The first Community Service project the club had was shopping with the kids at the Missouri Baptist Children's Home.  We enjoy a Saturday morning each holiday season shopping for families identified by the administration of Drummond Elementary School in the Pattonville School District.  Just providing funds for families in need would be a good thing to do, but then including the children at the Children's Home was a fun twist.

The children at the Children's Home are kids not currently living in a traditional family setting.  Circumstances that will hopefully be improved upon though the work of the staff of the Home and social workers.  The paradox in this event is that the kids at the Children's Home are normally not in a position to be shopping for others.  In many cases they don't have people shopping for them.  They are, at best, the ones receiving donated gifts.  That's the twist, the event allows these children the opportunity to shop for those, in some ways, even less fortunate.   It helps them to learn, very early, the value and importance of giving to others.

They historically have real fun shopping for others, wrapping the presents, and consuming some pizza when the work is done.  Then there is a touching moment in January when the ' Thank You' letters come to them.  

We meet at the Children's Home about 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning early in December.  Teams of Rotarians and kids take the Christmas lists for various families and head out in different directions depending on what is on the list.  Some teams converge on the local Target store, while others do the food shopping at the Shop 'n Save.  Shopping for the families is concluded by about 11:00 a.m.  Then we rendezvous back at the Children's Home to wrap the gifts and enjoy a pizza party.

This is an experience which the young people couldn't get any other way, and it's not a bad experience for the Lambert Airport Club members, either.

Photo Album
(Facial shots of the kids are obscured intentionally)

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Last Update on 03/23/2006