Kiwanians working hard to meet local needs
Just like everybody in Kingston, we try to fit in everything we do outdoors when the weather is nice — and boy, it has been nice.
The Greater Kingston Kiwanis Club is no different.
The Mustang that we are raffling to support scholarships and the Boys and Girls Club has been all over the county at different venues, with our members selling tickets.
Our berry sales were a great success this year. Our gross revenue was more than $12,000. Lots of yummy pies and jam. We are updating our mailing list so contact us if you are interested in ordering for next year. The school supply program that Kiwanis does in conjunction with other groups and churches is getting ready to fill backpacks to help our children start school with a bang!
The food program, designed to make sure our kids have food during the summer, has been very successful. Most folks probably don’t know, but many of our children don’t have much or anything to eat during the summer when school is closed. Wolfle Elementary alone has more students on free or reduced breakfast and lunch than not.
The good news is that many local organizations have taken the responsibility to help.
The S’Klallam Tribe in Little Boston, always good neighbors, is feeding children younger than 18 through Sept. 9. This service is available to everyone that met the age requirements and need, not just Tribal members. Good job!
For the third year in a row, our club, Rotary, ShareNet and other groups have supplied food packages to children to bring home to their families each weekend. This also started on June 24 and is serving 80 meals each weekend. That’s about 800 meals for families in need.
Next month, I am going to talk more about our Key Club. It’s a group of young people at Kingston High School that have lots of fun, learning how to be leaders, traveling and fundraising and, most importantly, support their community and volunteer in many programs around town. I will highlight our Key Club and encourage Kingston High School students to become Key Club members. Kids love it, but parents need to know about this club — it develops leaders and great adults. These are great kids.
I’d like to highlight another civic-minded supporter of this community.: Ross McCurdy of Oak Table Café, who allows us to meet there every Thursday at 7 a.m.
When Ross found out the Kitsap County Health Department decided that any pies with eggs in them had to be cooked in a commercial kitchen, Ross and family volunteered their restaurant to neighbors who wanted to bake pies to support the Village Green Pie in the Park fundraiser Aug. 15. As far as I know, a commercial kitchen has to have three sinks. Do we really live in Kitsap County or in King County?
One point of note: Ross is the world champion of pancake making (Editor’s note: His Guinness world record is pending). He broke his own record of making 1,092 pancakes in one hour. Yay, Ross! If you haven’t enjoyed the food in the Oak Table Café in Kingston, you are missing out.
I hope everyone has enjoyed this summer. There should be no complaints. If you would like to get involved in some of our projects, come down to the Oak Table Café Thursdays and join us for breakfast. For more information call our president, Pat Bennett-Forman, at 360-697-4849; or me at 360-297-4462. Our website is www.greaterkingstonkiwanis.org.
