Often the influence of Rotary crosses over boundaries of time and place in remarkable ways. More than two years after Hurricane Katrina tore through the southern Louisiana and Mississippi area, an orange grower in Port Sulpher, LA, sent an email to RFH. His offer? A small orange grove roughly an hour's drive south of New Orleans was not going to be harvested. Would RFH be interested in harvesting some of the fruit?
Rotarians across District 6840 have been working tirelessly to rebuild communities that were literally wiped off the map by the hurricane. Some clubs resorted to meeting in private homes and even bare concrete slabs to survive.
Kerry Lincoln, who owns the family orange grove, was grateful for the support his family and neighbors received from Rotary First Harvest, a program of Rotary District 5030 and Rotarians in the community. RFH and Seattle-area Rotarians organized shipments of support immediately following Katrina, and Mr. Lincoln hoped to return the favor. Within a day, RFH had contacted Past District Governor Jerry Fortino of the Rotary Club of Algiers, LA, club.
Working in partnership with RFH director David Bobanick, Jerry and his club organized a picking crew of Rotary volunteers, friends and family to harvest the satsuma oranges. Within ten days of sending the email, Mr. Lincoln met some 40 people in his orchard on a sunny January morning. Three hours later, the group had picked the orchard, filling a 24 foot truck that was delivered the following morning to food banks in the New Orleans area.
Rotarians in District 6840 have an opportunity to continue a program with other growers throughout the region. Mr. Lincoln's neighbors have already offered their orchards for other Rotary work parties in the coming weeks. If all goes well, RFH will have a partner program serving those in need along the Louisiana/Mississippi coastal region.
Click here to read an article about the project that appeared in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Since our founding as a small project of the University Rotary Club in 1982, Rotary First Harvest (RFH) has collected and distributed over 120 million pounds of produce.