Special to the
Opelika Observer
During the month of January, members of the Opelika Rotary Club will accept donations of cat and dog food, non-clumping cat litter, cleaning supplies and toys for the Lee County Humane Society as a part of the group’s Centennial Project and celebration of its 100th anniversary coming in May.
The Opelika Rotary Club, which consists of the Lunch Hour and Happy Hour groups, has been donating items to local organizations every month since last July. Following are some of the items and groups they have assisted through this 10-month-long project:
July – donated more than 100 school supplies to the local United Way’s “Stuff the Bus” program
August – donated 230 pounds of food (starting with an original goal of 100 pounds) to the Food Bank of East Alabama
September – donated more than 100 pints of blood to LifeSouth
October – donated more than 100 Halloween costumes to the Lee County Youth Development Center
November – donated more than 100 toys for the Toys for Tots program
December – donated coats and cold weather gear to hurricane victims in Port Saint Joe
January – goal of donating 100 bags of cat and dog food to the Lee County Humane Society
February – goal is to donate 100 books to the Lewis Cooper Jr. Memorial Library
March – Goal is to donate 100 items to the Community Garden
April – Goal is to donate 100 swimsuits and towels to the Big House Foundation.
Club member Brooke Kastner said the project is a small way of giving back to the community that her group calls home.
“The Lee County Humane Society’s mission ‘to advance humane treatment and responsible ownership of companion animals through community education, animal sheltering and adoption, and alleviation of animal suffering.’ This is something that is important to a lot of the club’s members, so we set up the food drive to help support the LCHS in its mission,” Kastner said. “We hope that others will join us in this effort, as well.”
Donations can be dropped off at the Lunch Hour group’s meetings at noon each Tuesday in January at the Saugahatchee Country Club, or at the Happy Hour Group’s meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Niffer’s Place in downtown Opelika. For more information, like and follow their Facebook or Instagram pages.