Log in

PebbleCreek Rotary, Kare Bears partner with student leaders on food drive

4,500 pounds of canned goods, $3,100 goes to Agua Fria Food Bank

Posted 5/5/20

Rotary Club of Goodyear PebbleCreek and PebbleCreek’s Kare Bears club recently partnered with students from six West Valley schools April 13-24 to collect more than 4,500 pounds of canned food …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor

PebbleCreek Rotary, Kare Bears partner with student leaders on food drive

4,500 pounds of canned goods, $3,100 goes to Agua Fria Food Bank

Posted

Rotary Club of Goodyear PebbleCreek and PebbleCreek’s Kare Bears club recently partnered with students from six West Valley schools April 13-24 to collect more than 4,500 pounds of canned food and to raise $3,100 for the Agua Fria Food and Clothing Bank.

The food bank serves the cities of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park and Tonopah, for an approximate total of 50,000 individuals experiencing hunger annually, a Rotary news release stated.

With the demand for food bank services at an all-time high, this multi-faceted partnership engaged leaders of all ages to reduce hunger locally, the release stated. Now in their second year of food drive partnership, Rotary GYPC and Kare Bears grew the effort beyond the active retirement community of PebbleCreek, enlisting eight young leaders ranging from grades three through 10 to coordinate mini-drives in their Goodyear neighborhoods.

Their efforts yielded 25% of the total donations raised during the drive, the release stated.

“I liked making flyers to tell my neighbors about this opportunity. We checked our doorstep for new donations every day,” stated Emery Clymer, a fifth-grader at Mabel Padgett Elementary School in Goodyear.

With the added pressure of increased unemployment due to COVID-19, the need for a successful canned food drive was critical. Arizona ranks fifth in the U.S. for the highest food insecurity rates, the release stated.

“We rely on our community to meet the basic needs of our most vulnerable neighbors,” food bank Executive Director Leanne Leonard said. “This was an easy way to stay home and still help people who don’t have jobs right now,” Ms. Clymer added.

During the drive, Rotary’s Community Service Committee Chair Henry Raczkiewicz managed a diverse team of volunteers. He recognized Kare Bears for its outstanding publicity efforts and students from Agua Fria Union High School District, Litchfield Elementary School District and Palm Valley Montessori for their “exceptional leadership skills and care for their community.”

“We were incredibly blessed to be able to partner with Kare Bears, the PebbleCreek community and our local schools on this very successful endeavor,” he said.

Rotary Club GYPC normally meets at 7 a.m. Wednesdays in PebbleCreek’s Tuscany Falls Clubhouse, but is currently meeting via videoconference to observe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for social distancing. Community members and local businesses interested in learning more about Rotary and guests affiliated with other Rotary Clubs are welcome. For more information, email President-Elect Joan Smith at jbsmith80@aol.com or call 503-348-9468.