Reaching 100 years old might make some feel entitled to slow down and take a break. Not so for the Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances. The club turns 100 on September 29, but have dedicated the entire year to doubling down on their charitable work, with a new 100-themed surprise each month. Each is selected to fill a need in the community, and to benefit local kids, along with the families, organizations and communities which support them. These Monthly Missions range from tackling food insecurity to promoting environmental stewardship, to breaking down barriers to physical fitness.
So far this year, the Kiwanis 100 Monthly Missions have been:
January – The first Monthly Mission was a food drive, with the goal of collecting at least 100 items to donate to the Family Centre and United Native Friendship Centre food banks. The community at large supported the endeavour wholeheartedly, amassing a collection of more than 600 food items. The drive was a community effort, with the Fort Frances Church of the Holy Spirit holding a collection to support the drive, and Knox United Church collaborating and providing space to collect and organize the donations.
February – Kiwanis teamed up with the Rainy Lake Nordic Ski Club to hand out 50 cups of hot chocolate and 50 hot dogs at the 2024 Poker Hike. At the annual family event, Kiwanis was able to present a $1500 cheque to the Ski Club, to help cover the costs of equipment for the Jackrabbit Program, which teaches kids aged 6-9 (and their parents) to cross-country ski.
March – the Kiwanis Club sponsored 100 kids to join the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program, which sends a free, high quality, children’s book each month from birth to age five, directly to the child’s home. If you have a young child, you can register for this free literacy program as space allows. Visit https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability.
April – To celebrate 100 years of Kiwanis on Earth Day, the club took part in a community clean-up, aiming to pick up at least 100 pieces of trash. The group blew through their goal, collecting more than 700 pieces of trash, to make the world safer, cleaner and more beautiful for everyone.
May – the 100 Years of Growing Tree Sapling giveaway saw Kiwanis donate $100 worth of tree saplings – 285 trees – to daycares and service providers, where they were distributed to kids for planting. The goal was to cultivate a sense of environmental responsibility and appreciation for nature among young children.
June – Kiwanis took part in the Backpacks for Kids program, by donating 100 notebooks and 150 pencils to the program. Backpacks for Kids supplies free backpacks loaded with supplies to kids in need, through community and corporate donations. This year, the program was able to assemble more than 300 backpacks, which were distributed to kids through Rainy River Child and Family Services.
July – The Fort Frances Kiwanis are known (and loved!) for their mini-donuts. For the July Monthly Mission, the Kiwanis Club planned to give away at least 100 mini donuts at the Weechi-It-Te-Win Family Services Children’s Days, held July 9 and 10 – an annual weekend of family fun, held at the Nanicost grounds. They quickly blew through that goal – they gave out more than 1000!
August – Baby supplies and other hygiene products are often in short supply at food banks. So the Kiwanis Club set out to donate 100 baby hygiene items. By the end of the donation period, 506 diapers, 30 packs of wipes, and 30 tubes of diaper cream were donated.
There are still four months of giving left this year. To see what the Kiwanis Club is planning next, and to see how you can take part, follow the Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances Inc on Facebook.
