Thursday, January 25, 2024 | |
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Good morning ! This week in Kiwaniscope - Saturday breakfast with the leaders of the Horizon Mentor program at CT State Norwalk, news from Saturday's food drive, supporting new journalists at Weston High School, Kiwanis celebrating people, thank you from Builders Beyond Borders, future events including Bunco party, the award-winning Kiwanis float at the Rose Parade, and more.
Test your Kiwanis knowledge: which age group has more Kiwanis clubs: adult or youth? Find the answer at the bottom of this page.
– Editor
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MEMBERS’ MILESTONES
Tom Watson celebrates a birthday on Saturday, and Ed Hutchins lights another candle on Monday. Happy birthdays!
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This Saturday, January 27, 2024
Breakfast. Program: Horizons Mentors Program at CT State Norwalk
Norfield Congregational Church parish hall 8:30 a.m.
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HORIZON MENTORS PROGRAM AT CT STATE NORWALK | |
Horizons at CT State Norwalk (formerly Norwalk Community College) provides its students with high-quality programs outside the traditional school year to support academic achievement and healthy youth development.
Renee Rosenbluh worked as the program coordinator at Horizons at Sacred Heart University before becoming the executive director of Horizons at Norwalk Community College in 2020.
Karen Marin is the program coordinator at Horizons NCC, and in the summer, she will be the new director of operations.
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FOOD DRIVE
By Harry Falber
We are grateful for the extraordinary generosity of our community, the time and effort of the Weston High School Key Club, and the Weston Town Shopping Center for giving us space to make our Kiwanis Food Drive on behalf of the Weston Food Pantry a success.
In a few hours, standing outside in the cold, according to Anne Bigin, president of the Weston Food Pantry, Kiwanians and the Key Clubbers collected over 40 bags of shelf-stable foods and toiletries, not to mention more than $600 in donations to help ensure no Westonite goes hungry or isn’t cared for.
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Key Clubbers, Emily Kreger, Avery Kreitler, Leigha Fudale, Sofia Tomanelli, Bridget Achar, Tabi Cappella, Annabelle Gill, Clarise Braun, and Surayya Chandhry were a number of volunteers in the food drive. Kiwanians pictured nearby are Alex Burns, Reed Ameden, Dallas Kersey, Tom Watson, Karen Chrisley, and Dave Burns, and Steve Thomas. Dan Gilbert organized this drive.
The list may be incomplete, Kiwaniscope does not have a list of volunteers. — Editor
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Photographs contributed by Harry Falber and Jim McMorris. | |
WESTON KIWANIS SUPPORTS NEW JOURNALISTS
By Harry Falber
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Weston Kiwanis support of Weston Warhorse, Weston High School's student newspaper, Is a first step for new journalists and a stand Against the growing news desert | |
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For 50 years, Weston Kiwanis has supported organizations and events that positively impact Weston and other Fairfield communities with financial support and volunteerism. And importantly, is Kiwanis support of our school community, whether through Weston High School Key Club, the PTO Memorial Day Fair, and most recently at Weston Intermediate School, where we helped fund a unique program that promotes reading by rewarding WIS students with books of their choice for acts of kindness that go above and beyond what's "just expected." It's been receiving rave reviews from both WIS students and teachers.
Over the years, at Weston High School, students have benefited from several grants and scholarships that Kiwanis awards yearly – usually to those members of the senior class who are graduating. Yet, Kiwanis has never had the opportunity to support a venture at WHS that encompasses students in all four grades and begins to set a career framework with significant national and local implications.
The support of journalism, especially now, is a critical step in ensuring we have a well-informed society at all levels in our country. We are taking steps to support the Weston Warhorse to contribute to a new wave of journalists and journalism. We aim to help rebuild and reclaim the news desert that has robbed us of the information we need to be good citizens.
Right now, there are threats to that goal throughout the United States. From 2008 to 2020, almost 2,000 local newspapers shut down, and newspaper newsroom employment fell nearly 60% from 71,000 journalists to 31,000. There has been some good news: digital newsroom employment grew from 7,400 to 18,000 but still well below the number of journalists at newspapers over two decades ago. Moreover, the trust we've always placed in the printed word has yet to be replicated in the digital space or even by broadcast journalism.
