Putnam Rotary Club's joyous --- and fun --- way to give
PUTNAM — In its annual Holiday Giving Program the Putnam Rotary Club gathered games and art supplies for kids facing a bleak holiday season.
Shannon Haney, a parent educator from the Putnam Family Resource Center (PRFC) , and Lisa Andrews, the Early Childhood Programs coordinator from TEEG, received the collections recently. In addition the club donated to the children at the Domestic Violence Shelter with United Services, and the Eastford Elementary School.
Chair of the Putnam Rotary Club Holiday Giving Program, Missy Meyers, said the club took in more than 70 games and art supplies. Both the PFRC and TEEG said they are serving hundreds of families in the northeast area. United Services reports an average of 10 children at the DV shelter at any time, and Eastford Elementary requested one new game for each classroom, as they have one class per grades PreK-8 at their facility.
Meyers added: “Our Holiday Giving Program at Putnam Rotary Club is one of the most joyous ways we honor the Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’. It is truly heartwarming to donate games to our local partners, who serve our more vulnerable families in northeastern Connecticut. We know our partners at TEEG, the Putnam Family Resource Center, United Services and Eastford Elementary work hard to not only meet the needs of the families they engage all year, but to also foster a sense of independence as they are able to exercise choice in the gifts they select for their children. We were very happy to expand our Giving Program to Eastford Elementary this year, as Eastford is one of the five towns served by our club. We loved having the ability to expand the capacity for fun and learning in the classrooms at their school.”

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Lisa Andrews, left, and Shannon Haney. Linda Lemmon photo.