Claxton Fruitcake fundraiser
Our major effort at raising funds for our designated charities is the selling of Claxton fruitcake. We sell in the neighborhood of 15,000 pounds annually.
These sales take place during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Claxton fruitcakes are sold primarily in grocery stores and our club receives proceeds from every cake sold.
These proceeds are used to fund our club's designated Civitan charities such as Victory Junction Camp, the Civitan International Research Center, and Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina.
Meetings and gatherings
Rhododendron has scheduled meetings at least once a month. These are informal gatherings with attendance not required. Current Civitan happenings and club concerns are primary topics for discussion and are reported in the monthly club newsletter.
We socialize before and after meetings. We have a summer picnic and a Christmas party each year.
Our meeting schedule for the 2024-2025 Civitan year is as follows:
October 5 - Business meeting October 18 - Unloading fruitcake October 26 - Assembling cards for VA November 16 - Regular meeting December 14 - Christmas party January 18 - Regular meeting February 8 - Assembling cards for VA March 8 - Regular meeting April 12 - Regular meeting May 17 - Regular meeting June 21 - Assembling cards for VA July 19 - Regular meeting August 16 - Summer picnic September 20 - Business meeting October 4 - Business meeting
Other projects
Rhododendron also has donations to local groups. We contribute funds for the "back to school needs" at the Black Mountain Home for Children and Christmas for youth enrolled in the Irene Wortham Center.
Rhododendron has several smaller projects. These include making cards that are inspirational and seasonal for the hospice care patients at the local VA hospital. In the gallery are examples of the laminated cards that have been sent to deployed soldiers. The front and back are shown.
We also sponsor of smaller scope program for disadvantaged groups.