COVID-19 slammed our country earlier this spring and as people of action, members of the Alliance Rotary Club have answered the call.  Through the Support Alliance Initiative, the Alliance Rotary Club sought to ensure the vulnerable population received necessary meals during this crisis, and to support and encourage our local healthcare professionals and businesses. The Club received $2,000 through The Rotary Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International and local clubs worldwide.

Alliance Rotary Club distributed the grant award to Community Table and purchased gift cards from Newberry’s Common Ground and Dairy Queen to gift to all employees of Box Butte General Hospital.

The Club donated $1,000 to Community Table, an organization that addresses poverty by providing a meal to those in need. Because of the coronavirus, Community Table transitioned from dine-in lunch service to a critical meal pick-up and delivery service. Local service groups volunteering for Community Table were preparing and delivering approximately 250-300 meals daily – an exponential increase from their typical 60-80 daily meals prior to COVID. To help them keep up with demand, the Alliance Rotary Club made the donation to Community Table by crediting their charge account at Grocery Kart.

Supporting small businesses who were experiencing a reduction in hours, customers, and income, as well as frontline healthcare workers, was another priority for the Club. To maximize the $1,000 grant, the Club purchased gift cards from Newberry’s Common Ground and Dairy Queen to donate to Box Butte General Hospital, a critical access hospital responsible for serving a large rural area. The donation of gift cards to BBGH helped the Club show gratitude for each of the 275 frontline healthcare professionals.

Rotary District 5630 made $25,150 available to clubs submitting a grant request project.  The Rotary Foundation  Disaster Aid grant was to be used throughout (central and Western) Nebraska in response to COVID-19 and the pandemic’s impact on its communities. If you are interested to learn more about Rotary Club, visit www.Rotary.org or contact Mara Andersen by email at mara@alliancereccenter.com with questions.

submitted by Mara Andersen
Alliance Rotary Club