Rotarians Become Santa for Local Food Pantry

The Christmas Holiday Season is in full swing, with Santa's mailbox quickly filling with requests for everything from a new car to a warm sweater with a red flashing Rudolf nose. The local Sunrise Rotary Club happened to come across one of those letters from Our Daily Bread Food Pantry.

It wasn’t a request for anything as elaborate or expensive as a new car, television or computer game. The letter made Rotarian Bud Palmer aware of a problem they were having safely walking out the back door of the building they were utilizing as their operations center for the popular charity on the island.

Palmer, a long-time Rotarian, made his fellow club members aware of the need. They quickly jumped into action, and with the assistance of the local Sunshine Ace Hardware personnel, they received a donation of two pallets of new drainage stones to provide a safe walkway. Derric Stull of Ridge Valley Exteriors transported the heavy pressure-treated lumber to the edge of the walkway to the job site.

Rotarians provided the “sweat equity” which removed much of the roots that have impacted the old walkway and leveled that pathway to provide a much safer entrance and exit into the facility on the grounds of the Marco Island Family church located on Winterberry Drive.

Palmer, who is also an active member of the Christmas Island Style volunteers, represents all that is great about the season, along with all of those from Rotary who made this project come together as a success and along with Ace Hardware and Ridge Valley Exteriors. 

Sunrise Rotary meets every Tuesday at 7:00 AM at Stonewall’s Restaurant on South Collier Blvd., directly across from the Hilton Beach Resort. They welcome any prospective members to the organization which is dedicated to serving the community.