Rotary gala brightens holiday for seniors
Posted on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 3:43 pm
This guest of the Rotary Christmas gala came wearing a Santa Claus hat.
By Tim Cox/Editor
MILFORD – The Rotary Club of Caroline threw its annual Christmas Gala for the county’s senior citizens, and the event had the right touches to put everyone in the holiday spirit – guests and sponsors like.
This year’s event, held at Caroline High School as it has been in the past, drew about 500 guests. They included a number of elderly people who relied on canes, walkers, and wheelchairs to get around. Many guests were transported by the Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging and local churches. The Bowling Green Healthcare Center, for example, arranged for 60 residents to attend.
This year marked the 12th annual Christmas Gala. When the Rotary Club started the event, the first one drew about 50 guests who gathered in the school cafeteria. In recent years, as it has grown, the event has been moved to the school gymnasium.
One new twist this year: when guests arrived, they received an escort down the sidewalk and into the building and gymnasium from students who are members of the JROTC.
“They just fell so special and so important,” L.J. Moyer, a Rotary member who helps organize the event, said later.
The service provided by the uniformed JROTC students was not lost on Marian Williams, who lives in the Dawn are of Caroline. In fact, a highlight for her was being escorted. “I loved the escort all the way to my seat,” she said. “I felt special.”
It was the first time Williams attended the event. She came at the invitation of her sister. “I think it’s beautiful,” she said. “I’m glad I came.”
Inside the school gymnasium, the guests listened to Christmas music performed by the school chorus and band. Representatives of the Rotary Club made brief welcoming remarks. There was a prayer, and a vocalist sang the national anthem after the JROTC color guard unit presented the flag.
Dinner was prepared in the school cafeteria by the student Culinary Academy under the supervision of culinary arts teacher Jasper Morton. The meal included ice tea, salad, roll, roast chicken, potatoes, green beans, and gravy. Desert was an iced cupcake. A host of other students conveyed the meals to the gymnasium and served the guests. After dinner, there was live music and dancing.
The guests took home gifts, too. The gifts included a poinsettia as well as presents like scarves, gloves, and other items.
For many senior citizens, “This is the social event of the year for them,” noted Moyer. They have an opportunity to get dressed up for a social event and to get out and visit with people they have not seen in a long time. “And they absolutely love it.”
Many others are involved in helping the Rotary Club put on the event, Moyer acknowledged. “This has been the partnering of many, many folks,” she said. For example, the Salvation Army donated about 300 gifts boxes for the guests – boxes containing various items for personal care.
The event is funded by local businesses, including members of the Rotary Club of Caroline. Moyer estimated the cost of this year’s event in the range of $10-12,000, including the contributions of partnering businesses and organizations. For example, a Fredericksburg landscaper that does considerable work in Caroline donated the 500 poinsettias and also brought in decorations and set them up. If the Rotary Club had to pay top dollar for all the supplies and services that go into the event, the cost probably would be double, suggested Moyer.
“Each year, this gets bigger, so – of course – the expenses get bigger and bigger,” she said. “We have to go out and depend on the business community to do this. They seem to love this gala. They seem to see a value in doing something for our seniors. That’s a good thing.”
The committee charged with putting on the event has a series of meeting to organize and plan the Christmas Gala, send out invitations, and take RSVPs – among other things.
“Each year we try to do something different,” said Moyer. “It’s very time consuming.”
In addition to the JROTC, Culinary Academy, chorus and band, students from the following clubs and organizations volunteered their services for the event: the National Honor Society, Beta Club, FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), and Interact Club.
The county provided folding tables and some of the chairs, and students from physical education and strength conditioning classes helped unload them, bring them into the gym, and set them up. The same students were responsible for breaking them down and clearing the gymnasium later.
“Two hundred and seventy-five kids had a part in making this evening go,” school principal Harper Donahoe estimated, or about 25 percent of the student body.
When the school’s JROTC leaders asked for 20 volunteers, 60 responded, according to Donahoe.
“It’s for a chance for our kids to pay back to the community…The kids enjoy doing it.”
Mary Monroe of Ruther Glen has attended every Christmas Gala since its inception. “There’s nothing else in Caroline,” she said with a good-natured laugh.
Monroe praised the students for their service to the senior citizens. “They’re beautiful,” she said. “They made us feel welcome.”
