Rotary Club to Aid Victims of Violence

Four Ventura County families who have been victims of domestic violence are looking forward to some holiday cheer this season.

On Saturday, Rotary Club volunteers will provide each family with the fixings of a traditional Christmas: a tree with lights and decorations, a turkey and gifts for the children.

It is a gesture that Randy Strong, a member of the Rotary Club of Westlake Village Sunrise, said benefits those giving and those receiving.

“This is the season of giving,” he said. “It’s going to make an awful lot of us feel really good.”

Rotary member Kim Woods, who organized the event, said that last month she approached the Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, a Ventura-based program that provides counseling and support groups for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.

She asked if the coalition knew of families who could use help on Christmas. It did.

“If this wasn’t provided, a lot of kids would go without Christmas gifts,” shelter manager Sue Nayfack said. “It really helps them have a Christmas, when otherwise they probably wouldn’t.”

Though the program is in its first year, Strong said, it has already gained solid support from club members, who have donated money and gifts, as well as their time.

He expects nearly a third of the 40-member club to help deliver the gifts.

“It’s an opportunity to remind ourselves what Christmas is all about and why we joined the Rotary Club in the first place,” Woods said.

“I could easily see this turning into an annual pilgrimage.”