Kiwaniscope for Thursday, November 23, 2023

Thursday, November 23, 2023 🦃

Happy Thanksgiving Day ! This week in Kiwaniscope - no meeting this Saturday, our next meeting is Saturday, December 2. See a picture and read about our successful food drive last Saturday, announcing the nominating committee formation, Pam's and Dallas's bulging mailbox, veterans thankful for Steve Thomas's kindness, examples of great works by Kiwanis in Danbury and Norwalk, and read about 11 benefits of volunteering.

Editor

MEMBERS’ MILESTONES

Weston Kiwanis's 41st president, Denise Murillo, has a birthday today, and Andrew Cumming's Birthday is on Tuesday. Happy birthdays!

Ed Hutchins' (Barbara) wedding anniversary is tomorrow. Happy anniversary, Hutch and Barbara!

THIS WEEK

This Saturday, November 25, 2023

NO MEETING. Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend and see you next Saturday.

Norfield Congregational Church parish hall - 8:30 a.m.

LAST WEEK

HELPING OUR NEIGHBORS IN ADVANCE OF THANKSGIVING

By Harry Falber

Kiwanis' pre-Thanksgiving Saturday breakfast meeting was focused on helping our neighbors in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, It was a Saturday morning breakfast we all should be proud of.

Keith Johnson presented the foundation's planned gift of $5,000 to Weston Social Services, which provides a wide range of confidential help to those in our community who need assistance, including the Weston Warm-Up Fund. Those in attendance approved the donation unanimously,

Keith went on to speak about a deserving Weston High School (WHS) student participating in a social services program that is self-funded by each participant, Builders Beyond Borders (B3), a program offering transformational experiences that empower teenagers to build character and responsibility while helping to improve communities in need at home and around the world. To assist this worthy WHS student, members donated nearly $500 from Saturday's Happy Bucks, and the foundation supplemented that amount to help fund this student's B3 experience over the Christmas holiday.

Members received printed copies of the November 2023 issue of the Weston High School newspaper, Weston Warhorse containing Kiwanis contributions to content. Available previously only online, the printed circulation of several issues has been made possible by a grant from our foundation. The Communications Committee aims to make this a multi-year program of supporting and engaging students to enter the field of responsible journalism, which has been in a decade-long crisis as the country expands the newspaper desert we are in.

With the support of our foundation, one of our near-term goals is to help the Weston Warhorse become a true community newspaper with the student journalists reaching every Weston home by postal mail. Tom Glass and Harry Falber of the Communications Committee spearheaded the initiative, and they plan to work closely with the students as they build a strategic and business plan for the Weston Warhorse.

FOOD DRIVE

By Dan Gilbert

Weston Kiwanis Club members and Weston High School Key Clubers were up bright early last Saturday morning. They set up in front of Lily’s and the Weston Pharmacy to collect non-perishable food and healthcare products to benefit the clients of the Weston Food Pantry. Westonites, once again, demonstrated their generosity, assuring the food pantry will be well-stocked for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The mission of the Weston Food Pantry is to help families in Weston deal with food insecurity by providing free, non-perishable food to help satisfy weekly needs. The pantry is organized and staffed by volunteers. It provides a safe, secure environment for its clients and donations. Over 70 Weston families qualify for the food pantry. Nonperishable shelf-stable food, toiletry, and cat/dog food donations can be dropped off at the pantry, 285 Lyons Plains Road (Emmanuel Church basement) on Fridays between 4 and 5 p.m. or at Camelot Real Estate, in the Weston Shopping Center, seven days a week, during business hours. Financial donations can be made via Venmo @Weston-Foodpantry or by check payable to the Weston Food Pantry and mailed to 26 Riverfield Drive, Weston, CT 06883.

Weston Kiwanis is dedicated to serving children, families, and the community. Through a combination of service, philanthropic fundraising, and giving, the club supports worthy causes in our community and beyond, emphasizing helping children. Since 2000, the club has donated countless service hours and contributed more than $900,000 through our foundation. The club meets each Saturday, September through June, for breakfast in Norfield Congregational Church parish hall. Members gather at 8:15 a.m., with meetings running 8:30 to 10 a.m.. If you’re interested in helping people, especially children, consider attending a meeting. Your first breakfast is free.

From left to right in the photo are Avery Bartley, Ed Hutchins, Nicholas Masters, Karen Chrisley, Jack Thorsby, Dave Burns, Harvey Luft, Dallas Kersey, Joan Clayton, Surayya Chaudhry, Michael Schwartz, and Zain Chaudhry, and the hindquarters of Summer Clayton-Schwartz.

