First Posted: 1/12/2015
LIMA — This week’s Lima Rotary Club meeting filled the room with scarlet and gray.
There were a few jokes regarding OSU’s championship game, but the group was quick to business.
Continuing its community service, the club presented a check worth more than $1,000 to Allen County Children Services’ Love Luggage program, which began in 2006.
The program gives children, often uprooted from home unexpectedly, a backpack full of possessions belonging to no one but themselves.
The organization also announced that it raised $5,000 for its campaign to donate $7,500 to Polio Plus. To raise the last $2,500 by March, the rotary will feature an auction at each meeting. This week, two tickets to The Blue Man Group valued at $140 were sold for $175.
Guest speakers, Pastor Doug and Debbie Boquist, from Lima Community Church, encouraged members to get involved with the program Kids Hope, as well.
“It’s the greatest tool to get the church outside the ministry,” Doug Boquist said.
The program, Debbie Boquist said, began more than 20 years ago in Michigan. The program partners local churches with schools to help at-risk children by offering them a trained mentor and prayer partner. Students and mentors then meet for one hour once a week throughout their elementary school years.
Kids Hope serves Lima, Unity, Independence and South schools, and has expanded to other counties, as well.
“We’ve got open doors,” Debbie Boquist said. “And it’s a wonderful program.”
Rotary President Esther Baldridge was receptive to the couple’s presentation.
“This is a huge opportunity for us to partner with our local churches and meet the needs of those we serve,” she said.
