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HOLIDAY SCHEDULE: PLEASE NOTE THAT
THERE WILL BE
NO MEETINGS ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, OR FRIDAY, JANUARY 2ND.
Presidents Messag eN
O
V E M B E R
This week I received a note from David Miller about
an article written by a friend and fellow Kiwanian that I want to
pass along. David wrote, “I first met Ray Mitchell some 12 years ago
as Kiwanis was just beginning the Worldwide Service Project, the
elimination of iodine deficiency, the world's largest preventable
cause of mental retardation. Ray was the staff person in charge of
it and the High Point club was leading the charge. I got to know him
well and we have stayed in touch since. While he must now be in his
late 70s and not in the best of health he continues to serve his
community through Kiwanis.
He recently had a Kiwanis experience and wrote about
it on the Kiwanis International website. I wanted to bring it to the
attention of the members of our club as a great example of the
little things we do that make a big difference.” Here is the article
as printed on the Kiwanis International website.
A slice of life as told by Ray Mitchell, a Kiwanian
from Indianapolis, Ind.
One of the benefits I get from my Kiwanis Club
membership is the opportunity it provides to understand better
humanity. The service my club provides allows me to see people as
they are and not as they are stereotyped by convention or public
opinion. When I ring bells for the Salvation Army outside a local
Wal-Mart store in the cold, or downtown in the heart of the city, I
find that you cannot predict who will contribute to the collection
bucket (for those of you in other countries, we do this to raise
money to help those in need). In fact, more often than not, it is
the obviously well to do who won’t even respond to a happy holidays
greeting while a child dressed in old clothes will drop in more than
they can afford.
My most recent experience resulted in my becoming
more optimistic about the future than I was last week. You see, I
joined my fellow Kiwanis members at a local store early Saturday
morning for our annual clothe-a-child event. I always have some
trepidation when I do this, wondering if I will be working with a
family that includes unruly children.
Each member of our club is assigned a family who has
been selected by a local community organization due to their need to
provide their children some winter clothing. When my assigned family
arrived, I found that no parent was joining us as their mother, who
was raising them on her own, was working two jobs to make ends meet.
There were three boys, a 9-year-old, a 13-year-old and an
18-year-old, who is a senior in high school.
I prepared myself for a morning of frivolous
purchase attempts with me reminding them that we had a limit of a
few hundred dollars and it had to be used for practical clothes. Was
I wrong, they didn’t need me at all! They decided they would buy for
the 9-year-old first, the middle-schooler second and finish with the
oldest. They chose warm practical jackets, socks, underwear,
sweaters and the like.
These boys were gracious; obviously really cared for
each other and you know what? They even cared about me. I wish I had
met the mother who has done such a good job. They made sure that
each got their fair share of the money we had to spend. They asked
for each other’s advice and we had fun together. When we left the
store, the two older boys shook my hand, wished me Merry Christmas
and thanked me for the day. But best of all, the 9-year-old gave me
a big hug and told me he hoped Santa gave me something really good.
These were public school city kids from a family
with little money who too often the world thinks of as being the
source of so many of our problems. In reality, they were three of
the most caring and together kids I have ever met. Yes, I am more
optimistic about the future, because with children like these to
manage the years ahead, there is hope. I know I am much better off
today than I would have been if I had never met them.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a
wonderful New Year.
Pat Pate
To respond to this post, view other post, or write
about your own Kiwanis experiences, go to:
http://community.kiwanisone.org/blogs/kiwanis_dashboard_news/archive/2008/12/09/family-s-children-live-the-christmasspirit.aspx
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Social Activity
The next social event will be the North Carolina
Shakespeare Festival’s performance of A Christmas Carol at High Point Theater on Saturday,
December 20th. The show starts at 8pm and there will be pre-show food and refreshments.
Tickets are $35 per person.
The Kiwanis Holiday Social on the 20th:
The Party Continues....
Time:
Immediately after the
Production of A Christmas Carol
Place:
Liberty Steakhouse Oak Hollow Mall on
Eastchester
For coffee and dessert, or a cold beverage or two.
RSVP:
joan.campbell@fastsigns.com
(so we can give a head's up to Liberty on
number attending).
BYOM: (Bring your own money).
If any other Kiwanians are out and about and want to stop
by...please join us.
December
Birthdays
Linda Hollis Dec. 3
N.M. Harrison, Jr. Dec. 4
Sarge Walker Dec. 8
Phil Kusiak Dec. 10
Hunter Dalton, Jr. Dec. 13
R.V. Moss Dec. 1
Dell McCormick Dec. 17
Janet Brown Dec. 19
Rick Holbert Dec. 21
Carol Meyers Dec. 27
R. Wade Markham Dec. 29
Ralph Brooks Dec. 30
December Club Anniversaries
Joan Campbell 9 years
Hunter Dalton, Jr. 57 years
N. M. Harrison, Jr. 55 years
Mary McElvogue 11 years
Pat Pate 9 years
INTER-CLUB OPPORTUNITIES
Monday – Guilford College, Captain Bills Seafood
6108 W. Market St, Greensboro at 1 P.M.
Tuesday – 1. Randolph Golden K, Senior Adults
Assoc.133 W Wainman Ave, Asheboro, 10:00 AM
2. Ed R. Morrow Golden K, 6324 Ballinger Road,
Greensboro 10:30 AM
3. Northwest Guildford, Oak Ridge B&B, 2115 Oak
Ridge Rd, 1 st
& 3rd,
12:00 Lunch
4. Asheboro, AVS Banquet Center, 2045 N.
Fayetteville St, Asheboro 6:30 Dinner
Thursday - 1. Nat Green, Starmount Forest
Country Club, 1 Sam Snead Drive, 7:30 AM, Breakfast
2. O’Henry Golden K, Salvation Army, 821 Aycock St.,
Greensboro,10:30 AM
3. Greensboro, G’boro Marriott Hotel, 304 Green St,
12:00 PM Lunch
4. Lexington, YMCA, 119 West 3 rd
St, Lexington, 12:00 Lunch
Pat Pate has finished our
new club brochure. It is great to
give a friend when you are telling them about Kiwanis. Check
it out! You will need Adobe Reader to view the brochure.
Don't have it? It's free! Download it here
Adobe
Reader.
Kiwanis Membership Application
is now available online. Just click this
link. You will need
Adobe Reader to view the brochure. Don't have it? It's
free! Download it here
Adobe
Reader.
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