# 163 West Raleigh

President Chad and member Shafi

Backpacks filled with food ready to go back to school

This club is amazingly busy with service projects; upon walking into the meeting room several members had just finished packing meals in backpacks for the Back Pack Buddies, meals for children over the weekend who otherwise may not have anything to eat.  They will deliver the backpacks to the school after the lunch meeting.  The club was also collecting shoes for the victims of the flooding in Pakistan with a goal of 30,000 pairs of slightly used shoes (I was happy donate shoes for this drive).


West Raleigh Rotary Club has a long list of benefactors they are currently helping. Including, but not limited to; Lacy Readers, Back Pack Buddies, Meals on Wheels, Pakistan Flood Relief, Miracle League, Loaves and Fishes Academic, NCSU Alternative Service Break, Haiti Limbs Project, Stop Hunger Now, Step Up Ministries, Polio Plus and Rotary Boys and Girls Home.

I was pleased to meet member Shafi Parkeh, who is originally from Pakistan, who has participated in several NIDs in his homeland and bordering countries.  He was most fascinating to chat with, sharing with me the international efforts the club is working on.  Another member told me that she participated in a NID in Thailand.  To meet five individuals in less that 24 hours with 5 different countries all working to eradicate Polio was amazing for me.

The speaker showed the members illustrations for the ongoing renovations of the Sassafras all accessible park for children. The park is a great show piece of the community.  Now I will mention the meal, when I jokingly stated that points would be deducted on the basis of chicken and green beans, I was quickly corrected that the meat was actually pork...it tasted like chicken...maybe I've just had too much chicken.

Meal $13
Banner $5