Kiwanis marches in November 23, 2012 Madison Santa Parade

Thirteen Kiwanians and spouses marched in the November 23 Madison Santa Parade (aka Christmas Parade). Madison High School Key Club was well represented with eight student marchers, the club advisor, and her family. Many thousands of adults and children crowded the sidewalks to watch this annual event. After marching, Kiwanians went to Charlie Brown’s for supper.

Kiwanis November 20 Program: Drew University Circle K President Victoria Dayton described the club’s fund-raising and service projects.

Bob Stannard introduced Drew University Circle K President Victoria Dayton at the November 20 Kiwanis breakfast meeting. Chatham-Madison Kiwanis proudly sponsors the Drew Circle K and Bob is the Kiwanis advisor. All officers attended training for their positions this year.

She reported that the club has grown their membership to 25 student members who come consistently to all the meetings. The $600 International dues is paid by Drew and students pay $8 individual District dues by the end of the month. Victoria reviewed some of the recent events by the club locally and with the District.

Some projects are carried out at the meetings. One is Cards for Kids. Kids with serious illnesses are located via the Internet and cards are made to cheer them up, even though some have terminal illnesses. The club also does Trick or Treat for UNICEF, going door to door in Drew dorms. Over $100 was raised and donated to the ELIMINATE project.

The club went to a NJ state rally (a day of fun) held at Rutgers in October. They brought canned goods to contribute to fighting hunger. Drew came in third in point score for the day.

The club had a T-shirt designed for their club and will now order them to proudly wear to events.

They raise funds and made contributions by reselling used books. They had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich social where they made and took over 100 sandwiches, to Hurricane Sandy victims in Toms River. Fifty went to the Salvation Army and the rest were handed out by the students as they went door-to-door to help people.

Victoria organized a Drew project to collect Sandy relief donations - then they drove a truckload of donations to Toms River. She also sent out a flyer to Drew students reminding them to return from Thanksgiving break with more donations for Sandy victims. Victoria is heading up a Drew disaster relief committee. This week they went to Staten Island to provide relief.

Victoria and other students found tragic damage to houses at the shore. She invited Kiwanians to donate relief goods. One thing that is needed is pet supplies. Food, blankets, and other items are needed to help displaced pets.

The club held a “Dance the Damage Away” to raise funds for Hurricane Relief. The event was a success, raising $253.

They also are doing a Six Cents Initiative to collect used water bottles, turn them in for cash, and then donate the funds to bring good water to people in need. She thanked the audience for bringing in water bottles for her. They also collect can-tops for the Ronald McDonald House.

Upcoming events include the Free Rice Competition. When you answer a trivia question on-line, 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Hunger Program (freerice.com). Students will come to the event, group into teams, generate points (rice), and compete for prizes based on which team has the most rice.

Next year, they plan to hold a bowling social in the Madison shopping center near Staples. The club will attend the state-wide NJ District Winter Social to be held at Centenary College in February. There is also a NJ District Convention being planned for next February.

There will be a NJ District large scale service project hosted by Drew in April. Also, the Walk to Eliminate will be held again this year. A Dance for Dimes is in the planning stage to raise money for the March of Dimes. Also a Clean-up on Drew campus is being planned for next year in the spring.

The audience loudly applauded the great work of Victoria and the Drew University Circle K. Their extensive programs and enthusiasm are an inspiration to everyone.

Announcements: Kiwanis November 20 Meeting

Dave reported on nut sales. About $2,300 total have been sold - still have $2,500 to sell. Cashew bags, mixed nuts bags, pistachio bags, 26 oz. cashew tins and 16 oz. mixed nuts tins are all sold out. However, there is a wide selection still available. Please order soon so you won’t be disappointed.

Gary announced the Chatham Ogden Road clean-up is scheduled for November 28 at 8:00 AM.

Joan announced the Madison Christmas Parade on Friday at 5:00 PM at the Ambulance Corps parking lot on Prospect St. Also the Breakfast with Santa is on December 1 at 9:00 AM at the Madison Community Center.

Kiwanis Key Club Mixer a Success

The Kiwanis Key Club Mixer held in the evening on November 14, 2012 at Charlie Brown’s Steakhouse was a very nice affair.  Karen Swartz did a great job in putting this night together:  A total of 73 CHS Key Club members/parents were there, and 13 Kiwanis Club members were in attendance. (Thank you, folks for helping to make this a successful evening).

Karen opened the meeting and greeted all and spoke about our club and Kiwanis in general. She spoke on the history of Kiwanis, the fact that we are International and sponsor youth clubs from Builders through Key Club and Circle K on the college level, and that students participating number in the many thousands over the entire world.  She also spoke of the special projects we support in particular our local charities and scholarships. Statewide, Children’s Specialized Hospital and, Internationally: the Eliminate Project.  AND … most importantly that we are going down in member numbers, while the clubs we sponsor are going up in number of members, which is great, but we need help and members to continue to lead and support the young people and asked that our guests join us in continuing our work with youth and to “Serve the Children of the World”.
 
Key club President Olivia Antao (in photo above with her father) then officially opened the Key Club meeting and spoke very movingly about what being in Key club has meant to her and how she is thankful to Kiwanis and the Key Club for giving her direction in life.  She was basically drifting with no direction and, on a whim, joined Key Club.  Key Club changed her life and now she wants to continue to seek a future in a service oriented field.
 
Key club officers gave reports and their meeting was concluded. Thanks to Kiwanis Club President Joan May we have these photos and description of this fine evening.

Kiwanis November 13 Program: Marc Litwack Spoke

At the November 13 Kiwanis meeting, Marc Litwack spoke about his career serving Kiwanis. His next step is to run for a position on the Kiwanis International Board of Trustees. In photo taken before the meeting, Marc is talking with Bob Stannard.

October 6th and November 13th Meetings Cancelled

Because of Hurricane Sandy, two Chatham-Madison Kiwanis regular Tuesday meetings in a row were cancelled. Everyone was without power for up to two weeks and damage to buildings, cars, etc. was extensive due to high winds and falling trees.