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Brrrr! This time of year, wintry weather and snow sends everyone to dig out their winter gear. Parents spend extra time in the morning making sure that their children are bundled off to school with adequate protection against the elements. But not all families in our community are able to provide their children with hats and mittens to help keep them safe from the cold.
For more than 5 years, members of The Rotary Club of Nashua West have allocated funds they have raised and supplemented with their personal donations, to help outfit children in preschool through high school with winter gear. Last year in 2020, this project sadly was put on hold due to COVID and our limited access in working with our local schools.
During "normal" years, in the month of September, members of our Community Projects Committee contact our local superintendent's office to obtain a list of needs. The nurses at each school then assemble a "wish list" of various sized hats, waterproof mittens and gloves, and scarves. List in hand, Rotarian shoppers are off and running! Finding hundreds of items to match the list calls for some detective work and creative shopping, as few stores put out winter gear until the cold weather really sets in. And then Rotarians work hard to get their deliveries to the schools before Thanksgiving.
As always, the best part is seeing the gratitude of the school nurses who worry deeply about their students. It's just one more way that Rotary West is there to serve our Nashua Community.
