In September, Rotarians from Columbus, North Columbus, Muscogee and Rotaract Clubs met enthusiastically and safely at the Trade Center Parking garage, to carry out our collaborative club service project. The venue provided an ideal open-air setting. All club members wore masks and packaged boxes for Hope Harbour, the third largest domestic violence shelter in the state of Georgia.

The shelter’s greatest needs are new pillow and sheet sets, personal hygiene packs, various toiletries, cleaning supplies, and books and toys for kids. Hope Harbour maintains an undisclosed address in Columbus; in 2019, according to the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, “7,530 victims made a request for shelter in our state, but their request was not met due to lack of space.” We’re proud to say that our clubs’ efforts contributed to supporting the sheltering at Hope Harbour of 396 mothers and children annually.

In addition to the nice turnout of many club members, Club Presidents Joe Young (Columbus), John Harford (North Columbus), and Alan George (Muscogee) were all on site. We were honored by the presence of Assistant Governor, Tracy Van Norman and District Governor, Kirk Driskell.

Our collaborative group also looks forward to partnering again soon to help meet the needs of our Feeding the Valley competitive grant. We’ll be packaging meals for children in need, a cause which has only increased with the spread of COVID-19.