Helping hands

Local athletes volunteer their time, strength to help Rotary Club event

  Several members of Canton's football team got in a workout Saturday afternoon -- but they were lifting cinder blocks, not barbells.
  And there was no limelight involved for the Chiefs -- only the relentless late-summer sun and the appreciation of members of the Rotary Club of Plymouth.
  The athletes were a few of the 700 volunteers the Rotary Club relies on to pull off its annual Chicken Bar-Be-Que, which helps raise money for scholarships the club distributes annually.
  "We couldn't do this without the volunteers," emphasized Russ Jones, the Rotary Club's 2009 Chicken Bar-Be-Que coordinator. "We only have 110 Rotarians, so we'd never get it done without the help of these kids.
  "It allows us to distribute about $18,000 worth of scholarships a year. It helps us to help the community."
  The primary duties of the athletes who donated three to four hours of their time on Saturday was to construct the temporary barbecue pits located just east of Main St., behind the Penn Theater.
  Joined by their parents and members of the Rotary Club, they assembled the pits by stacking and aligning hundreds of cinder blocks in order.
  "They also help us unload the trailers and get everything ready for Sunday," said Jones. "We also have members of other athletic teams help set up and take down the tables on Sunday along with shucking close to 12,000 ears of corn.
  "Chuck Olson coordinates the Canton and Salem swim teams to help us out, too."
  Scott Wirgau served as the Rotary Club's volunteer coordinator this year, Jones said.
"All the kids who help get free dinners," he added. "They receive community-service hours, too, and if we have the money available, we'll help out the organizations as well."
  Jones said the Rotary Club serves close to 11,000 chicken dinners each year during the Fall Festival. 

Ed Wright can be reached at [email protected] or (734) 453-1980.