Main photo: Members and supporters of the Kiwanis Club of Huntsville Muskoka at their inaugural golf tournament fundraiser. Save the date for the second annual tournament on September 24, 2020 (supplied)
Kiwanis Club of Huntsville Muskoka is a volunteer organization dedicated to serving local youth. But in order to do that in a bigger way, the club is looking to add more members to its group.
“There are kids here that need help and that’s our main focus,” said Martin Mann, president of the local chapter. “Kiwanis is geared toward serving children of the world and locally.”
Kiwanis Huntsville was chartered in August 2017 and currently has 11 members. Mann would like to see that number increase to 30 or more—more members means more hands and more hands means more success for children locally.
“The more we have the more we can do,” he said.
In the two years it’s been operating, the Kiwanis Club of Huntsville Muskoka has helped with the playground project at Huntsville Public School, the YWCA’s Circles, Girls Unplugged and Boys Quest programs, the Salvation Army’s youth services and kettle program along with supporting families at Christmas, One Kids Place, the Huntsville Theatre Company’s youth program, a scholarship bursary at Huntsville High School, the Subaru IronKids races, the Muskoka Hornets Midget AA baseball team, and its own programs including the Kiwanis Sap Run for Kids and fundraisers like their Dinner Anywhere in the World draw and annual golf tournament at North Granite Ridge.
Volunteers from the Kiwanis Club of Huntsville Muskoka and the community greeted finishers at the end of the Subaru IronKids fun run (from left) Logan McFall, Tracy McFall, Halley Clover, Rick Brooks, Susan Brooks, Brittany Robbins, Janice Larade and Heather Wyatt (Dawn Huddlestone)
Rick Brooks (left) and Martin Mann (right) of the Kiwanis Club of Huntsville Muskoka present a cheque to Bet Jones (second from left) and Karen Crowe of Staples to help kids who can’t afford back-to-school supplies. (supplied)
“Kids are our future and we have to do whatever we can to help them,” said Mann.
The club offers two different membership options: individual members and corporate members.
“The difference with the corporate membership is it’s a partnership—we want to promote them as well,” said Mann, noting corporate members are listed on the website and certain flyers. “Corporate memberships have the added bonus of increased publicity.”
Mann said joining Kiwanis is a great opportunity to do both service work for the community and professional networking. He joined Kiwanis about 13 years ago while living in Wisconsin, U.S.
“We get together and mingle and it’s a really good feeling when you see your end results,” he said. “It’s appreciation and camaraderie. It helps with life skills, such as public speaking. Kiwanis has helped me get better with giving presentations.”
The club is hosting an information meeting for people to come and learn about the club and how to be involved. The meeting is set for Nov. 19 from 5:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the community room at Bullock’s Independent, 131 Howland Drive, Huntsville.
“Come out and see what we’re all about and what we’ve done so far. For a club that’s only two years old we’ve supported a number of programs in the community,” said Mann.
You can also find more information at huntsvillekiwanis.ca.
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