Noon Exchange Club installs officers, distributes $20,000 to groups

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press 

The Copperas Cove Noon Exchange Club gathered on Thursday night to install its officers, recognize its Exchangite of the Year, and also distribute funds to local organizations with missions that line up with mission of Exchange Club – preventing child abuse. 
Altogether, the Noon Exchange Club presented a total of $20,000 from its fundraising efforts via events like its annual MayFest. 
Local groups receiving funds included Hope Pregnancy Center ($5,000), AWARE Central Texas ($2,000), the Coryell County Rainbow Room ($2,000), Communities In Schools ($6,000), along with Cove House ($5,000). 
Anna Leach, director of Hope Pregnancy Center in Copperas Cove, expressed her thanks for the donation and also said the center welcomes volunteers, especially men to help with education for the fathers and fathers-to-be. 
“We feel they need as much support of the moms do. Our favorite part of the day is when the new babies come in, especially the ones in the beginning the parents were considering not keeping that child.” Additionally, HPC gives the new parents monthly supplies until the baby is a year old, along with car seat classes and car seats. 
Rita Burgess, chair of the board for the Coryell County Rainbow Room, talked about the facility’s mission to help children who are removed from their homes by Child Protective Services. The 24-hour emergency resource center is run by a total of 14 volunteers, Burgess said, and it is stocked with clothing, beds, car sets, formula, blankets, toys, and anything else needed to help children as they move on to the next place they go. Burgess said the facility is funded completely by grants. 
Michael Dewees with Communities In Schools talked about the presence his organization has in the Copperas Cove Independent School District. 
He said CIS’s number-one priority has always been children, particularly, those who are struggling in school for one reason or another, whether it be an issue at home or school. Each campus has a site coordinator who provides academic, behavioral and social services to at-risk children and their families.
Dewees shared a letter from a Halstead Elementary parent who received help from CIS when she took in nieces that she didn’t want to lose to foster care. Through the site coordinator, her nieces received school supplies, clothes, jackets, and even food for the family’s Thanksgiving meal, and gifts at Christmas. 
AWARE Central Texas received $2,000, and its executive director, Misti Biddick, shared about what the center does for families, starting with a staff visit to the homes to help them determine what they need help with. AWARE has an education program of free parenting classes as well as juvenile intervention classes. 
“Without you and our collaboration in the community, we couldn’t help these families,” Biddick said. 
Brian Hawkins is the executive director of Cove House, and explained that for three-and-a-half months, from September 2017 until January 2018, the homeless shelter made changes to its onsite facility, specifically for families. 
“We transitioned all of our housing on site to be family houses and didn’t take any single men or women (during that time period) because our waiting list was so long for families with children.” 
Also on Thursday, the club’s officers and board for the 2018-2019 year were sworn in by the 2018-2019 District President Larry Holly, with Ira Brand as president, Melissa Rosa as secretary, Sandy Blount as treasurer, and Brian Hawkins as president-elect. Returning board members are Dennis Ayres, Angela Fields, Marsha Siler, and newly elected board members include Paul Inman, James Tatum, and Laura Jordan.  
Exchange Club member Marsha Siler was recognized as the club’s Exchangite of the Year on Thursday evening. Mike Blount, past president, said she has “gone above and beyond to make the year a success” by taking care of the club’s reporting of programs and services.