I’ve always thought there was something special about the Greene community, but I’ve never been able to really put my finger on it. Until this weekend, that is, when our esteemed editor, Jeff Genung, and I took a trip to the southern end of Chenango. Our mission? To pitch in with scores of other volunteers to help the Greene Rotary Club with their annual “basket” delivery.
While Jeff and I knew the basics of the program - basically that the Rotary distributes baskets of food, clothing and gifts to local families in need - we were both unprepared for the full size and scope of the effort.
While the program is universally known in those parts as Rotary Baskets, it is an understatement of momentous proportions. Even calling them baskets is a misnomer, since they’re really boxes. Large cardboard boxes, donated by Page Seed, crammed full of food items, blankets, clothing, toys, etc. And more often than not, there are other boxes and bags gaily wrapped gifts to go with them.
From Paula Estabrook and the other organizers, we learned that the Greene Rotary has been coordinating this community wide effort to support families in need for more than 50 years. Both Jeff and I were blown away, not only by the amazing amount of coordination that goes into it all, but by how many groups and organizations pitch in to make it happen. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like it before.
While in other communities, there may be a number of different groups doing clothing, toy or food drives, in Greene these efforts are all part of the Rotary initiative. And when I say everyone pitches in, I mean everyone - the schools, local businesses, service organizations, scouts and churches.
The Berean Bible Church, which serves as home base for the delivery effort, was already a bevy of activity when we arrived at 8 a.m. You could instantly tell who the veterans were. They were the ones who knew to park near the rear of the building. Us newbies, on the other hand, grabbed the first spot we could find in the front and then had to trek all the way around.
Our first task was to register. Paula quickly assessed our (lack of) knowledge of the Greene area and assigned us a route inside the village limits. Then she handed us the info on each of the four families we would be delivering to, each marked with a number so we could identify which gifts went where.
She also provided us a detailed list of instructions, complete with what we needed to do and in what order. We had a moment of angst about directions, until we realized that they were written explicitly on each of the information sheets.
On our first trip to the car, with Jeff carrying the really heavy box and me the small gift bag, we cursed our previous parking decision even more. But that was, of course, easily rectified.
Once we found a spot closer to the rear entrance, we were able to finish the loading process in no time. There was just enough room in the back of Jeff’s Ford Escape to accommodate the boxes and bags of goodies for our four families, with space reserved for the ham or turkey, potatoes, apples and bread that each would also receive.
As soon as we were loaded up, we went in to track Paula down again. I wanted to get a little more information about the program before we hit the road. Jeff just wanted coffee and a doughnut.
Paula told us that, this year, the need was greater than ever. So great, in fact, that she and the other organizers had been worried they wouldn’t have the resources to meet the requests of the 141 families who filled out applications. 35 of those families had never sought help before.
But the community rose to the occasion.
“It was amazing,” Paula said. Each of the banks in town held a blanket drive. (To sweeten the deal, the branch which collects the most is treated to lunch by the losing two.) The school coordinates the food drive. This year, employees of the Raymond Corporation pulled together to “adopt” 95 children. Other groups adopted individual families.
What touched my heart the most was hearing that some of the families who had been on the receiving end of the program in the past but were no longer in need of it, had made financial donations to ensure that others could get the same support they had.
Just thinking about it gets me all choked up.
And that’s when it all hit home about what sets Greene apart. With the compassion it shows for those in need, its ability to mobilize for a cause, the way everyone pitches in and its commitment to taking care of its own - it defines community.
Jeff and I talked about that, as we hit the road with our car load of Christmas. With each set of packages we dropped off, we could see and feel the importance of what we were doing. And took great joy in knowing we were doing our part to Deliver Christmas to those in need.