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Right now, there are threats to that goal throughout the United States. From 2008 to 2020, almost 2,000 local newspapers shut down, and newspaper newsroom employment fell nearly 60% from 71,000 journalists to 31,000. There has been some good news: digital newsroom employment grew from 7,400 to 18,000 but still well below the number of journalists at newspapers over two decades ago.
Moreover, the trust we've always placed in the printed word has yet to be replicated in the digital space or even by broadcast journalism.
Here in Weston, we face the same issue. It's been several years since we've had a printed newspaper. When Hearst Media bought the parent company of the Weston Forum, they chose to discontinue it. Despite having a digital media operation in town, we've always felt that needed to be corrected.
We need to catch the deep exposure in the printed word, the established credibility. Within our community, the space that virtually all groups received and all opinions published, as long as the writer signed them. Within our schools, all our teams and activities, from jazz band to orchestra to Short Wharf and Company, appeared page after page and went into every home every Thursday. It's different from seeing some of it on a smartphone, tablet, or computer screen. The Warhorse can change that by becoming not just a print paper for Weston High School but a new print vehicle, student-led, back into every Weston home.
And that's why we at Kiwanis think supporting the Weston Warhorse is essential. Journalism must see an influx of new writers and reporters who understand and believe in the importance of quality journalism to a free society. The best time to kindle that desire and belief is early in the learning curve when good writing is a hallmark of a quality education, which Weston is known for. We plan to be part of the expansion of the Warhorse and look forward to reading the clear, concise writing that is newspaper journalism at its best.
We look forward to reading accurate, vetted news stories about Weston and what Weston faces with scrupulously investigated facts. We can't wait to read well-thought-out and constructed editorials and op-eds tightly written in the classic newspaper "35 words to the column inch" formats that have defined quality journalism for decades. And we hope to see Weston graduates grace the halls of our most respected journalism schools. This commitment to the Warhorse is Kiwanis' first step.
To paraphrase a signature line once used by the New York Daily News when it was a genuinely conservative newspaper and the then best-read paper in the country, we will be proud to have been a part of the growth of the Weston Warhorse when the Warhorse can proudly state, "It's the best-read high school newspaper in the country because it's one of the best written."
Source: US News Deserts
Photo by Getty Images accessed at https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/06/newspapers-close-decline-in-local-journalism/ on January 24, 2024
Harry Falber chairs Weston Kiwanis's Communications Committee – Editor
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KIWANIS: CELEBRATING PEOPLE AND WESTON
ISN’T JUST A HOLIDAY EVENT
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When you passed the Onion Barn in December, you saw a holiday wreath wishing everyone “Happy Holidays” from Weston Kiwanis. It’s been hung every year since the Onion Barn was moved to its present location. Yet, that’s only the tip of the evergreen tree. If you look at the wreath as a circle of branches, almost every branch represents one effort or another that Kiwanis undertakes all year long to help our community. It’s what we believe in.
While we hung a giant community wreath, we certainly made other investments in our community that helped brighten the season, such as the $5,000 gift to social services or the microgrant to help send a worthy WHS student to a Builders Beyond Borders event. We also warmed up the season by donating almost 140 new winter children’s coats to a Norwalk preschool. But what we strive to do, we strive to do all year long – bring a stronger sense of community to Weston.
You see, chances are, no matter the season, no matter whether it is a seasonal holiday or not, Kiwanis exists to help families and children – both in our community and surrounding us as well.
In fact, the way we celebrate the holiday season, is by setting a strategy and roadmap for how we can be helping in the upcoming year. Sure, we have a holiday breakfast. But we will celebrate what we accomplished this past year and discuss what we intend to accomplish in future years. And that’s not to mention talking about how we can draw new members into our organization.
What we have learned over the last few years is that it becomes more difficult each year to recruit new members, as we all seem to be oversubscribed with activities. Follow Weston’s “Town Happenings”, the town website, westonct.gov, or Weston Today, you might know that even at the elected and appointed position level, or for example, Block Captains in cases of emergency, it’s been tough getting Westonites to volunteer (we are not alone).
