The Rotary Club of Abbotsford presented the Paul Harris Fellowship Awards to seven individuals/teams last week in recognition of their exceptional service to the community.
This recognition, named for the founder of Rotary International, is bestowed to members of the local club and community individuals who have given outstanding service to their organization and community.
Lindsay Babineau was honoured with the award for her distinguished career as an educator and for her accomplishments as executive director of BC Ag in the Classroom.
Babineau led the program from implementation with 10 classrooms to more than 1,400 B.C. classrooms reaching over 500,000 children who receive healthy snacks of fruits and vegetables 13 times during the school year.
The other six individuals/teams represent some of the original community volunteer groups involved in the Starfish Pack Program.
These are: Melody Hammond and her team at Northview Community Church; Mitch Borrows and his team at Hill City Church; Christy Boulter at Hill City Church; Art Birch and his team at Ross Road Community Church; Mike Bryant and his team at Save-On-Foods on Whatcom Road; and Teresa and Charles De Boer from First Choice Transformations.
The Starfish Pack Program delivers weekend meals to more than 260 children in need during the school year.
Funding from local churches accounts for nearly one in three of all weekly Starfish Packs delivered.
Several of these groups also provide satellite food bank locations over the summer months, as well as summer sports programs for low-income families.
For more information about the Starfish Pack Program, visit starfishpack.com.