The Kiwanis Family House fiscal year ends June 30th and so does my term as the 16th President of the Board of Directors. How quickly time flies… This has been a memorable year in many ways and much has been accomplished to maintain a consistently high level of customer service. The eleven member Board of Directors was very engaged, worked in harmony, and functioned as a team throughout the year. Focus continued to be placed on the mission, vision, and values of the organization; guiding principles which have served the … [Read more...]
June Director’s Letter
"Everything starts with one step, or one brick, or one word, or one day." ~Jeremy Gilley The brick in the north patio reads, “MYRON AND JUDY HAHN (AND COREY DOG).” Even though few will ever know the story that this particular brick memorializes, it holds a meaningful and personal message to whoever caused it to be there. We can say the same for every one of our more than 1,300 engraved bricks at Kiwanis Family House (KFH). Woven together in our courtyards and patios, these individual cubes of honor blend into a single … [Read more...]
Volunteer Spotlight | Charlie Bussey
Since before I started working here in July of 2013, our outside landscaping was being tended by some dedicated volunteers, Jim Legler, a “proud and happy member of the Galt Kiwanis Club”, and Carol Frost, a longtime member of East Sacramento Kiwanis. Jim and Carol spend two or three hours every week mowing, edging, trimming, pruning and weeding. They do whatever is necessary. As a result, the planting areas and lawns around our facility look fantastic. As many of you know, for the past year, Jim has also been the President of the Kiwanis … [Read more...]
May Director’s Letter
Springtime conjures up impressions of renewal and regrowth. Each year, these few months are a period of transition for Kiwanis Family House (KFH). The spring of 2017 has brought an extraordinary sense of anticipation for me. In addition to familiar annual transitional processes – adoption of a new operating budget and the election of new directors for our Board – I believe we have set the stage for KFH to make meaningful long-term improvements in effectiveness, capacity, and relevance. This is by virtue of the new … [Read more...]
May President’s Message
I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal appreciation and that of the entire Board of Directors for the support from everyone who made a financial contribution to the Kiwanis Family House on the “Big Day of Giving“ held on May 4th.. We set a goal to raise $75,000 during the 24-hour giving period and we ended the day with an astounding total of $75,918! This total is especially extraordinary considering this was our 4th year to participate in the event and in our first year we raised just over $16,000. The “Big Day … [Read more...]
April President’s Message
Recently I was privileged to represent the Kiwanis Family House at a reception hosted by the U.C. Davis Medical Center. The reception was to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new and expanded Children’s Surgery Center on the Medical Center Campus and also to acknowledge their certification by the American College of Surgeons as a Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center. (This designation makes the U.C Davis Medical Center the only Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center on the West Coast and only one of five in the nation.) At the … [Read more...]
March Director’s Letter
I strive to pen a column each month that is focused on a single impactful message or story. However, many noteworthy story lines are swirling as I sit to compose this month’s message. Coincidentally, I celebrate my fifth anniversary as Executive Director of Kiwanis Family House, a milestone that has me in a broadly reflective place anyway. So, without apology, I offer this medley for your consuming pleasure. Baton Rouge: For the past two years, we have communicated with some friends in the Louisiana-Mississippi-West … [Read more...]
March President’s Message
As I have mentioned in previous “President’s Messages”, the Kiwanis Family House Board of Directors has been working on the development of a new Strategic Plan. This has been a challenging task but one which is a critical component in achieving continued success and fiscal stability into the future. The previous strategic plan has served the facility well but is slightly over five years old and needed to be replaced with a plan that takes into account the current business environment; varied stakeholder needs; and changing economic … [Read more...]
Gordon’s Story
Gordon Storey has a story to tell. It is a story of true friendship and perseverance against difficult obstacles. It is a story of heartache and joy. Gordon Storey is a retired minister. In his ministerial postings he has served in many churches. One of these churches is located in Mt. Shasta, California. If you have ever traveled north on Interstate 5 to Oregon, you have passed by majestic Mt. Shasta. You may have blinked and missed its small town namesake. While in Mt. Shasta, Gordon and his wife, Linda came to know and became … [Read more...]
February President’s Message
Like most nonprofit entities the Kiwanis Family House faces the challenge of reconciling available resources to the fulfilling of our mission by providing needed services to individuals receiving medical treatment personally or with a family member receiving medical care at the University of California Davis Medical Center or Shiners Hospital for Children - Northern California. With the financial support of over a hundred clubs within the Kiwanis organization, individual Kiwanians, and many individual private contributors, we have been able … [Read more...]