Mount Tabor Ruritan Club Momentum Award

Mount Tabor Ruritan Club of Blackaburg, Virginia

Ruritan, America's Leading Community Service Organization

Mount Tabor Ruritan Club is in service to the Blacksburg, Virginia and New River Valley communities, for over 40 years.
Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service Since 1965. Please join and work with us.

Ruritan Community Momentum Award

For more than 40 years the Mount Tabor Ruritan Club has been active in community service in the Blacksburg area. Each year through two fund-raising activities (five monthly Fish Fry events in the summer and Apple Butter sales in the fall) the Club provides about $10,000 in financial support for various community needs. Because community support for these fund raising activities has increased in recent years, we decided to make a larger investment in a project.

The Club had the following objectives for the project:
• Increase involvement of all club committees, possibly on one large project
• Involve more club members, thereby contributing to greater involvement, satisfaction, and worth to the club and to the community
• Put our money to work by making a major, strategic investment that responds to a significant need in the community
• Generate more visibility and recognition in the community for our club’s efforts

The Club developed and distributed a Request For Proposals throughout the community. As a result, 22 non-profit organizations submitted proposals, and all had merit. In fact, the collective sum highlighted significant need for assistance across a wide array of organizations in our community.

The selection committee awarded the first Ruritan Community Momentum Award for $5000 to the YMCA at Virginia Tech. The YMCA plans to purchase a truck or similar vehicle which will enable them to pick up and deliver more goods for the YMCA Thrift store, thereby increasing their capabilities and services to a larger number of people in our community. The YMCA will recognize this contribution with the Ruritan logo on their two vehicles.

In the picture (left to right): Bob Smythers, President, Mount Tabor Ruritan Club; Ted Settle, chair, planning committee, Ruritan Community Momentum Award; Gail Billingsley, Executive Director, YMCA at Virginia Tech; Abigail Convery, Associate Director, YMCA at Virginia Tech; Jim Dubinsky, Chair, Board of Directors, YMCA at Virginia Tech; Robyn Dubinsky)