Our goal has been to reach 100 Sponsor Clubs during 2015, the year that Kiwanis International celebrates its 100th anniversary. I can officially announce that we have reached that milestone!
Our followers will remember that the Kiwanis Club of Fordham University, Bronx in New York became our 98th sponsoring club in June. About the same time, two other clubs had signaled their intention to submit applications: Kiwanis Club of Alameda and Kiwanis Club of Shasta Dam. At that point, the race was on to see which club would slot in at 99 and which one would earn the title and distinction as Club 100.
As a result of the paperwork sequence, Shasta Dam Kiwanis is now listed as Number 99 and Alameda Kiwanis as Number 100. In my heart, both clubs got us to this milestone. But then so did the 98 clubs that have helped us reach our array of targets over our 31-year history.
The value in human terms of Club 100 to the family members of seriously ill or injured loved ones is indistinguishable from that of Club 99 or, for that matter, Sponsor Clubs 1, 23, 51, or 70. None of this positioning registers with the families we serve as they endure critical medical episodes. But make no mistake – they feel the collective impact of our community service. They tell me every day how grateful they are for it. While the medical professionals are saving the patients, the Kiwanis Family House is saving their loving families.
With the growth of our team, our service impact expands exponentially. We are a healthier and more resourceful nonprofit provider today than we when were a few short years ago when we were a team of 50 sponsoring clubs. Our service impact will be even more remarkable in the future with 110 sponsoring clubs, 125 sponsoring clubs, and 150 sponsoring clubs.
Based on their representations to me, I am very optimistic that the incoming team of Lieutenant Governors – the 2015/16 Rock Stars of Service – will help us push toward our next milestones. We will continue to add sponsors from areas of the district that are not currently represented and I am confident that the Kiwanis Club of Fordham University, Bronx will soon be joined by other clubs outside of California-Nevada-Hawaii. I am confident of these things because we are persuading more compassionate people that the Kiwanis Family House serves families from everywhere except Sacramento. It is the Kiwanis International gem that so many characterize it to be.
