Members of the Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside Rotary raised $1,250 in just under two weeks and donated the money to the Santee Food Bank to help the nonprofit feed residents having a tough time during the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Club appealed to its members to donated $19 (after COVID 19) or whatever they could to help the Santee Food Bank. Members raised $1,250 in short order, which combined with the promised $250 from the District for a total of $1,500 delivered to the president of the Santee Food Bank, Pastor Dennis Martins, and several of the group's volunteers.
According to Pastor Martins "their (food bank) resources have been strained these past several weeks with the COVID 19 virus. While we typically feed 450 families, this month we have served almost 900. This pandemic has really had an impact on those that we serve."
In past years, District 5340 Matching Grants have also allowed the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club to support the Santee Food Bank by purchasing needed refrigerator and freezer units. The Club also partners with the Santee Post Office during their annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive providing assistance in off loading donated items from postal vehicles, weighing donations and then loading bins onto a donated large truck to deliver directly to the Santee Food Bank. Club participation allows the food items donated in Santee to stay in Santee.
Photo L-R: Pastor Dennis Martins, president of the Santee Food Bank and Bill Pommering, president of the Santee-Lakeside Rotary Club show off the $1,500 check donated by the club.
Photo: Food Bank volunteers showing graditude for the donation.