donated by, you guessed it, volunteers from the club. These toys were purchased by age group and the coats were bought with size information from teachers.
Rotary fundraisers and donors finance the event.
Providing services to those in need helps local stores, restaurants and retailers, who benefit from club purchases for their projects.
When times get tough, local service club members work even harder to keep their commitments and fulfill their club objectives.
Many of these service clubs begin planning their fundraising projects a year in advance and do parallel planning for the events where the funds are used.
You might ponder for a moment about what our community would be like without the volunteers of our local service clubs and what they do to bring cheer into the lives of so many less fortunate. It would be a darker and sadder time for many of our neighbors.
Every one of these service clubs always welcomes new members and this might be a good time to consider your own affiliation with one of them.
What could be a better way to serve Santa Clara and your community than to know the time you invest will benefit kids, seniors and the physically challenged?
It may even take your mind off your own worries and make your holidays more fun.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
