The Salvation Army: bell ringing and volunteering

Provided.

To thank Kyle Yates for his presentation, President Jennifer Palakiko presented him with a certificate, and a donation was made to the Rotary Foundation in his honor.

The Rotary Club of Tehachapi welcomed Kyle Yates, center coordinator for The Salvation Army Tehachapi Community Center, to speak about the work they do in the local community. Kyle has worked for The Salvation Army in various roles for 7 years, but most of his work has been with their after-school program. The Salvation Army serves approximately 500 families to help with food insecurity and they distribute over 46,000 pounds of food every month to help people in need in the Tehachapi area.

At The Salvation Army, they also run an after-school program, which provides a safe place for kids through high school age to go after school. Kyle says they provide a sense of stability and routine to their students which can be lacking in their homes. The kids are given a snack, have access to a computer lab to complete homework, can play games and hang out, as well as have emotional support from the center's staff. They usually have 40-50 local students attending their after-school program, which is entirely free for the families, so they rely heavily on donations to make it happen. They also are always looking for volunteers to help.

Bell ringing is one of their large fundraisers, which will be starting on Nov. 25. They recruit volunteers from various organizations in Tehachapi to assist with the bell ringing, as there are 300 2-hour shifts to fill, for a total of 600 hours of bell ringing! He shared that last year, Tehachapi Rotary served as bell ringers during a 7-hour block of time outside Albertsons, which raised close to $900. He said that the bell ringing is an important fundraiser for them, especially since all the money collected stays in Tehachapi to support their local programs.

In addition to their October Coat Drive, another important event is the Angel Tree project. Every year, The Salvation Army helps 200-300 families with providing Christmas presents for their children. Last year, The Salvation Army's Angel Tree program made the holiday season just a little brighter for almost 400 local children, thanks to the generous support of the community who donated toys.

The Tehachapi Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday at Kelcy's. Rotary is the largest service organization in the world, and is committed to "Service Above Self," devoting time and resources to projects in the local community as well as internationally. For more information about the Rotary Club, you can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofTehachapi/.