A Tradition of Service Organizations prepare for holiday giving
Service organizations in Butler are preparing to carry on their traditions of helping those in need for the holidays.
The Butler Lions Club Christmas tree fundraiser for charities is a decades-old tradition.“We've been doing the Christmas tree fundraiser for over 70 years,” said John Houston, a 30-year club member. “We keep it going because it's been going on for so long. We continue to do it.”Beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving, club members will sell trees at the picnic shelter at Trinity Lutheran Church at the intersection of Routes 8 and 308 in Center Township. After the first day, trees will be sold Thursdays to Sundays through the days leading up to Christmas.Proceeds from the tree sales and fundraisers conducted by the club throughout the year are distributed to charities.“We do a lot throughout the year. Money from Christmas tree sales and other sales all goes to public charities — 100 percent is given away,” Houston said. “We fund a glasses clinic for people who need exams and glasses.”The club tree sale draws a steady stream of people who still appreciate live trees, but it is much smaller than it was before artificial trees became popular.“We'll sell 150 trees and make $6,700. Back in the early days before artificial trees, we had five lots all over town. We made a bundle of money before artificial trees. It was a really big fundraiser 60 years ago,” Houston said.He said the club accepts requests for donations.
The Butler A.M. Rotary helps the Salvation Army raise money and donates to other charitable efforts every holiday season.“Every year we do the Treasurers for Children for the Salvation Army,” said Peggy Weckerly, treasurer of the Butler AM Rotary.People buy gifts for needy children through the Treasurers for Children program by picking tags hung on Christmas trees with names of children at numerous businesses, buying gifts for those kids and taking the gifts to the Salvation Army.“Every year we give a substantial amount. Our members donated $3,000 in gifts last year. We have done this for as long as I can remember,” Weckerly said. “Our primary thrust is children. We feel it all begins with our youth. That's where the future lies.”The tags have the first names of children from infants to age 18 and a gift they want. The program has been expanded to include senior citizens living in nursing homes.“These people don't have Christmas unless we buy stuff,” Weckerly said. “How much you spend is up to you. You can pick as many tags as you want.”Rotarians also ring the Salvation Army holiday bell outside of Sam's Club in Butler Township to collect donations on the second Saturday in December.“We get $1,200 to $1,400 a year. That's one day,” she said.The club also makes donations to the Butler County Children and Youth Services Christmas sponsorship program that provides gifts to the hundreds of foster children; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that buys farm animals for people in Third World countries; the Butler P.M. Rotary's contribution to the Turkey Roundup that provides donations to 17 food banks; and church meal service programs that help needy families.Donations will be made for the first time to Hang Tough: Stockings Stuffed with Love and Care, which provides gifts to cancer patients, and Holiday for Heroes, which sends care packages to local people serving in the military who are deployed overseas.“Our main fundraiser for the holidays is the Turkey Roundup,” said Vic Nieto, president of the Butler P.M. Rotary. “The money we raise goes to different charities, mostly food banks.”For the Turkey Roundup, the Rotary sends letters to people and organizations who donate to charities asking for donations.“What ever we raise one year we distribute the following year,” Nieto said.This year the organization is donating $6,000 to the St. Vincent de Paul food bank, Meals on Wheels and all churches that host community dinners, Nieto said. Donations are also made to the Butler County Community College food bank and the Lighthouse Foundation's Toys for Teens program, he said.The Rotary accepts requests for donations and looks for groups that provide food for needy people, he said.
