Service clubs bring smiles to needy

    The service organizations in Washington are doing their part to make Christmas a joyful time of year for those in need. Several groups in the city have programs to assist low-income families who struggle to get by during the holiday season.

    The Rotary Club of Washington has for many years assisted Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) with the adoption of needy families in the community. Jim Mostek, the president of the Rotary chapter in Washington, said HACAP selects the families to adopt each Christmas season. Through Rotary?s donation, boxes of food are given to those families who need them the most.

    Mostek said that the boxes of food contain an assortment of nutritious food. In a single box, Mostek said there are between four to six cans of vegetables and fruit, four to six cans of soup, two boxes of cereal and then other non-perishable items such as pasta, peanut butter and jam.

    In order to provide them with perishable items such as milk, Rotary donates money for HACAP to purchase $10 gift cards for the families. The families take the gift cards to local grocery stores to buy any other necessities. Mostek said that one member in Rotary donates a butchered hog every year and that the meat is part of the families? food boxes.

    ?HACAP assists us immensely,? said Mostek. ?HACAP has been very good to work with and we are very grateful for their help.?

    The Rotary members feel good about being part of an organization that reaches out to underprivileged children and adults, said Mostek.

    ?It?s that time of year when the club loves to hear accounts of the families who were helped and how happy they are,? said Mostek. ?It?s one of our greatest projects. It?s very rewarding for our club to see the smiles on people?s faces.?

    Terry Engelken, the public relations chair for Rotary, said that some Rotary members go ?above and beyond? and adopt their own family to assist. He said that last year, Rotary helped to secure Christmas trees and decorations for families that did not have them.

    ?We feel good about what we?re able to do,? said Engelken. ?As a service organization, we?re here to help the community.?

    The Noon Kiwanis Club of Washington is another group that is very active this time of year. Steve Bohn, president of the Noon Kiwanis, said that his organization is also working with HACAP to bring smiles to the faces of people in need. Bohn said that HACAP gives his group between six and 10 sheets of paper, each one containing the needs of a family in the area. The sheet includes how many members are in the family, the age and the sex of the children, and what kinds of things the family lacks.

    ?HACAP gives us an idea of what the family needs, and we try to meet the basic needs and wants,? said Bohn. ?We buy a mixture of clothing, food, and toys for the children.?

    Bohn said that this year, the Kiwanis club accepted all of the families HACAP suggested to it. Each club member takes a sheet and purchases the items listed on the sheet that are needed by an individual in that family.

    ?A service club means doing service,? said Bohn. ?We?re just fulfilling our mission. It?s what we?re supposed to do.?

For the full article, see the Dec. 4 edition of the Washington Evening Journal.