Summer just started and Judy Osborn has already collected 319 toys and 127 books for our Christmas toy drive. Her goal is 500 toys and we are well on the way to meeting it.
We had a grand time at the Edmonds Waterfront Festival selling tickets for our super-hot red mustang. We were situated next to Rotary beer garden and ticket sales were great. The car is down at the Kingston farmers market each weekend, so come down and take a look. All profits support the Boys and Girls Club, our Scholarship Foundation, and other worthwhile projects in and around Kingston.
We had a food drive at IGA and Albertsons June 11. Many local children qualify for free breakfasts and lunches at school, but this program isn’t available during summer break. We need the community to step up and make sure these children don’t go hungry. The Kiwanis, Rotary and other organizations are going to organize a food drive in the near future, get the whole town involved, and fill up our food banks.
One of our newest members, Jed “Duffy” Selter, is the executive director of Caring Clowns International, a charitable organization that helps children. The group conducted a balloon twisting class on June 25. It was lots of fun and a big hit with the adults and kids that attended. Caring Clowns also donated $80 to help out with the Boys and Girls club.
Paddle Kitsap, an annual event sponsored by various clubs and committees in Kingston, will be in town Aug. 4-6. Our club supports this event and many of our members volunteer to help make it such a success.
As the Fourth of July approaches, volunteers are in force to make sure the town has the funds to continue the tradition as “the oldest Fourth of July celebration in the state of Washington.” An example of town pride is IGA owner Rick Bjornson’s brother Steve, who is selling hot dogs every weekend with all his proceeds going to the Fourth of July committee.
On another note, Kiwanis has a paper drop just below the IGA parking lot. This is for newspapers only, not a place to dump trash. Brem-Air Disposal compensates our club for the recycled paper which helps support our projects. If you see trash lying around, please contact a Kiwanis member so we can clean it up. If you happen to clean it up, let us know so we can recognize your caring spirit.
Come join us at the Oak Table Café at 7 a.m. each Thursday. On Aug. 11 we will have an evening meeting to encourage those folks that can’t make our morning meeting to get involved.
We plan to have one evening meeting each month. If you’re interested in what we do and why we do it, please contact our president, Dick Osborn at (360) 297-4693, or me, at (360) 297-4462.
