On the evening of Dec. 18, members of Plano West Rotary Club (PWRC) attended Lights on the Farm, which doubled as both a service project and fundraiser. Lights on the Farm is a family-friendly holiday lights event produced by Plano’s Heritage Farmstead Museum.
Jennifer Shertzer was PWRC’s team leader, and Rotarians Laura Johnson and John Stafford worked alongside four other community volunteers that our club recruited to staff the hot cocoa and s’mores stands. Our volunteers handled cash and credit card transactions, as well as prepared hot cocoa for guests, and served guests with their s’mores-making kits. Seven people served a total of 28.25 hours.
Rotarians also urged guests to leave tips which will be donated to The Rotary Foundation (TRF), in turn allowing PWRC to give out college scholarships in the spring using TRF grants. PWRC raised $100 in tips this evening for this cause.
This service project and fundraiser allowed our club to support two of Rotary’s areas of focus, supporting education and growing local economies.
Because the Heritage Farmstead Museum is a nonprofit, it relied heavily on volunteers to help run this event, which is a fundraiser for the museum. The funds raised by event ticket sales are critically needed for preservation of the museum and for enhancing educational services provided to visitors. Our club’s service also allowed the museum to save money on staff who would otherwise have had to run the stands.
The event was a fun way to meet non-Rotarians interested in community service (shout out, Natalie P.!) as well as kick off the holiday break.