A group from the Cairo Rotary Club visited the Bainbridge Rotary on Tuesday to explain the Power Lunch Program they sponsor in Northside Elementary School in Cairo.
The mentoring program began six years ago as a joint project of Chuck Thomas and Dr. Glenn Robinson, both former presidents of the Cairo club.
They went to the school board, superintendent of schools and the principal of Northside Elementary to describe what they wanted to do, and found acceptance and encouragement from all, including their own club members.
Volunteers from the Rotary Club go into the school one day a week and meet with an assigned child for the whole school year. They have lunch together, thanks to collaboration with Pizza Hut, who supplies free pizza, drinks and dessert for all.
“This is a fully funded program that costs Rotary nothing,” explained Dr. Glenn Robinson, one of the speakers. They read and study with the student and save a bit for playtime and listen when they talk about home problems.  He went on to explain how the students love it and how the principal describes it as a “huge success.”
The school chooses the children to go into the program, and it is considered a privilege—not a right— to be allowed to participate. The students must show progress on their schoolwork, classroom behavior and attitudes in order to remain in the program. They can be taken out of the program for misbehavior.
Another speaker, Ed Robinson, said the program has gained strength in volunteers, including five non-Rotarians who wanted to take part.
He said when the program began his wife was a teacher at Jones Wheat Elementary in Bainbridge and she really wished someone would start a program like it in the Bainbridge elementary schools.
Ronda Flowers, area manager for Pizza Hut told how her kids have benefited from the program, indicating a lot of the kids end up becoming Pizza Hut employees. She praised the program for building confidence in the student and presenting them with a positive role model. She said Pizza Hut was very happy to be a food sponsor, as it was part of the corporate commitment to get involved in the community.
In conclusion, all speakers agreed the program has and is making a huge difference in a kid’s life, as they also described some of the dysfunctional family situations in which the children  are found to be living.
The group offered to give assistance to Bainbridge Rotary should they decide to take on a similar project.