President of the Day: French Hill UPDATE: Lacombe, Louisiana Village of Hope Project DoubleTree Ballroom 11:30 a.m. Buffet Opens 12:00 noon Meeting Begins Immediately following the calamity called Katrina, members of the Rotary Club of Little Rock were asked to bring forth ideas on how best the club could exhibit Service Above Self. Our board of directors authorized donations of $500 each to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. But, our members were eager to do more than write a check”. Club President French Hill, asked PDG and past president of Club 99, Sam Chaffin, to sort through all the ideas that were coming forward on a daily basis. As Club 99’s Katrina Czar”, PDG Sam was asked by President French to recommend a working plan to the club’s board of directors. Club 99er, Randy Hyde, Pastor of the Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, had learned about the early assessment and on-the-ground success of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) in Lacombe, Louisiana. Together, Randy and Sam assessed how the Rotary Club of Little Rock could partner with CBF and help the families in Lacombe rebuild their homes and their lives. In short, we agreed to raise funds for essentials like tools, construction trailers and building materials, and, most importantly, we committed to assemble a mass of volunteers who would travel the 500 miles and help gut flooded homes and later, rebuild these forlorn homes in the historic village of Lacombe. L’autre cote du lac (the other side of the lake), now known as Lacombe, sits on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain where the Bayou Lacombe empties into the great lake. The area is low, dominated by ancient and mighty live oak trees drooping with Spanish moss. Many of the residents are proud, Creole descendants of free Blacks from the early 19th century. They are predominantly Catholic, passionate about their home, their legacy and their future. CBF identified homeowners that lacked insurance and/or the capital to clean up and restore their homes. Some sixty families were assessed and Club 99 actively helped five to rebuild. Critical to our project’s success was our cooperation with CBF and our key partnership with the Rotary Club of Mandeville, Louisiana. Rotarians from Mandeville have opened their own strained wallets and most graciously their homes in order to house our Club 99 workers. Since October, week-after-week, they have facilitated a warm, clean bed for the weary and helped our teams navigate their work. Also a key to our success, PDG Sam and Mandeville Rotary’s president, John Caulking, were successful in obtaining a $50,000 grant from The Rotary Foundation (TRF)-Donor Advised Fund. These funds rapidly leveraged the over $13,000 in Club 99 raised funds in acquiring the necessary materials. Since our project’s initiation, we have had over seven working trips to Lacombe involving over forty Rotarians and their families or colleagues. We have completed one home and have three at various stages of repair and one yet to select. We want and need volunteers to help. We want and need select household appliances (refrigeration, washer/dryer, stoves, etc.). All contributions are appreciated. We had over forty Rotarians and their families or colleagues involved in the project. Our trips touched our hearts and have enriched our Rotary Club through fellowship and the wonderful feeling one has when helping someone in need.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:04:08 +0000
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