Kiwanis photograph contributed by Dan Gilbert.

This food drive was organized, managed, photographed, and reported on by Dan Gilbert of our Community Service Committee. In his transmittal of the above article to Weston Today Editor Ted Craft, Dan acknowledged Ted's help and that of Weston Shopping Center Associates property manager Josh Tolk in making this successful drive possible. - Editor

NEWS

NOMINATING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCED

As our immediate past club president, Dallas Kersey is chairing the club's standing committee on nominations. This week, Dallas named the following members who are joining him on the nominating committee: Past Lieutenant Governor Tom Glass, Past Presidents Woody Bliss, Tom Failla, and Harry Spencer, President Amy Jenner, and President-elect Tom Watson.

Our bylaws charge the nominating committee with presenting a slate of nominees of officers and directors for election by the members at the annual club meeting for elections, this year on Saturday, January 6, 2024 with terms beginning October 1.

To be nominated are all five club officers: president, president-elect, immediate past president, secretary, and treasurer directors to serve one-year terms and five (half of the total of 10) directors to be nominated for two-year terms. (Another five directors will continue their two-year terms through September 2025.)

Contact any of the office-holders or anyone on the nominating committee if you are interested in any of these leadership positions. By having elections earlier than previous years, in January, we will have ample time to help you prepare for your role. Nominations for any position will also be accepted from the floor at the annual meeting.

HOLIDAY MAIL DELUGE

Last week, Past President Dallas Kersey shared a cartoon her ran across organizing his office. "It's more relevant this year/holiday than I have EVER seen it before. Tons of catalogs every day."

This week, Dallas offered photographic evidence. "This is our one-day mail. Last week's cartoon was intended to be funny. This isn’t funny. Grrrr"

(After a cartoon that originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal.)

VETERANS THANKFUL FOR FOOD DONATION

Past President Steve Thomas delivered a bounty of extra apples and doughnuts after the Reservoir Run to Homes for the Brave in Bridgeport following our successful event.

Kiwaniscope received a copy of the nearby letter of appreciation to the club from Homes for the Brave today.

DISTRICT NEWS

DANBURY

Some items from Danbury's secretary Foster Crawford's Kalendar:

November 20 - Thanksgiving food distribution at Salvation Army
December 2 - Flags of Valor decommissioning
December 14 -Toy collection for the Kiwanis Santa project. Bring an unwrapped toy to a meeting or the holiday party, Lebanon American Club 5:30 cocktails, 6:30 dinner open bar - games $35 per person- spouse/dates invited, Wrapped raffle gift ($20-25.00)/person,
December 16 - Salvation Army Bell Ringing from with Key Clubs, this year the collection will be matched for local use by the National Salvation Army.

NORWALK

This Thanksgiving, Norwalk High School P-Tech Norwalk Assistant Principal Beth Funari is thankful for the Kiwanis Club of Norwalk's role in making possible the launch of Danbury Kiwanian and Brave Enough to Fail 's (BETF) C.E.O. Wayne Winsley BOSS Academy, and the difference the program is making in the lives of P-Tech students.

BOSS Academy promotes embracing Big dreams, pushing oneself Outside the comfort zone, developing a Strategy for success, and learning to Stick to the plan through perseverance and hard work.

Weston Kiwanians may remember when, as Programs Committee co-chair in June 2018, Tom Glass invited Danbury Kiwanian Wane Winsley to speak at the club breakfast meeting.

The launch of "America's #1 Student Motivational Program" was made possible, in part, by the sponsorship by the Norwalk Kiwanis Club. Norwalk Kiwanis President Marie Sacco comments, “We are extremely proud to play a part in making this great program happen for students in our Norwalk community.”

BOSS Academy promotes embracing Big dreams, pushing oneself Outside the comfort zone, developing a Strategy for success, and learning to Stick to the plan through perseverance and hard work.

Students at the launch each received a hardcover copy of the book, “Where Are You Going?,” which serves as the BOSS Academy textbook and an ongoing source of motivation and inspiration.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Charter Day

Kiwanis International chartered the Kiwanis Club of Weston on November 30, 1974, 50 years ago.

Saturday, December 2, 2023

Breakfast meeting. Speaker: Andrew J. Gerber, M.D., Ph.D., Silver Hill Hospital