So, we’d have to say, at this holiday season, we are reenergized in our focus of bringing in new members and, in the high school, Key Club members who can embrace what we do and what we bring to the community. As an organization, we don’t see the December holiday period as an opportunity to ask for donations – we know your home mailboxes and email boxes are overflowing with donation requests from all over (actually, every Saturday breakfast, we have a program called “Happy Bucks” where Kiwanians give small donations honoring good things that have happened in their lives or other lives.) Rather, we see the December holiday period as a time to reflect on all we accomplished during the year and think about what else we can do for our community.
For this holiday period, along with other initiatives, we’ll be thinking about the beginning of our support of the Warhorse and what and where it can lead a new cohort of young writers into future careers in journalism.
This is why Kiwanis exists – to better serve our town's children, students, and families. Aside from a welcoming wreath hanging on the Onion Barn, we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holiday season in Weston than planning what more we can bring to all of our neighbors.
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This article appears in Weston Warhorse, Weston High School student newspaper. Printed distribution of Weston Warhorse is supported by a financial grant from the Kiwanis Club of Weston Foundation, Inc. — Editor | |
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Next Saturday, February 3, 2024
Breakfast and business meeting.
Norfield Congregational Church parish hall 8:30 a.m.
Club board monthly meeting.
Norfield Congregational Church parish hall 10 a.m.
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Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Community Service Committee monthly meeting on Zoom at 8 p.m.
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Saturday, February 10, 2024
Breakfast meeting.
Norfield Congregational Church parish hall 8:30 a.m.
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Saturday, February 17, 2024
Breakfast meeting.
Norfield Congregational Church parish hall 8:30 a.m.
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Saturday, February 24, 2024
Breakfast meeting.
Norfield Congregational Church parish hall 8:30 a.m.
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Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Bunco Game Night - Weston High School Key Club and Weston Kiwanis Club
Weston High School cafeteria at 6 p.m. for bag dinner; play starts at 6:30 p.m.
RSVP email Dawn Egan or her cell (203) 451-4964.
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NEW ENGLAND AND BERMUDA DISTRICT NEWS | |
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Midwinter Conference, March 8-10, 2024, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Kiwanis Cruise Boston, Bermuda, Bar Harbor, Boston sailing May 17-24, 2024, on the Norwegian Gem
District Convention, August 15-18, 2024, Springfield, Massachusetts
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KIWANIS ROSE PARADE FLOAT EARNS VOLUNTEER TROPHY
By Key Club International President Kyle Hanson\
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On New Year’s Day, I was in Pasadena, California, U.S., where I had the opportunity to ride on the Kiwanis Rose Parade Float called “Serving in Harmony.” It was a pleasure to participate alongside Kiwanis International President Katrina Baranko, Circle K International President Zak Kahn, Key Club International Trustee Alyssa Kline, California-Nevada-Hawaii District Key Club and Kiwanis governors, and many other Kiwanis family leaders!
The parade was a great chance to show off Key Club’s service and impact. This event brought us international exposure, with about 1 million in-person attendees and tens of millions more watching on television. We were able to share the Kiwanis message and brand throughout the Rose Parade.
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2024 CONVENTION
Denver, Colorado
July 3-6, 2024
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TEST YOUR KIWANIS KNOWLEDGE
Answer: youth. There are 7,860 adult clubs and 7,989 youth clubs. Kiwanis offers three clubs for youth: Key Club, Builders Club, and K-Kids.
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Key Club is the oldest and largest service organization for teens and teaches leadership through service to others.
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Builders Club provides students aged 11-14 opportunities to develop leadership skills, improve self-esteem, increase civic engagement, and learn life skills through service.
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K-Kids gives students aged 6-12 opportunities to work together on service projects, develop leadership potential, and create strong moral character.
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News and other content contributions from individual members, committees, the club board, and the foundation are requested. Please identify as such and email to kiwaniscope@westonkiwanis.org before noon every Wednesday.
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KIWANIS CLUB OF WESTON, CONNECTICUT, INC.
PO BOX 1033
WESTON, CT 06883-0033
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Kiwaniscope is published weekly for the members and friends of the Kiwanis Club of Weston on Thursday mornings September through June by the Kiwanis Club of Weston, Connecticut, Inc. | | | | |
