Marie Lusins-Mclachlan (Past District Governor) and her husband Richard Mclachlan hosted a fund raising event (outstanding turkey and ham dinner with all the fixins plus libations) at their house for the 2010 Operation Warm Coat program. The program was such a success last year (giving out over 70 plus new coats to children at the Riverside Elementary School) that Marie decided it was very important to head up a fundraising event this year to have enough money to help purchase coats for all Oneonta public school children who need them.
The program was originally started in Pennsylvania and has now spread out all over the country. Each new coat is made out of recycled bottle fiber and only costs $15 per jacket. People will attest that the coats are very well made and are built to last. So far, over $3000 has been raised to support the program this year. A very generous donation of $400 was give from the Elks club to support the endeavor.
Right now we are in the process of contacting all the schools to try and get a solid number on how many children could benefit from a brand new coat. There will be more updates to follow....
We are still taking donations if you are interested in participating. Once the coats arrive we will be asking fellow Rotarian's to help distribute the coats.
For more information about Operation Warm go to http://www.operationwarm.org/
Marie presents her incredibly tasty ham that she worked all day on.
President Barbara Ann and Rev. Ken Baldwin have a conversation
