St. Charles Breakfast Rotary gives back with Koats for Kids
Generosity + Caring + Compassion = Success!
That is the recipe for what was achieved for this year's St. Charles Breakfast Rotary's Koats for Kids project.
The local nonprofit raised over $18,000 through 90 plus donors in 2022, reaching their goal of providing over 500 new coats to local Tri-Cities children in need.
In 2022, new coat donations, from St. Charles Breakfast Rotary Koats for Kids event, were distributed to recipients in St. Charles Unit District 303, Geneva Unit District 304, Lazarus House, Tri-Cities Salvation Army, Kane County Judiciary and a local seven-member refugee family.
"This year, as more organizations have learned of our project, we received additional requests in addition to those we have provided for in the past," said Jenna Mortensen, St. Charles Breakfast Rotary president.
Organizations that benefitted from the project were extremely grateful, including a District 304 administrator who stated, "knowing that children would be warm at the bus stop this winter makes me happy".
"We, here at Lazarus House, were witness to how these coats can truly make a difference in a personal way. This year the guests of Lazarus House were blessed with coats from somewhere else, but we were gifted one box of larger coats from the St. Charles Breakfast Rotary, just in case we might need them. That 'just in case' arrived at our door the following morning, on a snowy cold day, wearing just a sweatshirt. This individual was not eligible to stay at Lazarus House, but we were able to share with him a hot cup of coffee, hat, hand warmers, gloves, and a perfect fit of a coat from this 'just in case' box. He was very grateful and said, 'God bless you' as he walked away," said Wendy Gruber, associate director at Lazarus House.
St. Charles Breakfast Rotary wishes to thank all the donors that contributed to the success of the event. They look forward to 2023 and expanding their outreach further into the Tri-Cities area.
St. Charles Breakfast Rotary meets Tuesday mornings at 7:15 a.m. at Colonial Café, 1625 E. Main St., St. Charles.
To learn more about St. Charles Breakfast Rotary and their motto "Service Above Self," contact Paula Schmidt, Membership Director at Pschmidt128@gmail.com.