Kiwanis International introduces itself to Strathmore

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Kiwanis International hosted a meeting in Strathmore, Nov. 30, intending to discuss with residents what they might want to see from the organization within the community. 

Having not yet established a chapter east of Calgary, Kiwanis came seeking those who may be interested in membership, as well as to introduce themselves to Strathmore. 

Ron Gosselin, who spoke on behalf of the organization, said the ultimate goal is to build a local club about helping kids in the community. 

“We are looking to understand from the community what they thought the needs here are in terms of kids. We heard a lot about food issues, after school issues, literacy and all sorts of stuff,” said Gosselin.

Kiwanis International is a service club founded in Detroit in 1915 and was incorporated in Canada in 1973. Via the Kiwanis Foundation of Canada website, they describe their purpose as being to provide financial support in a variety of ways to the communities branches occupy. 

Similar organizations to Kiwanis International are those such as the Lions Clubs International and Rotary International.

“In a nutshell … what we do is, we are helping kids, one kid at a time. We do all kinds of various different projects, (and) respond to the needs of the local community,” said Gosselin. “Once the club is formed, the members decide within the community (what they have specific needs about) and then what they do is they basically start projects associated with those needs.”

Similar nearby clubs already exist in Calgary, Cochrane, Airdrie, and Okotoks. According to Gosselin, the whole point of establishing a local club is to respond to a need for service. 

Prior to the Nov. 30 meeting, which saw nearly a dozen people in attendance, the Kiwanis team met individually with several community members who had expressed potential interest in creating or joining a chapter, if one were to form locally.

“Part of the presentation today is to ask people who are in the audience what (they) think the needs of the community are, because the club will decide what it is they (would be) doing,” said Gosselin. “At the end of the day, what we are trying to do is, we are just trying to help kids.”

He explained a membership commitment to Kiwanis would require a minimum of two or three hours on a monthly basis doing service work for the local community.

Meetings would be held once a month between club members to decide what their service goal would be for that period and how the objective may be facilitated. 

One of the rules of the club, added Gosselin, is that any finances generated through their services are put back into the community the club serves. 

For those who missed the Nov. 30 meeting but are curious to learn more about Kiwanis and its introduction to Strathmore, more information is available via their social media pages.