Rotary Club of Avalon Park Donates “Happy Dollars” to Local School Affected by Hurricane Ian

The effects of Hurricane Ian are longer-lasting for several local area schools due to flooding and water damage. By word-of-mouth, the Rotary Club of Avalon Park learned that Riverdale Elementary is a school who suffered a great loss to classroom furniture and supplies.

Many of the teachers lost most, or all of their belongings. This includes books, curriculum resources, supplies, and many personal classroom items. The school also had to relocate to East River High School while the necessary repairs are underway – a huge adjustment for the staff, teachers and students.

Rotary Club contacted the school and developed a partnership plan. “Riverdale Elementary is in great need of supplies and we are sharing their Amazon wish list with our club members to restock items,” stated club president, Jean Zambrano. “In addition to the supplies, we are donating our Happy Dollars collected each week, for six weeks to purchase materials to make supply bins for the student’s desks. These added cubbies are a great necessity as the desks do not have a drawer or tray for the kids to store their classroom supplies.”

In addition to classroom essentials, the school is concerned about the upcoming holidays and the increased number of families in need which has significantly increased due to the aftermath of the storm. Annual Thanksgiving baskets for families typically offer perishable food like boxed mashed potatoes, dressing, macaroni & cheese, canned veggies, rice, dinner rolls and beans. A small gift card to help purchase a meat like chicken, pork, or a mini cooked ham or turkey are usually included a well.

Anyone interested in donating towards this service project, please contact the Rotary Club of Avalon Park: avalonparkrotary@gmail. com.

Come by and check us out! We meet every Wednesday at 7:30 am at the Avalon Park Community Center, 13401 Tanja King Blvd. http://www.rotaryclubofavalonpark.org