Berkley Rotary and Lions Club Teamed Up to Help Yad Ezra

Berkley Rotary and Lions Club Teamed Up to Help Yad Ezra
(Crystal Proxmire, May 8, 2015)
Members of the Berkley Rotary and the Berkley Lions Club are no strangers to volunteerism, but on April 28 their powers of community giving were multiplied as they held a joint volunteer day at Yad Ezra.
Yad Ezra began in 1990 to provide food and basics to impoverished Jewish people in SE Michigan, and now distributes 1,000,000 pounds of free groceries to families in need each year.
On the day of service, Darlene Rothman of Yad Ezra and the Berkley Chamber, said “We had 59 clients that night and passed out 5532 pounds of food.  I believe we had 18 total volunteers from The Rotary Club and Lions Club.”
Berkley Rotary President Matt Church explained “The Club wanted to get its members out into the community both to help a worthy cause and give members the opportunity to work together in a collaborative way. Darlene Rothman, Yad Ezra’s Client/Volunteer Coordinator, spoke at a Berkley Rotary Club meeting earlier in the year so the Club was familiar with Yad Ezra’s mission and excited to contribute to the effort.”
Berkley Rotary invited the Berkley Lions Club to join them at the charity’s headquarters at 2850 11 Mile Road in Berkley. “We’re both service organizations in the community so it makes sense for us to work together and get to know one another. Having the two groups join forces for the evening really expanded the amount of work we were able to accomplish in the evening,” Church said.
“Half of the group worked in the front with Yad Ezra clients and provided them with customer service and assistance. The other half of volunteers bagged tomatoes and onions in packages to distribute to clients.”
To learn more about Yad Ezra, check out their website at http://www.yadezra.org/.
The Berkley Rotary Club meets at O’Mara’s Restaurant in downtown Berkley at the intersection of 12 Mile Road and Coolidge Highway. Guests, prospective members and anyone interested in sharing a meal in fellowship are welcome to attend. The Club meets each Monday for lunch from 12:15 pm to 1:30 pm. The Rotary Club of Berkley was founded in 1949 and has been doing important work in the community and around the world for over 65 years. For more information, visit www.berkleyrotaryclub.com.

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