Service Trip to Appalachia..

Club member Ray Bastarache recently addressed the Club about his service trip to Appalachia where he spent a week in Kentucky helping people in an area deep in poverty.  He went with a group from local churches and worked in an extremely poor areas.  In his opening remarks, he read several statistics which highlighted the plight of the area.  High unemployment, below average wage earnings, above average prescription pain medication abuse, and above average cases of depression were measures of the poverty there.  He spoke of how a local Catholic priest there created a local economy by organizing donations to the area and by providing jobs in the distribution of the aid. Volunteers from around the country go to the area to help the local population by distributing food and clothing, building and repairing houses, and providing help to the locals in a wide variety of areas.  His presentation was a great reminder to club members of the need in this world, and the value of service to others.  Their work in Appalachia reminded club members of the Rotary motto, Service Above Self.