By Ray Matthews

At this time, The Kiwanis Club of Stamford would like to provide you with our organization’s highlights over the past five years. The name Kiwanis is synonymous with many good things. You may know it for its Music and Dance Festival or for its Christmas Tree sales, but there is much more we would like you to know about our club.

Since the formation of The Kiwanis Club of Stamford in 1959, this service organization, like all Kiwanis organizations worldwide has prided itself on helping to build a better community, especially by helping children through the Kiwanis Young Children: Priority One campaign.

Our Kiwanis Motto is “WE BUILD” and we continue to do just that and more.

The Kiwanis Club of Stamford, with about 35 members has made major strides in helping others. Its form and contributions to our City and Regional Niagara consists of three incorporated companies; (1) The Kiwanis Club of Stamford, (2) Stamford Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc. and (3) The Kiwanis Foundation of Niagara Falls Inc.

During the past five years (2002-2006), over and above our weekly meetings, our members have given a total of 9,293 volunteer hours of service to our community. In addition to the net proceeds of the Kiwanis Music and Dance Festival Scholarships of $43,750 presented over the same five years, our club has also donated $229,686.48 to a variety of more than 75 different local organizations or individual citizens in need, making a grand total of $273,436.48. Funding for these donations are the direct results of net proceeds from several projects created by committees within our club and the general public. Our sales of Christmas trees, History Books and Maps, Wall Tapestries of the Falls and Park area, Kiwanis Sunday Night Bingo and our Trivia Night are just some of these projects.

Our largest fund raising project is our Bus Bench advertising. The majority of net proceeds are from this project. With locations available throughout our city, these benches advertise local companies as well as non-profit agencies. Information shown on these bench backs is of use to both local citizens and tourists. Net proceeds from advertising goes directly back into our community.

Early in fiscal year 2006, our club, with the cooperation of a St. Catharines Kiwanis Club produced a new project, Kiwanis TV Bingo. Each Sunday evening, this is shown on COGECO Cable 10 between 8 and 9pm so you can enjoy bingo in the comfort of your own home with prize money being delivered to you that night. Bingo cards are sold at all Avondale Food Stores and all Shoppers Drug Marts throughout our City and Region. Net proceeds in Niagara Falls are for The Boys and Girls Club of Niagara Falls.

Here are just a few of the many other organizations that have received funding from The Kiwanis Club of Stamford as a result of our fund raising projects:

All City & Regional Day Care Centres (books) Greater Niagara General Hospital

Key Club for Youth (A.N. Myer High School) Meals on Wheels

Scholarships (5 Niagara Falls High Schools) Kiwanis Music and Dance Festival

Another successful project is our Stamford Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc. that owns 20 homes located throughout our City, as well as Kiwanis Court Apartments on Ailanthus Avenue (40 units including 10 units for the physically challenged administered by the March of Dimes) and also Stamford Kiwanis Manor on Simcoe Street (36 units including four units suitable for the physically challenged). The total real estate value of these 96 units exceeds Eight Million Dollars. Original funding for these units was provided by the Federal and Provincial governments to provide low-market rental housing. Policies are set by an eight member Board of Directors, all of whom are members in good standing of Stamford Kiwanis. Shabri Properties Ltd., a professional management company has been contracted to handle the day-to-day detailed business.

Another well known, valuable and well-supported project is our Annual Kiwanis Music and Dance Festival. Its goal is to provide professionally adjudicated expertise to a yearly average of 1,357 entries (over the past five years) in the fields of piano, vocal and dance. It is almost impossible to estimate the number of participants as some register in multiple classes, and some dance entries have 10 to 15 or more members while others are individuals, etc. Perhaps a very conservative guess would be over 2,000 young people who participate annually.

The Festival Committee is comprised of a paid Coordinator plus 8 volunteers, some from the community but most are Kiwanis members. They are responsible for producing the entire Festival. During the actual event, many additional volunteers and two paid secretaries are used. Funding for this project comes from many venues such as program sales and advertising, admission charges, donation of scholarships by Kiwanis members, by many businesses and several community minded organization such as Niagara Concerts as well as donations by patrons.

Various awards and certificates are given to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Certificates of Excellence are given by Arts & Culture Niagara Falls to first-place finishers in piano and vocal. Each year in May, our Kiwanis Club Of Stamford invites the winners of major trophies and scholarships in piano, vocal and dance, their parents and teachers to be our guests at a regular Kiwanis dinner meeting. All enjoy a short performance by each winner. Major Trophies and Scholarships are presented at this time. The media is also invited to attend and pictures are taken.

Thus, the Kiwanis Club Of Stamford is proud to be responsible for the many positive contributions we make to our community. It is truly gratifying to us, a small but organized membership that so much can be accomplished. We are always looking for and welcome dedicated people to join with us to share in the fun and fellowship at our weekly meetings to help provide even more support for our community.

KIWANIS DONATIONS FISCAL YEAR 2006

Charitable Agency $ Amount

A.N. Myer Key Club (Teen Students) 1295

Arthritis Society 250

Big Brothers Big Sisters 500

Boys and Girls Club of Niagara Falls 31694

Camp Trillium 525

Canadian Diabetes Camp 250

Canon and Mrs. A. H. Walker Fund 150

Canadian National Institute for the Blind 800

Community Rehabilitation 2300

Crohns and Colitis Foundation 500

Cyanamid Retirees Fund 200

Easter Seals Campaign 1000

Greater Niagara General Hospital 1000

High Schools of Niagara Falls (5) 5000

Kiwanis Foundation of Canada (Angel Fund) 150

Leprosy Mission of Canada 550

Meals on Wheels (Niagara Falls) 2300

McMaster Highland Dancers 200

Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce 114

Niagara Child and Youth Services 500

Niagara Peninsula Children Centre 1000

Niagara Falls Pied Piper Playground Program 400

Niagara Falls Summer Players 275

Niagara Symphonic 25

Niagara Hospice Program 1000

Old Timers Hockey Program 130

Ontario March of Dimes 500

Project Share Niagara Falls 500

Saint John’s Ambulance 300

Salvation Army 1000

Students’ Assistance 1350

Terry Fox Run 500

Women’s Place 500

Young Children Priority One 468

2006 Total 57226.

Brief History of Kiwanis

The first Kiwanis club was organized in Detroit, Michigan. The group received a charter from the state of Michigan on January 21, 1915, and this is regarded as the birth date of Kiwanis.

The first clubs were organized to promote the exchange of business among the members. However, even before the Detroit club received its state charter, the members were distributing Christmas baskets to the poor. A lively debate ensued between those who supported community service as the Kiwanis mission and those who supported the exchange of business. By 1919, the service advocates won the debate.

Kiwanis became international with the organization of the Kiwanis club of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1916. Kiwanis limited its membership to the United States and Canada until 1962, when worldwide expansion was approved. Since then, Kiwanis has spread to all inhabited continents of the globe.

Kiwanis was defined as “an organization for men” in the constitution and adopted in 1924. In 1987, after several years of debate and growing support, women’s membership received overwhelming approval.

Six Canadians have served as Kiwanis International President. The first International President elected from outside the two founding nations of the US and Canada was Ian Perdriau AM from Australia, who served in 1994-95. Eyjólfur Sigurðsson of Iceland was the 1995-96 International President, and Juan F. Torres Jr., MD, of the Philippines, was president in 2002-03.