Kiwanis Club looking forward to upcoming projects for 2023-24
By Ralph Tweedie, Manotick Kiwanis Club
Happy New Year! October is the beginning of the Kiwanis fiscal year, a time when we plan for our coming projects.
We have a cherished tradition of working with others in the community. Our involvement with the Kiwanis AKtion Club is a perfect example. The AKtion Club is a Kiwanis sponsored club for disabled adults. Due to Covid, the club has been unable to meet for three years, but meetings are once again underway. The club functions because of volunteers from local Kiwanis Clubs and other service organizations who support disabled adults.
Many of our activities are annual events well known within the local community. Our signature projects include Christmas Tree and Christmas Cake sales in the late fall and Dickinson Days in June. Both of these projects have delighted families from the surrounding area as well as Gatineau, Kanata and Orleans.
Sales of Christmas Cakes, Chocolate Truffles and Scottish Shortbread Cookies officially go on sale the first Monday after Remembrance Day. The Christmas Cakes are available at Manotick Office Pro, Manotick Home Hardware and Paul’s Pharmacy. Manotick Office Pro also carries the Chocolate Truffles and Shortbread Cookies.
Christmas Trees will be available starting Saturday November 25th. For the third year in a row, The Wright Team of Royal Lepage is gifting a Dark Ring Fruit Cake to the first 40 purchasers of a Christmas Tree on opening day. The combination of tree sales and cake sales are a major fund raiser that allows us to carry on many of our projects throughout the year.
In December we host the “Parade of Lights” and in February we participate in “Shiverfest”.
A major project in April is the National Capital Region Music Festival, also known for many years as the Kiwanis Music Festival. Every year, over 400 volunteers, both Kiwanians and non-Kiwanians, provide over 9,000 hours of their time. They enable around 8,000 young competitors to perform for over 15,000 audience members.
Initial planning for Dickinson Days 2024, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Manotick, has begun. Over the years it has become a true community event with participation from Watson’s Mill, YOMA, and the BIA.
The Kiwanis Club of Manotick has been based on a legacy of service for over 63 years. As Kiwanis members, we all get something very personal out of giving to our community. We offer you that same opportunity. So bring your ideas and energy to help us kick off a new year. We meet at the Manotick Legion the first Tuesday of every month. Remember “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Mulvihill by phone (613-692-5346) or email (ddmulvi@gmail.com) or Gary Coulombe by phone (613-462-4030) or email (garyhcoulombe@gmail.com)
