Rick Lee, Executive Director of the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the Red Cross, spoke briefly to our Club last week (Tuesday, May 10, 2011) about the worst fire of the year in this area. There was a fire in an apartment complex on River Road in West Springfield. One person was killed, and 34 people are now homeless and have lost all of their possessions. The residents of the building all know each other, so they are all reeling from both the loss of a close friend and the loss of everything they own; their possessions and their place to live. These are not wealthy people; they probably don't have many resources to pick up and start entirely over.
Please take a moment to imagine the entire loss of all of the things in your home....memorabilia, years of family photos, clothing, household records, cherished items, etc....
The Red Cross expects that they will be spending approximately $23,000 to directly assist these people from the River Street fire, our fellow townspeople. This amount has put a serious strain on the Red Cross budget, and there is still two months left in their fiscal year.
Additionally, early that morning there was another fire in a two family home on King's Highway in West Springfield. People with American Red Cross vests responded to that scene as well.
The mission of Rotary is to help people. We have so much.....many have so little.
One of our members took this situation to heart and has generously offered to anonymously match up to $5,000 in donations from our members, either individually or member businesses, to go directly toward this effort. If your heart feels moved to participate in the opportunity to help our fellow townspeople and to double the effect of your donation, please make your check payable to the American Red Cross. In the memo line, write West Springfield fires.
We are happy to report that yesterday, Tuesday, May 17th, 2011, we presented a check, in the amount of $5,000, representing the money that our Club raised IN 1 WEEK! This, combined with the $5,000 donation, allowed us to make a contribution to the American Red Cross in the amount of $10,000.
Another example of how, when Rotarians pool their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need, all things are possible. This goes hand in hand with Rotary's motto of "Service Above Self".