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Sierra Vista West Rotary Club
SIERRA VISTA — A donation to the city’s homeless shelter made it a clean sweep for one service organization.
Eighteen months after buying a washing machine for Good Neighbor Alliance, the Sierra Vista West Rotary Club completed the set with a new matching dryer.
“It’s so nice, especially in this economy, when local service clubs look out for non-profits,” said GNA director Kathy Calabrese. “A donation like this is really important to us.”
 Anita Farrow, service projects committee chair for the Sierra Vista West Rotary Club, and Kathy Calabrese, director of the Good Neighbor Alliance, put a load of wash into a new dryer that was donated by the Rotary Club. (Courtesy of Amanda Baillie) |
The new machine will make a big difference to the daily routine at the shelter, Calabrese added.
“We will be able to wash and dry more sheets, blankets and pillow cases, and we always have a lot of towels to dry,” she said. “The new dryer is also more efficient and should cut our electric bill.
“Without the Rotary Club’s donation we would not have been able to afford a new machine and it’s especially nice to have the matching set.”
The Sierra Vista West Rotary Club collected half of the money needed through fundraisers and member donations, while the remaining 50 percent came from a grant via its district headquarters.
“We were thrilled when we got the grant,” said Anita Farrow, the Sierra Vista West Rotary Club’s service projects committee chair. “Our members are very much focused on projects in the West End and it was wonderful to be able to make this important donation to an organization which makes such a difference to our community.”
During September and October the shelter was filled to capacity, which included six toddlers and two babies.
“In fact, we had our first baby born to a family in the shelter,” Calabrese said. “Thankfully, that family has now transitioned to a townhouse and is doing well.”
Good Neighbor Alliance is located on North Seventh Street and is accepting donations of cash, toilet paper, paper towels and food.
Brightwood58 wrote on Nov 29, 2008 9:55 AM: