Community Partners

The following are Community Partners of the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia.  These businesses and firms support our goal of educating the public on the importance of honey bees and other pollinators for not only providing an invaluable service in our food chain but also for shaping the beautiful world in which we live – one flower at a time!

Deep Creek Ruritan Club is a service organization whose main purpose is to create a better understanding among people and, through volunteer community service, make the community a better place in which to live and work. The slogan of Ruritan is “Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service.” Club membership represents a cross-section of the community in which the club serves, and is not restrictive with regard to occupation, social position, or any other specific criteria.

Each Ruritan club surveys its own community as to the needs of that community and then works to meet some of those needs. Nearly all clubs work locally with FFA, 4-H, and other organizations serving youth.

The Deep Creek club has two main fundraisers each year, resulting in over $20,000 raised annually to finance their community service projects. In addition to the annual fundraisers, they also hold special fund raisers dedicated to assisting in emergency and tragic situations locally. They have raised and donated almost $20,000 since 2009 from the special fundraisers.

The Ruritan club has graciously allowed the Guild to use their facility rent-free for the past six years for our annual EXTRACTAGANZA!, waiving the $300 per day rent. This event teaches our guild members how to extract honey and demonstrates the process to the public. It is also our annual summer potluck picnic.