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Community: Poverty Alleviation


Daybreak Rotary helps alleviate poverty by collecting and distributing food and volunteering at local missions. The Poverty Alleviation Committee was formed in 2003,  (Charter Member Bettye Williams said "there are hungry people in Bartlesville") ,and our club has worked with local agencies to help local people who can't afford basic needs.  For us, this supports our local community!

Primary needs in Bartlesville are:

Once a month, we pass an envelope for contributions at meetings to help four local agencies buy food to help local people. These are the Salvation Army, Mary Martha Outreach, Agape, and Concern. We rotate the donations between recipient agencies. Since Oct 2003, Daybreak has collected over $70,000.  (We anticipate breaking over $80,000 by end of year 2021.)

Our club volunteers to cook on Saturdays six times a year at Agapé Mission.   This was suspended during COVID, but we hope in the fall of 2021 we will be back at Agape on the last Friday of  (at least) every other month.

At Christmas time, we help the Salvation Army by ringing a bell for the Red Kettle Campaign.  (We like to challenge the Bartlesville Rotary Club (Noon/Monday) to work the other door.)

Even during COVID, we continued to support these agencies from our operating funds.  We believe in it!

All of the pictures are from our work at Agape.   (Serving Line, Homebound meals in the old building, Dishwashing - we are all fascinated by the dishwasher!)