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NOVEMBER 8, 2008... As we go into the Holiday Season, the Rotary Club of Cedar Hill is all about “Service Above Self.” Fall brings out a scurry of happenings in Cedar Hill, and Rotary was right in the middle giving it their all.

On Oct. 11, 2008, the club participated in Country Day on the Hill and set up a Rotary Wheel of Fortune with the intention of giving away 400 shirts left over from the club’s big fund raiser, the Head for the Hills bike rally. Eager participants, spun a bicycle wheel with blue and red Bicycle cards attached. As the carnival barker says, “Everyone’s a Winner” as young and old street fair goers walked away with the prized Head for the Hills t-shirt. Some even responded to the donation can at the booth labeled “Salvation Army”. As a result, an extra $20.50 was added to the $2,500 Rotary donated to that worthwhile organization on October 22. Frequent disasters like Ike have left the Salvation Army Emergency Relief fund severely strained. Their Galveston Emergency Shelter has been completely destroyed, as the Salvation Army continues to pour resources into a long-term recovery phase. Cedar Hill Rotary pulled funds budgeted for international relief to help out Texans in need, confident that the Salvation Army could direct those funds where they were most needed.

Keep Cedar Hill Beautiful is a favorite of the Rotary club, who sponsor the hot dog lunch for the 300+ participants at the Fall event. Groups from all over the city rallied to pick up trash last Saturday, Oct. 25. Rotarians and Cedar Hill High students in Interact organized a meal consisting of hot dogs, chips, soft pretzels donated by Newport Concessions, and a drink. Twenty minutes was all it took to get everyone through the line once, and many came back for seconds.

Responding to an article in Highlights, the City newsletter published with the water bill, Rotarians put in place a plan to fill 18 “Adopt-a-Soldier” boxes by Wednesday, October 29. Their hurry was based on a published deadline of November 1 to get the gift boxes to overseas service men and women by Thanksgiving. Members of Cedar Hill Rotary were excited about the idea of being able to have personal contact with a service person spending the holidays away from home. After bringing in their filled boxes to Wednesday morning’s meeting, their newest Rotarian, CHISD Superintendent Horace Williams, volunteered to deliver the gift boxes back to the Government Center, and return the following week with empty boxes for club members to fill in time for the December 1 Christmas mailing cutoff.

The Rotary Club of Cedar Hill would like to challenge other organizations within the city to match or beat their effort to make “Adopt-a-Soldier” a hit this holiday season. For $10 any citizen may buy an empty box at the Government Center, fill it with items suggested on a checklist inside the box, and return that box to the Government Center for mailing. The cost of postage is covered by the $10 charge, no matter what the returned box weighs. It’s a great way to start the holidays!

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