The Lake Orion-Oxford Kiwanis Club is holding a membership luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at noon at Kalloway’s. Anyone interested in learning more about membership in Kiwanis is invited to attend.
Kiwanis is a ‘local? organization first founded in Detroit on January 21, 1915. A year later, the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was chartered and Kiwanis International grew by leaps and bounds. The club’s continued service focuses upon youth and even sponsors several service clubs for young people including Circle K International for college students, Key Club for high school, Builders Club for middle school and K-Kids for elementary youth.
In Lake Orion and Oxford, the Kiwanis Club was founded in 1999. Today, the organization has grown to 26 members strong including 14 original charter members. The officers for the 2003-2004 year are President Diane Fischer, Vice President George DelVigna, Treasurer Tony Lasher and Secretary Cindy Reese.
In fiscal year 2001-2002, the Kiwanis donated $12,515.77 to local groups and causes. Some of those receiving donations included the Tommi Fullion Memorial Scholarship Fund, Oxford Township Parks and Recreation Little League Girls Softball Team, Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce golf outing, Orion-Oxford FISH, Orion Township Parks and Recreation, Crossroads for Youth, Orion Area Chamber of Commerce golf outing and Lake Orion Youth Baseball League. As of July 15 for this fiscal year, the club has already donated $10,084 to these organizations and many more.
When looking at service, the Lake Orion-Oxford Kiwanis have started and currently sponsor a Key Club at Lake Orion High School, a K-Kids group at Clear Lake Elementary and several Crossroads for Youth programs such as Adopt-A-Cabin and Gift of the Month. New for the group this year will be a special scholarship award to one Lake Orion and one Oxford High School student.
The Kiwanis Club’s largest fund-raiser each year is a golf outing held annually during the first week of June. This event funds most of the club’s charitable donations. The other large fund-raiser is the annual peanut sale, coming up on September 26. This sale supports most of the children’s activities including Key Club and K-Kids.
The goal of the Kiwanis is to make the communities of Lake Orion and Oxford better places to live by assisting where there is a need, and investing time and funds where necessary for programs to help children reach their full potential.
For more information on the Kiwanis, please contact George DelVigna at 248-969-0617.