Kiwanis

Kiwanis - Changing Communities One Child At A Time

I and over 220 other people, of both genders and many colors, attended a Kiwanis convention this past weekend. We came from Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Arizona, to Sierra Vista, on the Arizona border with Mexico. For most of us it was a long drive and took three days of our time. We did it so we could share our experiences helping poor and less fortunate children in our respective communities. We also built new relationships and strengthened existing ones. Even though I have been a member of Kiwanis a total of sixteen years in three states and have attended classes like this many times, I learned new things and enjoyed it.

I live in a "high rent" community in the Phoenix valley where kids in need are not readily visible. Our clubs members have had to look carefully before finding children that really need our help. Kids with hard working parents, that do not do drugs and alcohol and still cannot put much food on the table. Their children depend on school lunch programs for one good meal a day, and not much during a weekend. The wonderful thing about these children is that they enjoy life, work hard on their schooling and are fully supported in that by their parents.

Our club provides, backpacks, warm jackets, pencils, paper, and other school supplies that parents provide to their kids if money is available. We do it from our own pockets and through various fund raising activities. We have fun doing it. We laugh together, sweat together and sometimes wipe tears together. We are one club of hundreds in the world. Each of us has found or taken the time to stoop down and help others.

I write this to ask you to take up the challenge of helping others, even though you are busy. Join a Kiwanis club in your area and share the fun experience of helping kids all the way up through their teen years. Clothes and pencils when they are kids and leadership mentoring as they go into high school.

Thank you,


Wes Zimmerman

President
Scottsdale Airpark Professionals Kiwanis Club
480.628.2450