Hundreds of persons enjoyed a meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and a roll inside the Salvation Army Red Shield Center gymnasium in south Modesto Friday evening – all courtesy of the Rotary Club of Ceres.
Members of the service club and about 20 of its high school Interact Club teens served up approximately 500 Thanksgiving dinners as part of their continuing assistance to the center.
For over two decades the Ceres Rotarians have looked after the needs of the center on Las Vegas Avenue to enrich the lives of many underprivileged residents of the area.
Ceres Rotary Club President Kirsten Saint said the task of feeding dinner to hundreds was an “all hands on deck” operation for the club with a morning crew that started at 9 a.m. preparing food and the evening shift to serve and clean up.
“Really I would say 90 percent of our club participates, roughly,” said Saint. “We have people that have extenuating circumstances who aren’t able to come.”
The other big event hosted by the club is the annual crab feed.
The club spent approximately $1,500 on the community meal, said Arianna, with members Liz and Dave Hosmer doing all the shopping.
“It’s kind of a well-oiled machine and because we have such a great relationship with the Red Shield Center, really they do a lot of the pre-planning for it,” said Saint. “We start doing the shopping and getting the Rotarians lined up and design up for jobs.”
“We have a plan in place every year by August,” noted Maria Arianna, operations manager of the center.
To get the word out, the center uses social media and also has Hanshaw Middle School send flyers home with the students to get families to turn out.
“The principals are really great about sharing on their social media and stuff like that so our community knows about it. And then the day of I send my staff out to the streets and hand out the flyers to remind families that we’re doingt this.”
Arianna said the club, through the center “literally changes lives through their support.”
“Kids are able to experience things that they couldn’t afford or they couldn’t have, like now, meals being served. For a lot of them, from senior citizens to the families, this takes off a lot of financial burden and it’s a great way to bring the community together. So over the years the Rotary has done dinners, they’ve also done support for our programs. For example they have a vaccine program that they started. They remodeled this kitchen – it used to just be a small kitchen and now it’s extended into a pantry and so we’re able to serve more people.”
Aside from the annual Thanksgiving meals, the Red Shield Center provides meals every weekday, providing kids with an afterschool snack and a meal. The center is also busy in the summer time, providing food and recreational opportunities for families such as providing swimming lessons and basketball play.
“Rotary’s partnered with us in so many different areas,” added Arianna. “They ask us about our needs and come alongside and help where needed.”
She believes the center gives teens and young adults a “positive place to come and work out in our fitness room or come play basketball.”
