CARTHAGE, Mo. — Sue Vandergriff will greet you at the door, and Ruth Overton will be in her usual post at a table famous for its desserts.
The annual “Spuds ’n More” luncheon, a fundraiser by Soroptimist International of Carthage, is set for Tuesday, March 9, at the Lighthouse, across from the Christian Church on Main Street. For just $5 per person, the Soroptimists will serve a huge baked potato with your choice of several toppings. With that — the “’n More” part — comes a salad featuring locally made Ott’s dressing, and your choice of dessert from a wide variety of homemade pies, cookies and cakes.
Serving will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and takeouts (call 358-4000) will be available, Vandergriff said. Dr. Beth Barlet is supervising the luncheon crew, and most of the food is being donated by McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital.
To help add to the bottom line, several pieces of art will be displayed in a silent auction.
Other items up for bid include a two-night stay at Coop De Ville (a bed-and-breakfast), lawn chairs, garden items, jewelry, quilts, gift baskets, and gift certificates for auto and other services.
“Our mission is to help women and children,” said Amy Campbell, president of Carthage Soroptimists. The local chapter has taken that charge to heart and is finding more arenas and opportunities to help.
Each year, the group presents a Women’s Opportunity award to a woman to pay for education or training that will help her enter, or re-enter, the work force. “This usually turns out to be a single mom,” Campbell said.
The Violet Richardson award is offered to a girl between the ages of 14 and 17 who has shown leadership potential through volunteer work in community service.
The Ruby award goes to a woman who is working to advance the status of women. This past year, the award went to one of the Soroptimists’ own members, Tamra Soriano, a Carthage optician who has provided glasses for children in Haiti.
Soroptimists also held a pajama party to raise money toward the completion of a Habitat for Humanity house in Carthage. They printed bookmarks and passed them out to middle-school classes as a possible deterrent to future domestic violence. On each side, the bookmarks listed examples of actions that would fall into “he loves me; he loves me not” categories to help the children identify what constitutes physical or verbal abuse.
The club also donated $500 to the Carthage Crisis Center toward an outdoor exercise area that will benefit the women and children living there.
Each year in May, Soroptimists offer manicures to residents of St. Luke’s Nursing Center. They also bring to meetings items that are needed by the Children’s Center and the Children’s Haven.
Another service project is funding training for Rapha House, a nonprofit organization that sets up safe houses and after-care programs for girls who have been subjected to human trafficking and slavery. All the houses are in Southeast Asia, and the group hopes to expand globally.
Soroptimist International of Carthage is a busy group composed of busy, professional women. Attending the “Spuds ’n More” luncheon is one way to help the group accomplish these worthy services. Better yet, call some friends and make it a party.
Address correspondence to Jo Ellis, c/o The Joplin Globe, Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802 or e-mail news@joplinglobe.com.
