SIDNEY — Founded on Nov. 17, 1920, the Sidney Kiwanis have been serving the local community for 100 years.
“We look forward to celebrating with a 100th anniversary banquet later this year if the pandemic allows,” said President Jim Cole.
His report continues:
2020 proved to be a challenging year as we had to cancel our Annual Pancake Day due to COVID. This is one of our three main fundraisers each year. Our sponsorship campaign was completed before covid started. The Annual Labor Day Chicken Bar-B-Que was extremely successful as we sold 2,000 dinners before 3 PM. Much thanks to the community for supporting this annual event.
Even with the challenges of COVID we continued our mission of serving children. We awarded $3,500 in scholarships through our Teen of the Month program which recognizes outstanding students from each of the 10 high schools in Shelby County. We also awarded an additional $15,500 in scholarships to Shelby County students.
Sidney Kiwanis sponsors two additional groups that serve the community: Sidney High School Key Club and the Aktion Club, which is a community-service club for adults living with disabilities. The Key Club sponsored a project to raise funds to replace a generator stolen from Agape. Aktion Club members held a food drive, assisted in the Julia Lamb park cleanup and assembled blessing bags for the homeless.
The Sidney Kiwanis also engage in over 25 Club Service Projects each year. Youth Services projects include the Alpha Center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Camp Dalanda, Cribs for Kids, 4-H Foundation, Hugh OíBrien Youth Program, Kiwanis Children’s Fund, Salvation Army, Key Club, and YMCA Partnership. Community Service Projects include Adopt a Highway, Adopt a Park, Aktion Club, Alpha Center, Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Community Blood Drive, Compassionate Care of Shelby County, Imagination Library, Little Free Library, New Choices, Salvation Army, Shelby County Recycling Center and support for local food pantries. Sidney Kiwanis donated over $2,000 in food to these food pantries.
Our Annual Pancake Day will return April 21, 2021, with drive through only at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.
To make our 100th year serving the youth and citizens of Shelby County Kiwanis can use your support both financially and physically. Please consider becoming either a corporate or individual sponsor.
Sidney Kiwanis always welcomes new members. Last year we added six new members to our club. This year we would like to double that to 12. We have weekly meetings every Wednesday at the Moose Lodge located at 1200 Broadway Ave. in Sidney from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with an optional lunch available for purchase. To see all that we have been up to or if there is interest in joining, visit our Facebook Page “Sidney Kiwanis Club” and send us a message. You can also contact any current member to set a time to visit during a weekly meeting.
The Sidney Kiwanis Clubís Purpose is to serve. Help us do that for another 100 years.
