Press release:
Batavia Rotary Club has donated $1,000 to United Way of Genesee County to help provide food for its Backpack Program that assists local families in need.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rotary International Foundation made available $20,000 to clubs in District 7090, which includes the counties of Western New York and Southern Ontario, Canada.
Through Rotary's District Grant process, Batavia Rotary Club applied for and received a $1,000 grant specifically to provide financial assistance to United Way of Genesee County’s Backpack Program. This program supplies weekend meals to students within multiple school districts in Genesee County.
With students home continuously over these past weeks, the demand for the weekend meal program has increased substantially. Each week brings more and more new families registering in the program.
From Bob Knipe, Batavia Rotary Club President:
"We are very pleased to receive this grant to be used by United Way of Genesee County. Providing food for our neighbors in Genesee County is vitally important at this time, especially for families with children. The Backpack Program operated by United Way here in our county offers food to some of our most vulnerable citizens. With the recent increased demand for food, Batavia Rotary is able to help fill some of the gap."
Batavia Rotary Club has just completed celebrating its 100th anniversary year of providing service to our community. Rotary's motto is "Service Above Self."
The United Way of Genesee County has been supplying services and funding to many agencies through this time of uncertainty. The funding received from Batavia Rotary Club will be wholly used to purchase food for the weekend Backpack Program.
From Tammy Hathaway, executive director of the United Way of Genesee County:
“We cannot thank Batavia Rotary Club enough for their continued dedication to our mission. This is proof that our community is doing what it does best, uniting to ensure the needs of households in Genesee County are met.”
For those wanting to join Rotary in supporting the efforts of the United Way of Genesee County in feeding our neighbors, please contact Tammy Hathaway at 585-343-8141 or tammy.hathaway@uwrochester.org.
