The Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene topped off their fiscal year by donating $5,000 to the Hayden Kinder Center to fund the purchase of books and supplies for the school library. This donation was in addition to a previous donation of $1,350 to the school. “We are so happy that the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene has granted this $5,000 to our school. We couldn’t be happier,” said Bonnie Pratt, a VISTA (Volunteers In Service to America) volunteer, who submitted the grant request.
The members of the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene are pleased and excited that this donation will have such a lasting impact on the community, especially for the children, which is the focus of this service group. “We are extremely excited to partner with the Kinder Center and see them make their school library a reality. We are happy to be in the position to do it,” said Maryellen Garasky, President of the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene.
This is the second large grant the club donated from October 1, 2009, through September 30, 2010. In May of 2010, Kiwanis gave $5,000 to Children’s Village to help fund their transitional house – which will offer housing to former foster children once they turn 18 years of age (an age where, typically, they are removed from the foster system with very little support). Overall the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene gave out over $54,000 this year in grants, a figure that they hope to donate to non-profits, especially those who focus on the needs of children in our community, for years to come.
“Our Kiwanis Club is very unique and fortunate,” said Garasky. “The early founders of our club purchased 90+ acres of land in Post Falls on the Spokane River. We are benefiting from their very wise investment. In 2000 we sold part of our property for development (now Hunter’s Glen) and used the proceeds to make the club’s dream come true, the development of the Kiwanis Park.”
Kiwanis Park was completed in 2001 and the park has been leased to the City of Post Falls for $1 a year, in order to allow the public to enjoy the space. “Before that the park was chained off from the public because our club could not afford the liability insurance nor maintenance that the Park required,” said Kathy Bush, Park Committee Chair. “We had 90+ acres at the time, and it was a difficult decision for the club to sell half of it. Had we not, however, Kiwanis Park would have never been developed. We simply could not raise the funds.”
The sale of the land has turned into a win/win situation for the community. The funds collected from the sale of the land were adequate to not only develop Kiwanis Park, but also to set aside the remainder in an investment account, allowing the club to draw approximately $50,000 to $60,000 a year to donate to the non-profits in Kootenai County.
“Our approach is very systematic and disciplined about how much we draw from the account,” said Marty Behm, Finance Committee Chair. “Our intention is to have the funds available forever so we can make a lasting impact for our children’s grandchildren and beyond.”
In addition to the Kiwanis Park being used by thousands of individuals and families each year, and the huge impact of the grants donated each year, the funds have had a significant impact on the activities of the club’s members. Unlike most service clubs, the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene has the ability to focus their efforts toward community service, instead of fundraising. “When we sold the land, our members met for hundreds of hours for several years to develop the park and write bylaws as to how we would function as a club going forward,” said Bush. “We were determined to not become a ‘check writing club’ and we have increased our community volunteers hours tremendously as a result.”
Some of the activities the club participates in are delivering Meals on Wheels weekly since 2002, reading weekly to four Head Start classes, Santa Hotline, Kids Day in the Park, Art on the Green, cleanup efforts at Children’s Village, volunteering at many TESH functions, Relay for Life, Bowl for Kids Sake for Big Bros/Big Sisters, the Key Club at Lake City High School, among others. The Club was instrumental in helping several non-profits, including the Fresh Start Warming Center, get their start in our community, either with funds, volunteer hours or club members spearheading efforts.
“We are very proud of our achievements,” says Garasky, “not only the funds we are able to donate, but the hours we donate, as well. We feel we are truly making a difference in the lives of the children in our own community.”
The 2009-2010 recipients of the Kiwanis funds can be seen at the club website, www.cdakiwanis.org. “I think many will be surprised at how many organizations we touch each year,” says Garasky.
The Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene is about to embark on their annual membership invitation. If you are interested in attending a meeting and learning more about the club, please join them for lunch at a meeting. The Club would like to thank Michael D’s for being such a great host restaurant for many years, but due to club growth, they will begin to meet at Fedoras on Kathleen & Ramsey starting the first Wednesday of November, 2010. Please feel free to visit www.cdakiwanis.org for more information.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 12:21PM 