Topeka South Rotary Lunch Bunch

Posted by Faron Barr 
 

Lunch Bunch has been part of Topeka South Rotary for a number of years in partnership with USD 501 and Avondale West Elementary School. The Lunch Bunch group meets once a month, usually the third Friday, at Avondale West with 11-13 students, depending on the number of classes. Each classroom teacher nominates one student each month for Lunch Bunch and writes a brief description of the reason for selecting the student. Many times the student is selected for doing outstanding work, helping other students or adhering to the school motto of SOAR, which stands for Safety, Organization, Attitude and Respect and corresponds to the school mascot, the Hawk. Many students are selected for making great improvements in work, attendance or attitude.

The Rotarians each bring a meal – Happy Meals are favorites – for a student and something for themselves and the goal is to have one Rotarian for each student. We meet in the library and begin with lunch. The students, ranging from Kindergarten to 5th Grade are always ready to visit about their school and family or tell us about their favorite team. Many of the kids are from single-parent families and a great number of them move in and out of the district during the school year. For more information on this wonderful program click the "more" below or contact Neil Dobler at neil.dobler@bartwest.com.

 
After a few minutes, we split up the teacher nomination statements and read them aloud while the student stands. It’s clear that many of these students don’t get a lot of attention and they really enjoy a brief moment in the spotlight. After the recognition, Roger Underwood hands out a grade-appropriate book to each student and they are always delighted to have something they can take home.

The entire activity takes around 30 minutes and it is extremely gratifying to the Rotarians involved. Like many Rotary activities, this is an opportunity to provide support to the youngest, most vulnerable members of society and also to take a few minutes to appreciate the good fortune most of us enjoy.

We have a great core group of Rotarians that participate in Lunch Bunch, but busy schedules prevent all of us from being there every time. If you are interested in participating – regularly or just once in a while – please let me know at neil.dobler@bartwest.com.