The Eagles make charitable donations

0

By Meladi Brewer

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Eagles in Greenville met with various community organizations Tuesday to make charitable donations.

“We are fortunate enough to be able to do this year in and year out, and we try to give back to our local community as much as we can,” Eagles President Rick Robinson said.

He said Eagles was founded as a fraternal organization, and the reason they give back is solely because of their membership. The Eagles allocate a percentage of their funds their members spend, and it goes back into a “charitable fund” they committee gets to give back to the community.

Robinson, along with other office holders, are part of a subcommittee that work together in deciphering who to make donations to.

“Normally we do receive requests in the mail. We will read those and go through and deliberate normally twice a year,” Robinson said.

He advised the committee votes on the organizations, and all donations are a membership decision.

“There is not one specific person who makes that decision,” Robinson said.

This Tuesday, five organizations were granted a donation by The Eagles Committee – only three were present: The Boys and Girls Club, The Shelter for Violence, and the Darke County Center for the Arts.

The Boys and Girls Club, located at 613 S. Broadway St., is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need them the most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.

The organization’s vision is to provide a world-class Club Experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who enters their doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle.

The Eagles donated a total of $10,000 to the Boys and Girls Club. To learn more visit the national website at www.bgca.org. The Darke County Shelter for Violence received a $5,000 donation as well.

The DCSV is a nonprofit working hard to provide advocacy, support, and education for domestic violence survivors and their families. To get in touch with the Ohio Domestic Violence Network visit www.odvn.org/ or find them on Facebook at Darke County Shelter from Violence, Inc.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. If you or a loved one needs assistance, please do not hesitate to call.

The Darke County Center for the Arts mission is to present and promote performing and fine arts, encouraging cultural enrichment. They are committed to the preservation of Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall as an important cultural center in the community.

Having been a nonprofit since its organization in 1978, the group has provided the community with artists series, family theater services, and arts education for numerous years. The Eagles presented the organization with a $5,000 donation to be used at their discretion. For more on the DCCA, visit www.darkecountyarts.org/.

Robinson said he loves going out into the community and seeing how the donations are being used and the impact it has. He said “he does try to make his way around and see what the money is getting put to”, but assured that there are no specifications when donations are received.

“Most of the questions I get are ‘what do you want the money used for’ – whatever you need it for,” Robinson said. “We do not specify, and I’m not going to tell you how to spend your money.”

Robinson said the donations are not a grant by any means, and the committee is not going to delegate how an organization should utilize the donation, thus taking any and all pressure off of what they can do. It enables the freedom to use the funds for specific needs the organization deems necessary.

“That’s why there is an advantage to why we pick who we pick. With the Boys and Girls Club there are a multitude of things where our money goes to and the Darke County Shelter for Violence helps with operating costs. However they want to classify it,” Robinson said.

Robinson also advised The Eagles also has a scholarship fund. Those funds, like the charitable funds, comes out of the membership fees and expenditures. He advised Eagles has been known to help with funding for school trips for families who cannot afford the costs.

“Our membership is always open, and the more members we have, the more we can give back to the community,” Robinson said.

He said Eagles tries to give out as they can at their own discretion.

In two weeks, The Eagles will be recognizing the two organizations who received a donation but were unable to attend. The Friends of Bears Mill and the Annie Oakley Committee will both be receiving $10,000 donations.

For more information regarding The Eagles in Greenville, visit their Facebook page at Greenville Eagles Riders #2177.

To contact Daily Advocate Reporter Meladi Brewer, email [email protected].

No posts to display