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Kansas Kiwanis looking for a few good projects
The three Kiwanis clubs in Fort Scott joined on Tuesday for a special meeting in which Kansas District Governor Mary Hammond and Mary Fischer, Life in a Jar cast member, were guest speakers.
Hammond asked local members to think of a project that Kansas Kiwanians can help fund and support.
She reported the Kansas Kiwanis organization was trying to raise $250,000 to build a cabin at the proposed Victory Junction, a camp for sick and disabled children, near the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Because "no dirt has been turned in the Kansas City area," state Kiwanis officers have made a decision to tell clubs to "back off on the fundraising," and focus its fundraising on another project. The $80,000 that has been raised for Victory Junction remains in the Kiwanis Foundation.
On the other hand, money donated to the North Carolina based Victory Junction organization has gone to pre-construction expenses, such as land procurement and environmental impact studies, "that money is gone. Thankfully our money is still in the Foundation," Hammond said.
She encouraged the Fort Scott members to begin thinking about ideas for other projects.
"If there is something in Fort Scott, or something in Division III that can benefit children, you could use that money or we could continue raising funds for, submit that information to the committee," Hammond said.
The committee will pick three ideas that have been submitted from across the state. Those three ideas will be voted on by Kiwanians who attend the August state convention in Manhattan.
One idea that has been submitted is supporting the Rock Springs 4-H Ranch south of Junction City. Kiwanians have held Key Leadership camps for eight grade and beyond age students at Rock Springs for several years, Hammond said. When asked what the Ranch's needs are, Hammond said the response has been to add some handicapped-accessible cabins and purchase additional equipment.
Even though the plan is to fund one project, Hammond said there is the possibility of placing an expiration date on the project funding, then move on to another project. She admitted that it seems like there are many needs state-wide and locally, but positive things can happen.
"It was amazing to see how Kansas Kiwanians came together for Victory Junction. In a short time, we raised a lot of money for the project," Hammond said.
"With regards to Kiwanis in Kansas, we are very healthy. We are at plus-seven in regards to membership and in your division you're a plus-two," Hammond said. "Now those numbers may not seem high but it is steady growth that we are experiencing."
Typically, club memberships rosters will show a high increase in May, but those numbers decline by August as memberships go unpaid, she said.
"It's nobody's fault. It's not one governor's fault. It's not a district or a club's fault," Hammond said.
She recommended that clubs continue keeping their rosters clean so that in August, there isn't a scramble for new members and the organization continues to grow. That growth, according to Hammond, is because of "the hands of service."
"We're getting older. We need to keep these projects going in our communities," Hammond said.
As government programs are cut, service organizations like Kiwanis step up to take care of projects that have suddenly lost funding.
"The communities that we live in are relying on us," Hammond said.
She congratulated the Pioneer Kiwanis, the women's club, for its 25th anniversary in May. The Pioneer Kiwanis is sponsored by the all-men Fort Scott Kiwanis Club.
Mary Fischer
Fischer gave a performance to portray how photographs taken by Theresa Frare changed the way American's thought about AIDS. She had photographed David Kirby, who was dying of the illness, and those photographs were published in Life Magazine.
Fischer is a home-school junior who also is taking courses at Fort Scott Community College.