As we look forward to moving back to the Plaza on Thursday, March 5, the club has committed to supporting Vashti in a variety of ways.

Vashti has been a focus for our club’s service since the club’s founding in 1921. During the past year, meetings on the Vashti campus and interactions with staff and students helped members more fully understand the critical support the organization provides to more than 500 children and their families throughout our region.

Members of the Rotary Club donated $8,125 to Vashti during our final regular club meeting at Vashti last week.

Additionally, at our Feb. 12 meeting, service projects chair Melanie Cromartie announced a committee to provide ongoing and annual support to the children who benefit from Vashti services. If you would like to join in any of these efforts, please contact Marta Jones-Turner and/or the lead noted below:

Regular Projects:

• Birthday cakes: 20 cakes and birthday celebrations per year (Marta)
• Students assist/attend Rotary Meetings: 1 or 2 Vashti students will attend Rotary meetings weekly, serve tea and water, and congregate with Rotarians (Devona Thompson)
• Students assist at monthly fresh produce market: Students to volunteer alongside Rotarians at produce distribution (Mike Beaty)
• Graduation celebrations: Coordinate graduation celebration and gift baskets for Vashti residents who complete high school (Marcy Sizemore, Laura Pike)
• Little Library: Build, install, and manage a community Little Library on campus (Andy Vann)
• Lifestyle classes: Join Vashti Connectors in offering monthly lifestyle classes. What would you teach your own children that you can also teach the children who live at Vashti? Sewing, cooking, changing tires, tying a tie – the sky is the limit! (Kellie Merck, Marcy Sizemore, Devona Thompson)

Annual Projects

• Off-campus spring break cookout: Provide a cookout and enrichment activity during spring break for the residential students at Vashti (Mike Beaty, Paul Overstreet, Tony Lloyd)
• Rotary workday: Work with Vashti staff to establish and execute a project plan for an annual workday to work on landscaping, building repairs, painting, etc. (Angela Williamson, Jim Bue, David Sofferin, Tony Lloyd
• Vashti fundraising: Encourage donations from club members to support Vashti with annual gifts, and consider other fundraising opportunities (Andy Vann)

How can you support Vashti?