The Rotary Club of Springfield Township inspired others to lend a hand in honor of Martin Luther King and a national day of service to others. The Rotary ran a two fold campaign using mostly Facebook to spread the word. The first part of the fundraiser was to collect toiletry items for the “Washeteria” at Face to Face Shelter in Germantown. The “Washeteria” allows people to come in and shower and wash their clothing in a dignified manner. Most of the participants are homeless war veterans. Numerous donations poured into Dan Helwig Realtors in Flourtown who offered to be a drop off location on behalf of Rotary. Tthe Springfield Democrats picked up on the news feed and held their own collection to contribute. All in all, thru Rotary and the combined efforts and donations of others who found out about the fundraiser on Facebook, 2000 Toiletries were collected and donated. The second half of the project was to collect money to pay for 200 meals on MLK Day at Face to Face. When last years restaurant vendor bowed out due to increased costs of chicken, Sandy Run Country Club stepped up. Mike Creeden, Manager at Sandy Run, was able to get most of the vegetables and chicken donated for free and his staff at Sandy Run prepared the 200 meals at no cost. Because of Sandy Run’s generosity there is a surplus of over $750 which will be donated to Face to Face as a monetary contribution to help with the upkeep and maintenance of the facility. On MLK Day, Rotarians and other volunteers served 200 grateful people at Face to Face who enjoyed an amazing and nutritious meal. Though MLK Day comes but once a year, Rotarians keep service in their hearts all year long living by and spreading their motto “service above self”. The community recognized their Facebook call to actions and the response was nothing less than extraordinary.
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