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Service Above Self
Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: 2021/04 – April
The Plateau’s Rotary Clubs’ inviolate principles of Service extend to those in their communities and those around the globe.
Malice Grant, The Rotary Club of Cashiers
Rotary Clubs all across America make a significant impact in communities. The goal of Rotary International, of which local Rotaries are a part, is “to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.”
Closer to home, The Rotary Club of Highlands, Rotary Club of Cashiers Valley, and Mountaintop Rotary look for ways to be good neighbors.
Sherry Holt, 2019-20 president of The Rotary Club of Highlands, said, “If someone has an illness that requires a number of appointments, our club will help with organization of transportation. We also have a fuel fund for people that might be having a difficult time (lost job, sickness, etc.) One of our passions is Highlands School, and we have been excited to assist AHEC (Advance Highlands Education Committee) in getting the [Highlands] school equipped with up to date technology.”
Together with Mountaintop Rotary, The Rotary Club of Highlands also provides dental education and screening to younger school-age children. Plus, all three clubs are stepping in to provide a Covid-19 vaccination initiative, which informs and educates about the vaccine and works to make sure people in the community have access to it.
Robin Austin, of Mountaintop Rotary, shared additional ways members assist in the community, including volunteerism and fundraising efforts for local food banks and the Community Care Clinic; cutting felled or toppled trees into firewood for those who heat with wood; providing grocery cards to needy individuals; donating coats; and much more.
Offered Malice Grant, “In addition to lending its support to the Covid-19 vaccine initiative, The Rotary Club of Cashiers continues to focus its work on those projects that have the greatest impact in our community during acute times of need. Our members manage and deliver Meals on Wheels in the county, collect and distribute warm clothing throughout the winter months, and contribute monetarily to area non-profits and students through our grants and scholarships. We also recently conducted an Employee Appreciation program that recognized the Cashiers-based Ingles employees for their effort and support throughout the pandemic.”
Overall, said Austin, “Area Rotarians have donated hundreds of hours to the vaccine initiative and are touching the lives of plateau residents in many ways, every day. Rotary is all about ‘Service Above Self.’”
