MTA, Palmer Rotary join to help local youth program

PALMER -- For the fifth consecutive year, the Palmer Rotary and Matanuska Telephone Association have teamed up to raise funds for Kids Are People, Inc. (KAP), a Valley-based nonprofit organization.

According to Rotary member Tony Pippel, who is helping organize the event, MTA routinely retires several surplus vehicles that are no longer needed for operations, for one reason or another. Five years ago, the Palmer co-op selected the best vehicle of those being sold as surplus and donated it to the Palmer Rotary club for a raffle. That action started a tradition that has helped raise approximately $15,000 for Kids Are People, according to KAP's executive director John Stein.

That money, Stein said, provides needed cash to help provide a variety of supplies.

"What it does is, it goes to support the Saxton Youth shelter [by providing funds for] the supplies and food we need cash for," Stein said.

Things like clothing, food, cleaning supplies and recreational items such as basketballs are all purchased with the help of funds donated by Rotary and MTA through the annual vehicle auction. The shelter, he said, operates with a $20,000 supply budget each year.

Two facilities are now operated by KAP -- including the 8-bed emergency shelter, more commonly known as the Dorothy Saxton Youth shelter, now located in Wasilla. A second transitional living home with five beds was opened in October at the Trinity Barn Plaza, the former location of the youth shelter. That home, Stein said, is funded by a grant obtained by Alaska Sen. Ted Stephens through the Housing and Urban Development program.

KAP and Palmer Rotary came together a number of years ago, Pippel said, because one goal of Rotary International is to help charitable groups that benefit young people. Essentially, Pippel explained, KAP had a need for funding, and Rotary members were willing to donate their time to help sell raffle tickets, so the idea of the raffle was born. With MTA's donation of the vehicle, all proceeds will go toward KAP.

This year's surplus vehicle is a 1997 Chevrolet Astro van with approximately 55,000 miles on the engine. The vehicle is a bit newer than other vehicles traditionally on the surplus list, but that's because the model simply wasn't compatible with MTA's needs.

"It was undersized for what they do," Pippel said.

Vehicles offered for raffle in the past have received varying levels of interest. A plow truck offered a few years ago resulted in the greatest number of tickets purchased, while a sedan generated less interest, but still provided the shelter with more than $1,000 in funds.

Every vehicle, Pippel added, is prepped by Rotary members -- any needed vehicle work is done to make it salable before it's raffled off. One year, Pippel said, more than $1,000 in work was done to the vehicle before the winner took it home. This year, Pippel said, the van only required a title change, no mechanic work.

Tickets are available from Palmer Rotary members or at teller windows at First National Bank in Wasilla or Palmer or Wells Fargo in Palmer.