Seated: Joanne Zeiser and Karen Sparks. Standing: Jo Laughery, Barb Hambleton, Linda Webber, Raynette Baier, Deb Kiefer, Janet Clark, Vanessa Branson and Karen Benton.
By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
The local Royal Neighbors of America group (Guthrie County Chapter 7072) recently donated a bench that was installed outside the Guthrie Center Aquatic Center.
The group does much more than some may realize. The chapter has been involved in many projects for the community. Some of the recent efforts include making welcome bags for new families that move to the area, donating to New Opportunities, donating $500 to the RAGBRAI Committee, making bars for the ACGC Senior Night, and providing magazine magnifiers to local nursing homes. A recent event that members particularly enjoyed was helping young ACGC students to sew T-shirts into bags.
Recurring community projects of the local Royal Neighbors include baking cookies for blood drives at Christian Church Fellowship Hall every other month, unloading and helping distribute food at the mobile food bank in Panora, and delivering Meals on Wheels.
One of the local members, Karen Sparks, shared more details about Royal Neighbors, the local chapter and its activities.
“Royal Neighbors was started in the late 1800s, around 1896 by five or six ladies in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It started out as an insurance company because they were single moms and they wanted insurance. Now it’s spread all around the world,” Sparks said.
“We do a lot of community service,” Sparks said. “We have 32 local members. We normally hit over 1,000 hours of community time in one quarter.” She noted that the chapter must document at least 500 hours per quarter to qualify for funds from Royal Neighbors headquarters. Those funds are then used to help with local projects.
The group meets once every quarter and as needed for community projects. Members pay annual dues of $20. New members are welcomed. To learn more, visit www.royalneighbors.org or talk with a local member.