Suffolk is full of charitable organizations willing to help meet needs around the area. In fact, the generosity of folks in Suffolk is one of the things city officials have been touting during interviews about the 40th anniversary of the merger that formed the current city of Suffolk.

Suffolk is packed with organizations whose members enjoy regular meetings and events where they can raise money and provide direct volunteer help for schools, churches, neighborhoods, Scout troops and more. In fact, the Ruritan Club, which bills itself as “America’s Leading Community Service Organization,” originated right here in Suffolk.

But it’s unusual for a civic organization — even in this generous city — to take as comprehensive an approach to meeting a particular need as did the Bennett’s Creek SERTOMA Club, which recently donated a variety of devices and software to Suffolk Public Schools to help educate students with hearing or speech impairments.

They donated Nexus tablets with special software, they raised money for special smartpens and pads, and they bought a $1,500 Phonax Soundfield system of speakers and transmitters. All of this was in addition to six special electronic dictionaries the organization already had bought for signing students.

The donations will make a big difference to students who struggle to hear or speak in their classes — and to their teachers and friends in the schools where the donations are used. Especially in these times of tight school budgets, the partnerships Suffolk’s schools have with businesses and community groups like SERTOMA continue to improve students’ lives.

The folks at SERTOMA made a commendable commitment to the school district and its students, and they have fulfilled that commitment with a level of initiative that it’s likely nobody expected.

Well done.