Rotary Santas deliver toys at ETCH

Tom KingFarragut

It’s a tough time of the year for children spending their Christmas holidays in a hospital room. It’s also a tough time for their families, no matter the circumstances. The kids are not at home around the Christmas tree. They didn’t prepare the milk and cookies for old St. Nick. They’re not home playing with the toys and gifts Santa left for them.

For the second year, the Rotary Club of Farragut (RCF) adopted these kids at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) to make certain Santa’s toys were there at the foot of their beds.

Last Friday a group of Santa’s elves from the club made an early Christmas trip to ETCH to deliver 231 gifts to the young patients who will be spending the holidays there. The toys were bought by Farragut Rotarians. Meeting the Rotarians at the hospital were Cheryl Allmon, the hospital’s director of Volunteer Services and Programs, and Max Schaefer, president of ETCH.

RCF Service Projects Committee chair Scott Bertini again worked tirelessly on this project, with the toys ordered through Amazon delivered to him. His garage was transformed into a warehouse.

The club had a second Christmas project as well, delivering toys for the Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley’s Angel Tree. Farragut Rotary past president Jonathan Johnson led this special initiative.

“Overall, it was very successful again this year, and I appreciate all of the support from our members,” Bertini said. “It means a lot to Children’s Hospital and to the kids there. It can be pretty lonely for some of these kids and their parents. We’re just hoping to help them enjoy Christmas.”

The club’s third holiday project was ringing the bells for the Salvation Army, with members working two-hour shifts all day long on two Saturdays (Dec. 4 and Dec. 18) at the Farragut Kroger store. Rotarian Mike Singletary pulled this project together. The club had 20 members who enjoyed ringing, saying “Merry Christmas” to shoppers and filling that Red Kettle.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Farragut Rotary!

To explore membership in the Rotary Club of Farragut, call 865-659-3562. Farragut Rotary meets each Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. at Fox Den Country Club. Tom King, a past president of Farragut Rotary, has served at newspapers in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and California and has been the editor of two newspapers.

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