Kiwanis Club reboot underway in Russellville

Kiwanis International is all about the mission of serving the children of our world, so much so that a service project to prepare food bags for needy children was held Thursday evening even before the fledgling Kiwanis Club of Russellville held its organizational meeting.

It’s been more than a decade since the club’s chapter in Russellville folded. While the club served the Russellville and Franklin County community for years, as Kiwanis Club Opening Specialist Chad Cohen Jr., explained, “great things don’t always last forever, and sometimes there are members who pass on and others who move elsewhere, and that’s what happened in Russellville.”

Cohen, along with some dedicated volunteer Club Coaches from the Sheffield Kiwanis Club and Decatur Kiwanis Club, believes the timing was now appropriate to reinstate Kiwanis in Russellville.

Club organizers held a service project prior to an organizational meeting on March 25th, and keeping with Kiwanis International’s mission, serving children in the community was the focus of the project.

Sheffield Kiwanis Club members Pam Fleming and Kristen Conner, along with Decatur’s Bruce McLean, who is in charge of Kiwanis membership in north Alabama, spent most of last week in Russellville, sharing with prospective members and local business owners what Kiwanis is all about and asking for ideas on how the club can serve the community upon its reinstatement.

“Because of the work of Pam and Kristen, we believed Russellville would again be a good fit for Kiwanis since we’ve been gone for more than 10 years,” Cohen said. “Your community is still vibrant and flourishing. It’s not drying up or going away. With Russellville, you have different causes and needs that we can help with, whether it benefits area youth or schools. 

Kiwanis Club Coaches met with prospective members at the Thursday meeting held at Calvary Baptist Church. Cohen said they have already had 15 new commitments pledge membership with more than 60 expressing interest. The number 15 is important because that’s the minimum to start a new chapter, Cohen said, although he expected the Russellville Club to start with 20 or more members and have officers installed by April 

Many newer Kiwanis chapters have gone away from the weekly lunch meetings for members. Instead, the clubs meet at least twice each month, with one a business meeting to discuss planning initiatives, goals, etc., and the second meeting more social in nature.

Those meetings often include club members visiting local businesses and industries, touring facilities and allowing the opportunity for some business networking in the process.

Kiwanis International’s membership includes more than 450,000 adults and youth members (there are Kiwanis clubs for youth as well), 101 professional staff members and an annual seven million hours devoted by clubs to service.

Since 2021, Kiwanis clubs have also raised nearly $1.7 billion for service projects for children across the world in 83 nations.

Kiwanis International’s fact sheet states the average Kiwanian impacts the lives of 99 children through each member.

The Kiwanis vision sees each club becoming a positive influence in communities worldwide, so that one day, all children can wake up in communities that believe in them, nurture them and provide the support they need to thrive.

To learn more about the mission and values of Kiwanis International, you can visit www.Kiwanis.org.

For information specifically on the Russellville chapter, contact Bruce McLean at 256-309-8903, or search “Kiwanis Club of Russellville, Alabama” on Facebook.