June 2022
Club News & Announcements
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CLUBS FEATURED THIS MONTH: |
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- Ida Grove
- Nevada
- Lincoln Center & Lincoln Northeast
- Estherville & Division 3
- Omaha Golden K
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- Mason City-River City
- Lincoln Sunrise
- West Branch Area
- Kearney Golden K
- Ames Golden K
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Ida Grove Club celebrates 100 years of service
Ida Grove Kiwanis Club threw a birthday party for itself on May 23. The club is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
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In 1922, 39 men founded the Ida Grove Kiwanis and received the club charter on May 23, 1922. Since the founding of the club, members have met weekly, currently meeting at the Ida Grove Country Club.
The Ida Grove Kiwanians have raised generous amounts of money over the years in a variety of ways. Those dollars have been used for such projects as soccer programs, aid to libraries, scholarships, and third grade dictionaries, as well as numerous other youth related needs. The club can be proud of the soccer program in Ida Grove, as it has grown over the years to now involve more than 400 kids each spring. The club also supports a Key Club at the high school.
One of the greatest accomplishments for the Kiwanis Club is the construction of the Sportsplex in Ida Grove. It was an ambitious undertaking in the works for about two decades. The now completed project includes three well-lit ballfields, good seating, a soccer/youth football field, parking area, playground equipment and a large concession stand. With the club’s leadership, the community supported this project and made it happen.
Pictured are the 1922 charter members and an aerial view of the Ida Grove Sportsplex.
Submitted by Morris Hurd, Ida Grove Kiwanis Club
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Nevada Club celebrates 50th anniversary
On May 31, Nevada Kiwanis celebrated its 50th Anniversary. The celebration event was held at Gatherings, the club’s regular meeting venue.
The three remaining charter members – Tom Cahill, Bob Collins, and Ron Jacobson (pictured) – spoke about their experiences and memories of the club’s first 50 years. John Greve, who is a member of Ames Town and Country Kiwanis and was the Lt. Governor of the division in 1972, also spoke.
John, along with Joe Melcher of the Nevada club, presented the Legion of Honor awards to members with 25 to 50 years of service. The celebration included guests from the three Ames clubs and the Roland-Story Club. It was a great night of food, fun, and fellowship!
Submitted by Jody Melcher, Nevada Kiwanis Club
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Lincoln Center Kiwanian Charlie Wortmann oversees work by the Lincoln Northeast High School ELL students. Zach Schafer with Lincoln Lighthouse is pushing the wheelbarrow.
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Two Lincoln clubs assist with community garden
When Lincoln Northeast Kiwanis and Lincoln Center Kiwanis were asked to assist in developing a garden space at Lincoln Northeast High School, they jumped at the opportunity. The request came from Civic Nebraska, an organization assisting with Community Learning Centers (CLC’s). Michael Bandy serves as the Civic Nebraska staff member and the Coordinator of the Northeast High School Community Learning Center.
“Civic Nebraska works in numerous schools, and we are engaged with nearly 1500 youth daily for civic leadership, before, during and after school,” Michael said.
The request for assistance even became more appealing for the two clubs after learning more about the project. The idea came from teacher Brooke David and her English Language Learner (ELL) class after they had finished reading Paul Fleishmann’s book, “Seedfolks.” The book tells the story of a Vietnamese girl and a group of immigrants who turn a vacant city lot into a garden with crops from their home country.
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The Northeast ELL students wanted to bring a similar project to their school. Northeast High School student Tagwa Mohmed, a native of Sudan, said, “Each country knows about gardening.” She moved to the United States in 2018.
The request fit well with the Lincoln Center Kiwanis. During the winter months, the club, along with Lincoln Sunrise Kiwanis, built 10 galvanized raised garden beds for the Lincoln Housing Authority. The work was done in the Decks Unlimited shop, owned by Lincoln Center Kiwanian Dan Waters, for installation in early spring. When the Northeast High School request came along, Dan gave permission to use his shop to build four more identical planting beds and said he would deliver them to the site whenever the ELL students were ready to take on the task of preparing the garden for planting.
In early May, project team members assembled the garden beds, and the ELL class was released from classes for an entire afternoon to fill the large beds with soil and plant their country selections. It was a remarkably busy afternoon.
Mike Kucera, a member of Lincoln Center Kiwanis, was the construction manager. Milford Hanna, a Lincoln Northeast Kiwanian, coordinated his club’s assistance, and Michael Bandy of Civic Nebraska oversaw the entire workday.
“This project has been a wonderful fit for our two clubs to serve youth with a bit of International flavor in recognition of our worldwide Kiwanis family,” Hanna noted.
