Monrovia Rotary Helps Young People Help Others

Participants at this Saturday’s event. – Courtesy photo / Facebook, @MonroviaRotary

By Susan Motander

For the last four years the Monrovia Rotary Club, along with other clubs around the nation, has joined forces with Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization that distributes life-changing aid in an effort to end world hunger by 2030. The club enlists the help of students from Monrovia schools in packing the meals.

This year, the club and students packed over 26,000 meals last Saturday. The Monrovia Unified School District graciously allows the club to use its facilities to stage the event. This year the old gym at Monrovia High School (MHS) was used.

The Monrovia Rotary Club finances and organizes the food packing. The club enlisted the help, not only of their own members, but those of the Interact Club, the Rotary-sponsored high school club. These clubs were joined by members of the Kaizen Martial Arts studio and the MHS soccer team.

Bill Shieff, who organizes the packing project, said that each year they have grown and plan to continue to do so. He said: “Many Rotary Clubs all around the world participate in Rise Against Hunger and I believe those clubs are responsible for about 30 percent of the total annual volume which is in the millions of meals provided.”

He added “I can tell you from personal experience that everyone who participates takes great joy in being a part of this event. I would like to invite you, your friends and family to join us next year. It’s only two hours out of your day and we all get much more out of it that we put in.”

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