April was National Volunteer Month, and volunteering in our community is what the Greater Kingston Kiwanis Club is all about. So what is National Volunteer Month? National Volunteer Week began in 1974 when President Nixon signed an executive order establishing the week as an annual celebration of volunteering. Since then, every U.S. president has signed a proclamation promoting National Volunteer Week.

There are many different organizations in Kingston that people can get involved with, and most everything that happens in town depends on people contributing their time to make our little piece of the rock more fun to live in.

Research shows that people that volunteer in their community have fuller and healthier lives. Our Kiwanis Club is lucky to have such people. To let people know why they volunteer and who they are, I plan on highlighting a little bit of what they are all about in future articles, even if I have to make it up.

Some highlights of accomplishments in the last couple of months is a very successful Valentine’s Day Gala, organized by Dick and Judy Osborne, that raised $18,000 for the Boys and Girls Club. It could not have been carried out without the help of many volunteers like the Oak Table Café, Firehouse Theater, local citizens, banks and businesses, Little City by the Sea Catering, Caring Clowns International, and the Kitsap Chordsman, to name a few. Our toy drive is fast under way, and we are collecting games for children 8 years and older. The annual Mustang raffle which supports scholarships for local high school seniors and the Boys and Girls Club is under way. You can get tickets at the Chamber of Commerce, local banks and from any Kiwanian.

Come visit us at the Oak Table Café at 7 a.m. the first, second and fourth Thursdays, and the Kingston Cove Yacht Club at 6 p.m. p.m. the second Thursday. Please call Dick Osborn, club president, at 297-4693; or Bob Lee, 297-4462, for more information.