Barnes enjoys community service, international experience
It sounds like a minor league baseball road trip: Get up early and travel by bus through remote areas. But for Lexington Legends' director of community relations Rebecca Barnes, the trip came after the 2015 baseball season had ended, and the remote areas were in Mexico. It was part of the Rotary Club's Heart 2 Heart program, through which Rotary Clubs and the Rotary Foundation match volunteers and funds from the heart of the United States with much-needed humanitarian service projects in the heart of Mexico. Heart 2 Heart is now in its 10th year.
Barnes has been a member of the Lexington Rotary Club for four years, and before that was a founding member of Rotaract, which brings together adults ages 18-30 to take action in their communities and develop their leadership and professional skills. Rotary clubs sponsor them, but Rotaract members manage and fund their clubs independently. Community service opportunities initially drew her interest.
"I felt compelled to give back to the community, and Rotaract allowed me to do that," she said.
Now as an active member of the Rotary Club of Lexington and Rotaract chair of her district, Barnes helps organize and oversee Rotaract clubs throughout eastern Kentucky. That effort is building a brighter future for Rotary and its many projects around the world.
"We have an amazing group of Rotaract members, and as Rotary members, it's great to be able to mentor them and provide opportunities in community service, professional development and networking.
While some of the work in Mexico was in Mexico City, those bus rides took her to rural areas, where the visitors took a first-hand look at some of the many ongoing Heart 2 Heart projects, in which local Rotary members are involved in day-to-day work. The projects included support for a special needs school, a system to get clean water to a school, and the donation of equipment to several rural schools.
Another project, the funding of critical medical procedures, provided the most emotional connection.
"We participate in a kidney transplant project," she said. "The children of Mexico are not covered under their social security, so unless the family has the money, they are not able to have these surgeries. We had the opportunity to visit with the patients that were treated in the past year, along with their families and the donors. It was an amazing experience. Tears were flowing. It was incredible."
Equipment for cleft lip and palate surgeries and housing for patients' families are also funded through Heart 2 Heart.
"The children from the village outside Mexico City that I visited were so grateful for the very same things that we take for granted every day, like drinking water, desks, and school supplies -- all of which our Heart2Heart grants provide for them," Barnes said. "I am humbled and honored to be a part of such an amazing organization that has the reach and capabilities to provide these opportunities to people like me."
"We're all proud of the work Rebecca has done with Rotary," said Legends President/CEO Andy Shea. "Our staff is filled with people who are serving great causes in a variety of ways outside of their work here, and this is one example of their involvement."
As Barnes prepares for the 2016 season, her second with the Legends, the experience in Mexico will serve as a foundation.
"It puts in perspective the impact that we, as a local minor league baseball team, can have on our communities. It has opened my eyes to why we do the things that we do in this community. The Legends are able to give back in so many ways, and whether it is through volunteering, giving donations or just being able to read books to children, the significance of going that extra mile means so much more to me now, personally and professionally than it did before. "
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