Valparaiso Magazine Fall 2021

photo provided
Scholarships are offered through the
Kiwanis Foundation, which is supported
by generous donors. “There are a lot of
giving people in this town,” Bobinski said.
The list of past donations and service
projects is lengthy. There’s a Kiwanis
baseball diamond at Glenrose South Park
and shelters at Rogers-Lakewood
Park. The Valparaiso YMCA got
a big contribution for its capital
campaign as well as athletic
equipment. The new Caring
Place campus and the new Boys
and Girls Club facility have also
received donations.
The Backpack for Snacks
program makes sure kids don’t
go without food. They’re given
to kids who receive free or
reduced-price school lunches.
Hilltop Neighborhood House has
benefited from food drives for
canned goods. Volunteers coach
Special Olympians, and the club donates
financially.
And that’s just for starters.
Club members can be young or formerly
young. “Empty-nesters can be wonderful
because they are now bored,” Bobinski
said. Newly retired members find they
now have time to donate their services.
Members still working often get their
employers to donate to the cause, too.
Club President Ahna Campos, one of the
younger members, said Kiwanis is a good
fit for her.
“I’ve been in volunteering organizations
since probably before high school,” she
said. “One of my biggest regrets is not
joining Key Club as a teenager.”
“Having a single-term presidency is really
beneficial for us,” she said, because it
forces others to step into leadership
positions and keeps the club vibrant.
Thank you
for your
service to our
community!
VALPARAISO FAMILY YMCA
VALPOYMCA.ORG
“IT’S GREAT
COMMUNITY
INVOLVEMENT...
THERE ARE
A LOT OF
GIVING
PEOPLE IN
THIS
TOWN.”
— Steve Bobinski,
Kiwanis Club
Past-President
The presidency is a four-year commitment.
The progression starts with becoming
vice president, then president-elect, then
president, then immediate past president.
Younger members like Campos have
been good for the Noon Kiwanis Club,
Corso said. “So many of the clubs are
contracting, not expanding. We are the
exception to the rule.”
The younger members have brought
the club into the electronic age, with
presentations by Zoom when necessary
and tickets on Eventbrite. “We love them,
we absolutely love them,” Corso said.
“Things were different years ago,”
Corso said. “Everyone wore a suit and
tie to meetings and tuxedos at the state
convention. Things were very formal.” >>
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