Local Clubs Help Schools

— There were 21 trees standing in the Optimist Club of Rogers Christmas tree lot Thursday afternoon.

Well, 20 trees. One tipped over.

At A Glance

Tree Lot

The Optimist Club sells Christmas tree every year from the day after Thanksgiving until sellout. This year they started with 260 Frasier, Noble and Douglas firs. Sales can vary with the weather, but the club usually makes between $2,000 and $4,000 a year, said Mike Rooney, Optimist Club secretary and vice president. That money, paired with money from a golf tournament and a chicken cook fund children’s programs like scholarships, Shop with a Cop and other gifts that benefit area students.

Source: Staff Report

Behind the tree lot at Frank Tillery Elementary School, five club members delivered $200 to the school before fanning out to other Rogers elementary schools to deliver the rest of the Christmas money. The donations were funded in part by the club’s 33nd annual Christmas tree lot. A matching donation from American Legion Post 100 allowed them to double this year’s donation, said Mike Rooney, Optimist Club secretary and vice president.

“It’s just a great thing to do,” Rooney said.

The club asks that donations go to children in need.

Amy Putnam, Westside Elementary School principal, said she was surprised by the amount. Holiday needs are still popping up, and some families missed the early deadlines for other care programs, Putnam said.

“It’s already spent,” Putnam said of the $200.

Other civic clubs also work to help students in Rogers schools.

The Rogers Noon Rotary Club spent the week delivering dictionaries to 1,316 third-graders enrolled in public, private and charter schools in Rogers.

“Every year we make sure every third-grader gets a dictionary with their name in it,” said Allison McElroy, who coordinates the deliveries for the club.

A tetrazzini dinner and summer fish fry raised money for the $2,800 project. Dictionaries help reinforce literacy and give children something of their own, McElroy said.

“There are people in our club who remember when they got their dictionary,” McElroy said.

Literacy and dental care are primary goals for Altrusa International of Rogers, said Jennifer Gray, president. She spent this week buying discounted books at a warehouse sale for a 2013 summer reading program.

Last year, Altrusa’s Pages & Pictures Literacy Fair gave out about 200 new books to children at the Rogers Activity Center. The group also coordinated a dental health clinic for preschoolers, purchased school supplies for Grace Hill Elementary and purchased reading room books for Bonnie Grimes Elementary.

“That’s what we’re really trying to foster is a love of reading,” Gray said.

Jesse Coker, said he first joined the Optimist Club in 1965. Now 91, Coker started teaching in a two-room country school at age 18.

Why did he join the Optimists?

“To help children,” said the retired teacher.

American Legion Post 100 was able to match Optimist donations because of an increase in bingo proceeds, said Commander Barbara Aguirre. If proceeds from the Thursday night bingo stay up, it could be an annual event. Children and family are one of the pillars of the American Legion, she said.

“We would love to be able to help the Optimists again next year,” Aguirre said.

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