Local club adopts 17 families for Christmas

Sunday, December 19, 2004
Carol Branham works on putting sacks of presents together for the Nevada Rotary Club. Branham said the presents are going to people who didn't quite fit the criteria of other programs to help families and would miss out on Christmas gifts without the Rotary's help.

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Herald

Carol Branham sits at her kitchen table explaining why she likes working on community projects for Rotary.

"I like to work hands on and during the holidays there are some people who aren't getting services, I like working with them," Branham said. "Our goal is to have a broad scope -- infants to seniors -- and that's who we try to help."

Branham explained that on the current project she's working on -- the group adopted several local families for Christmas, providing gifts for family members -- she tried to talk over the needs of the families being helped and see what it is they can use. While she has concentrated on getting families presents that are needed and useful she also tries to get some that are more fun.

"They have been very grateful and supportive when I try to get lists of what is needed," Branham said. "Their requests have been relatively simple sometimes it's even something like a case of Ensure for seniors, clothes and the like. I've had to encourage them to ask for toys."

"Clubs like Rotary always try to look for things within the community to do," Branham said. "A lot of times Rotary does a lot with youth and scholarship, they donate to numerous charities within the community along with the work they do with Rotary International. This is something special, most of these people wouldn't be getting services from any agency without this effort."

Branham said that this time of year was especially hard on the people not served by traditional charities and that Rotary was trying to fill a void, not compete with anyone.

"We have tried to see where we're needed," Branham said. "We're not competing or trying to duplicate any other programs. A lot of the people we will be helping don't meet the criteria for the other programs and we just want to be there to help out."

The current project Branham is working on has her living room filled with clothes and other presents for the families Rotary is helping. "They've just sort of taken over, but that's OK," Branham said. "It will get straightened out soon enough."

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