11,000 bandages donated by the Rotary Club of Warren County

Ever wondered what 11,000 bandages look like? Now you know! In June of 2021, Hope for Appalachia put out an ask for bandages for their mission trip in December of this year. The Rotary Club of Warren County answered the call!

Known for their delivery of Hope Boxes to schools in the Appalachian Region of Eastern Kentucky, mission leaders Mike & Liesa Dodson weren’t quite sure what to do with a donation of small, empty plastic boxes earlier this year. They were too small to fill with the normal supplies and goodies that go into a traditional Hope Box, but they didn’t want to cast aside the donation. Mike reached out to several schools in Appalachia for suggestions and the unanimous answer from the teachers was… bandages!

Jen Avery connecting with children during lunch break at one of the Kentucky schools in 2018.

Hope for Appalachia runs its mission out of Mike & Liesa’s church in Culpeper. Rotary Club of Warren County members Ellen Aders & Jen Avery have been helping Hope for Appalachia since 2018 when they crossed Black Mountain into Eastern Kentucky for the first time. The group travels in the spring, bunks up at Red Bird Mission, and pulls out around 4:00 every morning for a week to travel to schools all over the Region.

Ellen Aders teaching children about the Easter story at a middle school during Hope for Appalachia mission trip in 2018.

The Rotary Club of Warren County has been involved with Hope for Appalachia for several years, beginning with collecting items for 100 Hope Boxes and partnering with Interact students from Skyline Middle School to stuff them. Not only does Rotary seek to find projects that help our local community, Rotary also extends its help to national and international efforts.

More information on Hope for Appalachia can be found on their Facebook page.

Story by Ellen Aders, Rotary Club of Warren County