SafeHomes of Augusta, Cancer Support Services (formerly known as the Lydia Project) and Family Promise of Augusta were among this year’s many honorees at the Exchange Club of Augusta’s annual Donation Day Luncheon.
Business and community leaders—including the directors of local nonprofits—along with Mayor Garnett Johnson and Sheriff Richard Roundtree, gathered at the Augusta Country Club on Milledge Road for the Exchange Club’s yearly luncheon to present Augusta area organizations with honors and contributions.
This year the Exchange Club, which dispersed $100,000 in funds drawn from Georgia-Carolina State Fair ticket sales, to community organizations.
“The funds that we give to the community here, you add that up over 100 years, it’s tens of millions of dollars,” observed former Exchange Club President Steven Farmer, noting that the civic service group celebrated its centenary last summer.
Many of the recipients were regular donatees, such as the Augusta Boxing Club, the Augusta Dream Center and Christ Community Health.
The New Bethlehem Community Center (NBCC) received the event’s crowning honor, the 2024 Ronnie Strength Award, named for the former Richmond County sheriff.
The Bethlehem Center, itself more than 110 years old, offers a variety of services to aid those in need, including educational programs for teens and adults and a food pantry serving about 60 to 70 families.
“We normally do get a donation from the Exchange Club, but this is our first time having the Ronnie Strength Award,” said a pleasantly surprised Sheridan Glaze, executive director of NBCC. “I’m glad they continue to recognize with the center does for the community.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
