Christina Chow stood in Fisher Basin Park on a hot July day and made an announcement that sent her fellow Key Club members scurrying to their cars.
If the group could collect $50 in less than one minute, Chow, 18, would let them pour ice cream and chocolate syrup on her head. They reached their goal with a few seconds to spare, and soon after, Chow, a senior at Union High School, was enjoying a break from the heat thanks to a Neapolitan ice cream shower.
“I smelled really nice for a long time after,” Chow said. “My younger sister, who was 8, was there, and she was horrified at so much ice cream going to waste.”
The money, however, didn’t go to waste. It went to The Eliminate Project, a joint effort from Kiwanis International and UNICEF to rid the world of maternal and neonatal tetanus. Kiwanis’ high school clubs, known as Key Clubs, also worked to raise money for the project.
The Pacific Northwest District Key Clubs, made up of schools in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and British Columbia and parts of California and Idaho, raised more than $87,000 for Project Eliminate last year.
Chow, lieutenant governor for Division 44 of the northwest group of Key Clubs, said the ice cream idea was something she wanted to try to keep the students interested and engaged in the group’s efforts.
“The group isn’t just to look good on a college application or to hang out with friends,” she said. “We’re trying to give back. We’re trying to keep the service spirit alive.”
Chow shared her ice cream story with others who feel similarly about service spirit on Wednesday night, as about 100 people packed the Columbia Room at the Vancouver Community Library to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Kiwanis International. The global organization, with groups in more than 80 countries, started in Detroit in 1915 with a goal of improving the world for children.
There are five clubs in Clark County: Fort Vancouver Kiwanis, which started in 1922, Battle Ground Kiwanis (1948), Boulevard Kiwanis (1978), Cascade Park Kiwanis (1989) and Salmon Creek Kiwanis (2002). Members of all five groups were in attendance Wednesday, along with students from some of the 13 Key Clubs in Clark County and Vancouver Mayor Timothy Leavitt.
“The strength of Kiwanis has been its local clubs,” said Jack Anderson, lieutenant governor of Division 44. “The members choose the projects and activities they want to emphasize.”
During the presentation, members from various clubs spoke about the different projects they work on, including Walk and Knock, green eggs and ham breakfast and Open House Ministries. The five local clubs also sponsor Camp Wa-Ri-Ki, a natural forested environment for educational and physical recreational programs for children.
Joining Kiwanis isn’t just a way to give back, though, as many in attendance talked about joining to be with family who were already members, or meet new people. Orin Swanson, 88, has been a member of Fort Vancouver Kiwanis Club for 62 years, and joined after moving to Hazel Dell after two different acquaintances told him about the club.
“I always felt a need to give back,” he said. “It’s a great organization with great people, and it keeps me exposed to what’s going on in the community.”
While Swanson’s wife of 65 years, Joann Swanson, isn’t a member of the group, she said she enjoys going to the events and volunteering. For at least 10 years, Orin Swanson has organized a grapefruit sale for the group. More recently, their daughter, Cindy Swanson, joined the Fort Vancouver club after moving back to the area six years ago, partly because of a desire to give back to the community and partly because she grew up watching her parents’ involvement in the group.
“It’s an outstanding service club,” she said. “It’s in my DNA.”
