New members
needed to
remain open
Staff
The Kiwanis Club of Fort Frances is holding a member information evening tomorrow (Oct, 27) at 7 p.m. at the Little Beaver Cultural Centre in a bid to rebuild membership and stay afloat.
“We definitely need new members,” said Shanda DeGagne-Begin, who earlier this month in a letter to the Times outlined how the club is on the verge of closing.
“Without new members, [Kiwanis is] not going to be able to continue to provide the services that we’ve provided throughout the years,” she stressed.
Like other service clubs, Kiwanis has an aging membership and is hitting the point where they can’t provide the services they do, or raise funds, DeGagne-Begin noted.
The club has been in Fort Frances since 1924, and in its heyday had more than 75 members.
It still contributes $20,000-$30,000 annually to various programs around town.
“So I would just hate to see that gone,” she lamented.
DeGagne-Begin said the club is trying to be flexible when it comes to membership as people are busy these days.
“So we’re offering two meetings a month—attendance is not mandatory, but we would like people to come and be active members and try to make one meeting a month,” she explained.
There is either a lunch or dinner meeting to accommodate whatever works best for people’s schedules.
One of the club’s mandates is to focus on services and projects that support young children, DeGagne-Begin said.
“I guess we just ask that people just give a little bit of their time and talent,” she remarked.
“We’re looking for people with new ideas who want to support projects that they think will make a difference in a child’s life in the town.”
Refreshments will be provided at tomorrow night’s meeting.
