Kiwanis presents to Town Council

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

On behalf of Kiwanis Canada, Ronald Gosselin, the organization’s district lieutenant governor, presented to Strathmore Town Council, Feb. 1, to talk about efforts to establish a local chapter in Strathmore.

Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers, currently operating in 86 countries with approximately 6,800 active clubs. 

The organization fills a similar community role to clubs such as the Lions and Rotary, though they focus primarily on the benefit for children.

“Our vision is to be a positive influence in the community, so that children can live their lives, we believe in them, we nurture them and we provide the support that they need to thrive,” said Gosselin.

During his presentation, he explained Kiwanis stages approximately 150,000 service projects annually throughout their network, raising around $100 million USD which is then directed back into the respective communities the money was raised from.

“Every club assesses local community needs and sets up service projects accordingly, so it is not an organization (with a strict agenda),” said Gosselin. “We have a slew of things that we have in the hub, but we really target the needs of the community.”

Among Kiwanis’ projects are leadership programs for children, supporting youth and young adults throughout their educational careers, as well as hosting programs adults with developmental disabilities. 

These programs, with the exception being for the youngest of audiences, are operated largely by local youth, intending to aid other local youth.

Within Strathmore, as a result of Kiwanis’ first meeting in November 2022, the needs the organization has currently assessed include food insecurity, free after school activities, an anti-bullying program, and addressing youth mental illness.

“Our plan so far, in terms of food insecurity, we have a program running in Calgary called ‘Kiki Care Box,’ and what we do is we sell cookbooks in order to put together care boxes that contain dry food, a $50 gift certificate for a grocery store, it has toys for kids, and books,” said Gosselin. “We are probably going to bring something like 40 of those boxes to Strathmore in the next couple of months or something like that.”

Regarding local response to bullying, Kiwanis works with the Peer Mediation and Skills Training (PMaST), which is designed as a response tool for parents if their kids are being bullied, are witnessing bullying, or are the bully.

Going forward, Kiwanis hopes to host a second public information meeting in Strathmore, with intent to feature Mayor Pat Fule. 

Other events they plan to host include anti-bullying training in March, a bike safety session in June, intent to establish a kids choir, and organizing a local food drive for an undetermined date.