On the twelfth of night of December, the members of Fremont Rotary combined their sandwich making service project with a visit from Seattle PD Deputy Chief Eric Barden and City of Seattle Acting Chief Amy Smith, and Communication Officer, Sean Blackwell of the CARE Department. DG, Kaj Pedersen was able to join the group too.
The club with its guests were able to make 250 sandwiches for the Compass Housing Alliance, FamilyWorks in Wallingford, and Operation Nightwatch. These sandwiches are donated for the homeless and those who are hungry to the sack lunch day centers. The club is choosing to make a difference within their community and ensuring the impact is felt by those looking for support when they need it most.
President Rudy Pantoja was able to secure the participation of the City officials by asking them to join in the evening’s service project. In the process, everyone was able to learn about the changes the City of Seattle is initiating within the CARE Department and the Police to better serve the community, especially where those with mental health are concerned. Amy Smith was also able to discuss with DG Kaj the opportunity to expand her outreach campaign by meeting other Rotary clubs within Seattle.
Partnerships where Rotary and the City can combine to focus on community service and economic sustainability are valuable to ensure change can happen for the better. To this end, Amy Smith has already engaged with DG Kaj to open up a dialog on public safety and health with her team with the goal of meeting with the clubs and working with District as well.
To learn more about this work, there is a Seattle Channel Dialogue that has been released where Chief Scoggins, SFD, and Chief Diaz, SPD, and Acting Chief Amy Smith discuss the three public safety departments and innovations in the space: City Inside/Out: Public Safety Concerns | seattlechannel.org
More information will be provided from District in support of this outreach campaign, as it is through partnerships like this that Rotary can amplify its impact for its community.
