The Stuart Ruritan Club has turned a year old. The club was chartered on May 16, 2023, and celebrated its milestone at its May monthly meeting on May 21, Ruritan National’s 96th birthday.
In just a short time, the club has held three fundraisers and provided lots of community service.
A cash raffle helped to get the club some seed funding, along with a Mental Health Awareness Walk and Bowl-A-Thon, which were also dubbed as community service projects.
The club had representatives manning a booth at the Town of Stuart street festivals and the county Ruritan Club fair booth. This aided in getting the Ruritan name out more in the community and members were able to share their experiences with the club.
The club strives to honor local fire, police and rescue personnel and veterans. Members collected items for the Tuggles Gap Wildfire and have provided meals for the Patrick County Recovery Ministry. Members have also participated in food drives and roadside cleanup in Patrick County.
One of the proudest moments for the club is coming very soon, as it will be giving its first ever scholarship to a second-year student at Patrick & Henry Community College. The club participates in the Ruritan National Foundation and in return is one of the five of six county Ruritan clubs that help in furthering the education of its local students.
During its anniversary meeting, the Dan River District Ruritan Foundation Chairman Barry Sides, praised the club with its participation in the Foundation Fund and presented one of its club mentors, Pamela Roberson Smith with the Tom Downing Award. This award is given to less than 5% of Ruritan members for their distinguished volunteerism with Ruritan. Pamela and her husband, Kevin, were instrumental in chartering the Stuart Ruritan Club and the Woolwine Community Ruritan Club.
The Stuart Ruritan Club is looking for more members and fresh ideas to help with its projects to help the Stuart Community thrive. The club meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. and begins with a covered dish meal. For more information on the Stuart Ruritan club, visit its Facebook page or contact them via email at StuartRuritans@gmail.com.
