Bay Village Kiwanis Club makes a difference

The Bay Village Kiwanis Club has been working hard, as always, to make a difference in the community and in the world. Over the past year Bay Kiwanis has provided funds in excess of $50,000 to help fight poverty and disease, improve the lives of children and adults, and help create the next generation of leaders in our communities. Bay Kiwanis has been providing this kind of support for over 68 years.

Academically, for the children and students of Bay Village, Kiwanis has provided mentors and funding to the recently established Bay High Robotics Club. Bay Kiwanis hosts the Academic Achievement night where they have awarded scholarships totaling $15,000 to students in pursuit of a college degree.

Athletically, Bay Kiwanis purchased equipment to promote inclusion of special needs students in outdoor high school physical education activities. They have contributed $25,000 to the BHS Field of Dreams to help create a state-of-the-art athletic complex where students can learn about teamwork and good sportsmanship.

To provide students insight into leadership, Bay Kiwanis provides mentors and helps fund service leadership programs such as Key Club, Builders Club, and K-Kids. Kiwanis assists with funding to provide Key Club members the opportunity to attend a District Leadership Conference where they participate in service projects, compete in contests, attend forums that provide information on a variety of topics, and elect officers for the Key Club Ohio Division organization. Bay Kiwanis provides funds to The American Legion Auxiliary of Ohio to send two delegates from Bay High to the Girls State program, a week-long program designed to educate Ohio’s young women about the rights, responsibilities, privileges and duties of a good citizen. They learn “hands on” about city, county and state government. 

Around the community Bay Kiwanis helps their neighbors. They have provided donations to the Bay Presbyterian Church’s food pantry for the hungry, and supported the Village Project  through the purchase of a commercial food mixer and provided monetary donations. To honor veterans, Kiwanis has donated funds toward the construction of a Veterans Honor Wall at the Dwyer Center.

The Bay Village Holiday Caring and Sharing program, a way to help families in need during the holidays, is aided through an annual $2,000 donation. The Cahoon Christmas event is co-sponsored by the Bay Village Kiwanis Club and the Bay Village Historical Society. For the seniors living at the Knickerbocker, Bay Kiwanis purchased a much-needed 65-inch TV for the common room.

Beyond the Bay Village community, the Club has contributed to Fill This House, The Eliminate Project, The Thirst Project and Blankets for Children to help foster children aging out of the system, eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus, provide clean drinking water, and supply blankets to needy children.

To accomplish all of the things listed above the Bay Village Kiwanis Club hosts many fundraising events. In the summer, Bay Village Kiwanis organizes and manages the Bay Days Festival held over the Fourth of July. This is a major fundraiser for the club. Bay Kiwanis also hosts a pancake breakfast, spaghetti dinner, and Christmas tree sales as well as other events throughout the year. Hosting the fundraising events is only part of the story. Without you, the people of the community, who support Bay Kiwanis by attending these fundraisers, there would be no funds to provide the support mentioned above. So thank you for providing us the means to make a difference in the community and the world.

To find out more about Bay Village Kiwanis Club and what we do join us at one of our meetings. They are held at the Bay United Methodist Church most Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. following a 6:30 p.m. dinner. Visit Bayvillage-oh.kiwanisone.org for more information.

Stan Grisnik

news reporter for the Bay Village Kiwanis club.

Read More on Community Service
Volume 11, Issue 9, Posted 2:16 PM, 05.06.2019