The Henderson Kiwanis Club celebrated its 100th anniversary a couple of years ago – that’s quite an accomplishment for any group, and this local civic club is staying active as it begins its second century of service to the community.
Kiwanis Club President Danny Wilkerson said the local group has had several different long-standing fundraisers over the years – peanut sales and azalea sales, for example – but the club’s biggest fundraiser is the annual golf tournament.
This year’s tournament at Kerr Lake Country Club brought in a little more than $10,000, Wilkerson said on Tuesday’s TownTalk.
“It’s the most money we’ve ever made from a tournament,” he said. “We were just so excited about it that day,” he added. The 17 teams on the course that day, as well as a variety of sponsors and enough volunteers to have everything run smoothly, added up to a record-breaking year.
But the club doesn’t hang on to the money for long. “We take it in and push it right back into the community,” Wilkerson said, “to help the needs of the kids.”
The Kiwanis motto is Serving the Children of the World, and that’s a motto that Kiwanians take to heart. “It’s all about the kids,” Wilkerson said.
The local club established two scholarships at Vance-Granville Community College in memory of Robert Turner and Bob Harrison, and Vance County Schools Superintendent Dr. Cindy Bennett was a guest speaker at a recent club meeting.
The club provides gifts for needy children at Christmas and support youth organizations like the Boy Scouts of America, Boys & Girls Club, the Salvation Army, local library and more.
What the club needs, however, is more members. It’s down to fewer than a dozen, but Wilkerson said anyone is welcome to attend their meetings, held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at Henderson Country Club.
He knows young parents have a lot of responsibilities raising their own families, which has affected membership in many organizations besides his own.
“We’ll feed you and hope you stick around to become a member of the club,” Wilkerson said. “We really want to attract some younger people to carry the torch forward.”
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