Kiwanis nears its Eliminate Project goal

The Kiwanis Club of Jamestown is about a third of the way toward reaching its Eliminate Project goal.

The group held an auction for Kiwania members at Spiritwood Lake’s Camp Rokiwan on Sept. 17. About 50 members, spouses and guests attended, sharing appetizers and donating auction items like baked goods, jewelry, arts and crafts and gift baskets. Auctioneer Al Mayer donated his services, helping raise about $2,000 in one night. With the money from the auction, Kiwanis has raised nearly $8,000 of its $25,000 Eliminate Project goal.

“We’re proud of our members for reaching into their hearts and their pocketbooks at our auction. The money they raised exceeded our expectations,” said Sharon Caine, co-chair of the Jamestown Kiwanis Eliminate Project. “Between our events for members and our public events, we’re confident we can meet our $25,000 goal by 2015.”

The Eliminate Project aims to save and protect millions of mothers and their future babies. In partnership with UNICEF, Kiwanis is eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT), a disease that kills one baby every 9 minutes, by vaccinating women of child-bearing age. UNICEF and its partners have already eliminated MNT in 20 countries, and Kiwanis International’s pledge to raise $110 million will help fund the elimination of the disease in the 38 countries that remain at risk.

As part of the Sept. 17 auction, Kiwanis recognized three of its members for their service. DeLette Winkleman, Janna Bergstedt and Don Bentz each received Walter Zeller awards for their work. In 1940, Zeller was the first donor to the Kiwanis International Foundation.

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to serving the children of the world. In Jamestown, the club has raised more than $75,000 and packaged more than 300,000 meals as part of the Kids Against Hunger program, regularly delivers Meals on Wheels, helps facilitate the Jamestown High School Key Club and donates to local organizations, events and scholarships. The 40 members of Jamestown Kiwanis meet at noon each Monday and membership is open to the public.

Tags: life, clubs