Submitted by Dayle Williamson, Lincoln Center Kiwanis Club
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Division 3 clubs help with PB&J collection
Division 3 Kiwanis clubs are located in Clay, Dickinson, Emmet and Palo Alto counties in Iowa. They have annually had a PB&J day for over 10 years.
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On May 7, a number of the clubs received donations of peanut butter and jelly at local grocery stores. One club participated by using service funds and purchased the items at its local grocery store.
The Estherville Aktion Club joined in the collection, also. Shoppers were handed a slip of paper as they entered the store. The paper briefly stated what the Kiwanis Club was doing and told them what aisle the peanut butter and jelly were in. Public service announcements were put on the local radio stations at no cost.
The total collected was over 1 ton (2,000+ pounds!). The items were then donated to Upper Des Moines Opportunities, which assists families in need in their respective county. An easy and rewarding service project that took four hours by each of the clubs participating.
Submitted by Norma Beaver, Estherville Kiwanis Club
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With club members toting the Kiwanis banner and Neil Fortkamp waving to the crowd, the Omaha Golden K parade entry makes its way along the parade route Memorial Day weekend. |
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Omaha Golden K reports busy spring
The Omaha Golden K Kiwanis Club has reported a variety of projects and events taking place for its 55 members.
Club members participated in the downtown Omaha patriotic parade on Memorial Day weekend. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Jerry Warner and Joe Fryman, the club was able to enter a float in the parade. Team members of the Cubs and the Yellow Jackets from the AllPlay Miracle League rode on the hay rack that was pulled by Warner with his 1965 Farmall Tractor.
Some club members walked alongside to hand out “Support Our Troops” business cards, as well as information cards about Kiwanis. Participating Golden K’ers included Ted and Barb Killham, the Fox family, Paul Springsted, Neil Fortkamp, Linda Placzek, Carolyn Law and John Roth.
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Another project completed in May was teacher appreciation. Kiwanian donations provided $10 gift cards to teachers at Conestoga and Franklin Elementary schools. Club members also created appreciation posters for teachers and staff at Conestoga, Franklin and Walnut Creek Elementary schools. Molly Fox and Paul Springsted are pictured with just two of the posters created for this project.
The club played a part in the May 7 Nebraska-Iowa District Governor’s Visit to Divisions 19 and 20. The club’s foundation presented a $1,000 check for the visit’s service project, which was providing supplies for babies and youth families coming to Omaha from Afghanistan as refugees. Some members also donated to the project that was done in coordination with Lutheran Family Services.
In March, the club saw the culmination of six weeks collecting diapers and other young mothers' needs for Omaha's Assure Women’s Center. The donations also included baby clothes, baby wipes and quilts. This project was the "baby" of a dedicated group of Omaha Golden K members Carolyn Law, Nancy Haack, Barbara Lund-Irvin and Linda Placzek.
The Omaha Golden K also stays busy with an active partnership with the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau. Members help run the two information booths at Eppley Airfield, a volunteer endeavor for the club since 1982. The airport information booth project was the inaugural major club project when the club was formed in 1981.
The club is justly proud of its 18-member crew of Airport Ambassadors. Operating the information booths as they do, in four-hour shifts, five days a week, they provide an invaluable service to Omaha’s many visitors who decided to take off or land at Eppley Airfield.
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Mason City-River City Kiwanians host Fly In Breakfast
There has been no shortage of projects recently for the Mason City-River City Kiwanians and the summer is just getting started for this club that will note its 50th anniversary in September.
“This will be one of the busier summers for our club. We can do this work together to make a difference for the children in our community,” reported Club President Jeannette Adamski.
In May, the club held a very successful Fly In Breakfast. This is an annual event at the Mason City Airport. This year, 835 meals were served and 200 airplane rides were given. The Clear Lake Kiwanis Club and River City Kiwanis’ Builders Club also had a hand in this project. The grand total investment for the 104 people involved was 356 volunteer hours. Eighteen businesses made contributions of food, beverages, funds and marketing, which started the fundraiser at a net zero cost for the clubs. All the proceeds will go to North Iowa youth organizations.
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The club also participated in the town’s Band Festival in May. Club members built a special float that commemorates the club’s 50th anniversary for the festival’s parade. River City Kiwanians and Builders Club members walked with the float for the parade. Builders Club members (pictured) then stuck around after the parade to clean up the parade route as a fundraiser.
Later this summer, River City Kiwanians will be hosting an evening meal and a breakfast when RAGBRAI comes to town. This community stop for the annual bike ride across Iowa will be on July 27 and July 28. In August, the club will have a garage sale.
In addition to the Fly in Breakfast and the Band Festival, Builders Club members have contributed to the community in other ways too. The approximately 40-member club painted a gazebo at the Egloff House.
