Christmas Donations to the Residents of Bethany House in Laredo, Texas

In an effort to bring a little joy and happiness to displaced families living in the Bethany House of Laredo, Christina Barrientos, a new member of The Laredo Rotary Club, organized a donation campaign of essential materials for these individuals. After designing a flyer announcing the campaign, Christina shared it with the members of the club during a zoom meeting and asked for donations of $10.00 per member. In true Laredo Rotary club fashion, she raised over $800.00 before the meeting ended. With additional donations from other civic-minded individuals, Christina managed to raise over $1,000.00.

With these funds, Christina visited several Walmart, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar stores in Laredo and purchased the needed items. Among these were socks, blankets, toothbrushes, gloves, underwear, and sanitary blankets for ladies. These resources were arranged in bundles for men and women, as appropriate.

On 21 Dec 2020, Christina, along with Rotarians Victor Serna, Hilda Dennis, club President Marissa Guerrero, Marilu Gorecki, and members of the United High School Interact Club, delivered and distributed these gifts to the residents of Bethany House. The recipients, along with the administrators in charge, were overjoyed with the gifts and genuine spirit of giving and care demonstrated. They also expressed a deep sense of appreciation to everyone involved for helping to make this humanitarian service project a reality.
 
Submitted by Juan Lira
Story by Christina Barrientos