As you may know, The Rotary Club of Augusta is dedicated to Servicing the Community - both local and international as part of Rotary International. The club conducts a number of fund raisers to support its efforts and in the past ten years has raised and distributed over $250,000.--- through such efforts as our Silent Auction, Golf Tournament etc.

One tremendously important project we are diligently working on is  Feed The Kids. We've discovered that a significant portion of the Augusta school children will eat breakfast and lunch at school and have nothing to eat until they return to school the next day...

Working with the Augusta School system our goal is to launch a pilot program this October at one grade school - where kids can have a good meal before going home, a bit like the "Kids Cafe", not simply limited to food. Part of this effort will be supported by the funds raised with this auction. It is our plan to expand this program as funds allow to include the entire Augusta School system for years to come. It is a shame that the need even exists, but we consider ourselves privileged to be able to work towards a solution.

We have established the Augusta Rotary Foundation to accept donations directly toward this and other Rotary causes - aside from our Auction (etc.) efforts... If you would like to be kept appraised of this please email  Rotary's President, Bill McKenna, to be added to a email announcement list Re Feed The Kids / Rotary Foundation of Augusta. We have also received a Community Action Program grant from Rotary International.

With your help, we'll win this one!!

Thank You!
Bill McKenna
President 2001-02

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in five children (approximately 15 million) in our nation live at or below the poverty line.

    The National Center for Children in Poverty 
reported that a majority of children living in poverty have at least one employed parent. In 1997, nearly two-thirds of poor young children lived in working families and young child poverty is growing fastest in the suburbs. In total, an alarming 22% of young children in America live in poverty. 

    Children who are denied an adequate diet are at a greater risk than other low-income children of not reaching their full potential as individuals. Children who are undernourished have trouble concentrating and bonding with other children and are more likely to suffer illnesses that force them to be absent from school. They consistently perform more poorly on standardized tests. Poor performance early in school is a major risk factor for dropping out of school in later years. According to labor statistics, educational attainment is perhaps the greatest indicator of job and income mobility, so the impact of childhood hunger can be lifelong. 

Programs such as America's Second Harvest's Kids Cafe address these risk factors by providing both nutritious meals and educational and recreational activities.

    Studies have also shown time and time again that even mildly undernourished children may potentially suffer abnormal brain, cognitive, and psychological impairment that, if not corrected, can be irreversible.

Recent research conducted by the Center on
Hunger, Poverty and Nutritional Policy at Tufts
University found compelling evidence that improved nutrition can modify and even reverse these effects, which makes supplemental programs critical.