Submitted by Gary Lindgren, Mason City-River City Kiwanis
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Lincoln Sunrise helps with TeamMates scholarships
At the recent Lincoln TeamMates Spring Celebration, 138 TeamMates graduating seniors were recognized. and 27 of these seniors were presented scholarships. For the past several years and in coordination with the Lincoln TeamMates Chapter, Lincoln Sunrise Kiwanis has donated and presented a $1,000 scholarship to one of these outstanding seniors with their college expenses.
The TeamMates Program was founded by Tom and Nancy Osborn to provide one on one mentoring to students starting at the grade school level and going through high school. Several members of Sunrise Kiwanis are mentors and meet with their mentees for one hour each week during the school year.
In addition to the Sunrise Kiwanis Scholarship, Gus Dornbusch, a long time Sunrise Kiwanis member, TeamMates mentor for 25 years and past district governor, has been presenting a scholarship in his name for the past several years.
Submitted by Ted Ericson and Gus Dornbusch, Lincoln Sunrise Kiwanis Club
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Pictures show the One School One Book family night in March that completed the weekly reading assignments. |
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West Branch Club puts dollars to good use
The West Branch Area Kiwanis Club was one of the top three club category winners in last year’s Membership Up Contest sponsored by the Nebraska-Iowa Kiwanis District. Club members put the service project grant monies they received as a prize to good use.
One School, One Book is a program at Hoover Elementary in which staff and children at all grade levels (preschool through fourth grade) will be reading/listening to the same book at home with their families. The club’s building literacy committee carefully selects a title that can not only be followed, understood, and enjoyed by younger students, but that will still captivate and stimulate older children. A copy of the book is provided to each staff member and family. A calendar is developed so families can read chapters at the same pace and students are asked questions about the story each day at school.
This program is usually self-funded by children and parents purchasing books at their book fairs held several times a year and by donations. The cost of the program has typically been about $1,500. Because of COVID19, the school has not been able to hold their book fairs. The Kiwanis club pledged to support this program this year by using the district grant, along with an additional $250 of community giving club funds.
This effort saw 295 books ordered for the One School One Book project this year.
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Kearney Golden K announces scholarship winners
Emma Bonsall, Kearney High School, and Ashton Huls, Kearney Catholic High School, were the recipients of the Golden K Kiwanis scholarships. Each senior received a $1,000 scholarship toward their college education. Emma will attend the University of Nebraska Kearney and Ashton will attend the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
Submitted by Lou Maxson, Kearney Golden K Kiwanis Club
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Ames Golden K Members Elin Hermann (left) and Larry Trede (right) take part in a check presentation to Rod Fischer with Bethesda Food Pantry, Jodi Linse with MICA and Patty Yoder with Food-At-First. The club also collected items for the food banks.
Ames Golden K helps put food on the table
Ames Golden K Kiwanis Club recently completed its third annual “Helping Put Food on the Table” campaign to help alleviate food insecurity. Over three weeks, non-perishable food items and cash donations were given to the club’s partnering food pantries – namely, Bethesda Food Pantry, Food-At-First and MICA (Mid-Iowa/Community Action). Members also listened to a presentation about food insecurity, seriousness of the problem, myths regarding its prevalence and ways/means to help alleviate it.
Bergetta Beardsley, vice president of philanthropy at Food Bank of Iowa, spoke to the club about food insecurity in Iowa and Story County. She noted that there is a difference in food insecurity and hunger. Food insecurity is the lack of consistent access by individuals and families to have enough nutritious food to lead a healthy, active life. Whereas hunger refers to an individual’s physiological conditional resulting from food insecurity. Within Iowa families, one out of eight children are experiencing food insecurity.
The Iowa Food Bank partners with 32 food pantries in Story County, largely operated non-profit groups, agencies and organizations. Additionally, six Story County schools operate school food pantries and nine serve as backpack program sites.
Club members were asked to bring non-perishable food items to weekly club meetings for three weeks and/or make cash donations to support the program. For 2022, 425 cans, packages, boxes of non-perishable food items were equally distributed on a weekly basis to the cooperating food pantry partners. Club members also generously donated $3,000 to food pantries. Cash donations in 2022 set a record amount!! The “Helping Put Food on the Table” is part of the Charity Donation Program sponsored by Ames Golden K Kiwanis Club.
Also of note is a recent action plan for membership, which included both new member growth and member retention. The club has gained 15 new members since the start of the current Kiwanis year. To read more about this successful program initiated by Ames Golden K and its results, CLICK HERE.
Submitted by Larry Trede, Ames Golden K Kiwanis Club
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Share what your club is doing!!!!
Clubs are invited to share their projects and happenings. Article and photo submissions are due by the 1st of every month to NIKiwanisDistrict@gmail.com.
An online link to this newsletter will also be made available on the District Website, Click Here
QUICK LINKS
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