People in Manheim enjoyed some holiday cheer thanks to the Manheim Sertoma Club. Members of the club handed out 150 meals through the Manheim Central Food Pantry in December, using more than $5,000 in proceeds from a car show the club held in September.

"The distribution of meals originally started over 20 years ago with a small group of Manheim residents, members of Sertoma, who went personally to the homes of families in the community to deliver holiday meals," explained Mike Connelly, club treasurer. Over time, the project evolved to include the food pantry and Salem United Methodist Church.

"The food pantry contacts families in need to come to the Salem United Methodist Church, who allow the members, family and friends of Sertoma the use of their facility to assemble meals and distribute them," Connelly said. "As each family arrives, a package consisting of items to make a meal, including a gift card purchased from Weis Markets, is handed to each family. Santa was on-site to greet the families receiving the meals."

In order to provide the service to the community, the club members raise money throughout the year through donations and proceeds from Manheim Community Farm Show sales, an annual cash dinner and the car show, among other projects.

"In addition, we applied for and received a grant from Sertoma International to supplement the monies needed to provide the holiday meals," said Lori Keller, club secretary.

Nationally, Sertoma's main focus is to help hearing-impaired people through education and support. Along with that mission, the Manheim club supports a variety of community projects.

Members of the club were on hand for the food distribution, because the group believes in putting a face to its mission, said parliamentarian Mark Haldeman. "It is also important to us that our business partners and residents in the community know the members of our club, to see how we are using their contributions and how we are able to serve our residents," he said.

The club currently has just over 30 members, and the organization is always looking for volunteers.

"It is very important to us to recruit and retain new volunteers to our organization, to grow our 'family' to help us serve the community," stated Wendy Wood, club second vice president. "We are actively seeking new volunteers to help us discover new ways to fundraise and serve our community."

Anyone who is interested in learning more about the club may email ManheimSertomaClub@gmail.com.