The Rotary Centre of the Arts was spirited on Tuesday night (May 17) as the Kiwanis club hosted and celebrated 75 years of supporting children and youth in the Okanagan.
During the event, it was announced that over the last three years, the Kiwanis Legacy Fund has contributed over $500,000 to various youth-serving agencies. Kiwanis has a partnership with the Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) Foundation and the Central Okanagan Foundation.
“Kids need Kiwanis, and the very fact that these agencies exist underscores that,” said Wendy Falkowski, Kiwanis’ Club Finance Committee Chair and Past President. “That is why our club is making changes to attract new members. Kiwanis has served the Central Okanagan for 75 years. More members will help us to continue and build this legacy.”
Kiwanis had a few things to announce throughout the night, including a name change to the organization. Former named Kiwanis Club Kelowna - Summit, it will now be recognized as Kiwanis Club of the Central Okanagan.
With the club growing, they also announced there will still be smaller interest groups that will all be under the Kiwanis name. These are referred to as ‘club satellites’.
Many organizations supported by Kiwanis were in attendance last night. The Okanagan Chefs Association made the appetizers while the Kelowna Secondary School (KSS) Owls football team served them.
Chris Cartwright, the head coach of the KSS football team, was introduced as a new member of Kiwanis and won the Kiwanis Everyday Hero Award. The achievement goes to someone who goes above and beyond to benefit children in the community. Chris also runs and is proud of the T.O.U.G.H. program at KSS, which brings character-building to the sports programs at the school.
“I am excited about the prospect of introducing Kiwanis’ Key Club leadership program to the students in the coming school year,” said Cartwright.
Kiwanis also introduced UBCO’s Emily Cabrera as a new member.
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