Kiwanis Looking to open new club in Chestermere

The Kiwanis International is looking to open a new club here in Chestermere.
“We hope to be opening in a month,” said Terry Ross, the Kiwanis Western Canada District Chair.
The Kiwanis Club is an international service club that is focused primarily on working with and empowering children in a community.
Ross along with Calgary Kiwanis Club member Roland Sabourin and other Kiwanis members are working to gauge the interest for the club in Chestermere.
Their goal is to add to the service organizations already in the city, not replace one.
“We feel that we complement each other very well,” said Ross of the other clubs such as the Lions and Rotary which are already in Chestermere.
With a population of over 20,000 people, Ross said that there is plenty of room to support all of the service clubs in the city.
Each Kiwanis club operates independently in its community working to tailor it’s programs and supports to the community.
“We need to find what the needs of the community are,” said Sabourin.
“There’s always going to be unmet needs,” he said.
Within their focus on children, once they get a club started, the first order of business will be to look at what sorts of programs make sense for Chestermere.
“There’s always an area that has a need,” said Ross.
Once Chestermere’s needs are identified, Ross said that the Kiwanis Club likes to be hands on in their community work with members coming out to volunteer on projects along with providing financial support.
He said that all the money raised by Kiwanis Clubs stay in the community.
To get the club started, they need 15 members signed up, which they hope to do at an open house being held at the Library on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
For more information on Kiwanis International go to Kiwanis.org.