Rotary does good turn for local groups

With the 2024 Budbreak festival not scheduled until May 4, last year’s event is still paying dividends for local charitable organizations.

Seven such groups each received checks of $1,000 Tuesday from the Rotary Club of Mount Airy during a meeting at Cross Creek Country Club.

“All this money comes from Budbreak,” Rotary President Michael Barnes said of the annual spring festival celebrating the area’s wine and craft beer industries which takes place downtown.

Traditionally, all Budbreak proceeds go back into the community through financial support to charitable causes, and this year that gesture reflects a departure from the past when grants were made to groups outright.

For 2024, they were required to submit applications for the cash available.

“We go through a vetting process,” Barnes said of the procedure involved.

Sixteen applications were received, with the seven finalists including the Surry Medical Ministries free clinic, Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, the Mayberry 4 Paws animal-advocacy group, the Surry Arts Council, the Shepherd’s House homeless shelter and related Helping Hands Foundation;

Also, the New Hope/New Beginnings transitional housing program and the historic Satterfield House/Rosenwald school project.

Representatives of the seven groups benefiting attended Tuesday’s Rotary meeting and told the crowd assembled how the funds will aid their respective missions.

For example, Executive Director Tanya Jones of the Surry Arts Council advised that the funding to her organization will allow it to pay artists in the area to conduct free programs for families on Saturdays beginning May 4.

Lee Stalcup, an official of Mayberry 4 Paws, said the Rotary/Budbreak funding will be used for her organization’s ongoing spaying/neutering program.

“This will really allow us to do a lot of good work,” Stalcup said.

Meanwhile, Thomas Williams of the Sandy Level Community Council that owns the Satterfield House dating to the 1800s — the first deeded to an African-American in Surry County — said its $1,000 allocation will go toward gutters for the structure.

Mount Airy Museum of Regional History will use its share of the funding pie for Family Fun Days at the facility, according to Executive Director Matt Edwards.

Edwards said such programs reflect the museum’s goal of functioning as “an active community partner — not just a place to store old stuff.”

Jana Elliott, Shepherd’s House/Helping Hands Foundation executive director, spoke of increased requests for food and medicine from Helping Hands, which supplies such assistance in conjunction with the role of the homeless shelter nearby.

Elliott cited growth in food-related illnesses due to a lack of nourishing items as a problem that the funding will help alleviate, including a garden.

Lenise Lynch, executive director of New Hope/New Beginnings, said the funding from the Rotary Club will aid its work in helping individuals recover from substance abuse.

Dr. David Dixon of Surry Medical Ministries talked about its ongoing work to provide health and other care to area residents who are uninsured or underinsured.

“We’re still seeing people fall through the cracks,” Dixon said of those not being served through various channels, indicating that the Rotary funding will assist in this regard.

“I am very grateful to each of you,” he said during his remarks to the group.