The Peterborough Rotary Club has supported the local community since 1926 and has two longstanding activities around the holiday season.
The local program known as Operation Santa, run by Rotary since 1985, is now underway for 2019. This effort is unique among a number of programs all seeking to gather and distribute gifts for children who might otherwise not experience the joy of presents for Christmas or other seasonal holidays. Operation Santa collects information from approved organizations such as local towns, schools, and welfare organizations like The River Center that identify and contact needy families with children. Parents provide two suggested items for each child – some practical clothing item and a “fun” gift for each child. Gift cards are created for each item using a coded name and an accurate description, like “a six year old girl.”
More than 300 Cards are available from posters where caring neighbors can select cards to fulfill. Posters can be found in retail and business locations throughout the area. Donors remove a “gift card” from one of the posters, purchase the gift specified on the card and then return the unwrapped gift with the gift card firmly attached to the original poster location. Rotary then identifies any cards which were not returned with a gift and purchases the requested item to ensure that every child’s wishes are recognized. Many donations, including especially generous support from a student reading program at Mountain Shadows School for more than the past twenty years, have made it possible for Rotary to cover the cost of every such request.
Rotary’s holiday bows and roping on the lamp posts of the two downtown Peterborough bridges and Christmas wreaths and lit garlands on the Town House have been a familiar part of the season for more than 40 years.
Anyone interested to learn more about Operation Santa, other Rotary programs, or donate financial support is welcome to visit www.PeterboroRotary.org or attend a weekly meetings on Thursday mornings at 7:30 am in the Auditorium of Scott-Farrar at Peterborough.