The Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu

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Content:

The heart and strength of Kiwanis is in the club itself. Each club is composed of individuals from a wide range of occupations, representing the active forces and spirit of its own local community. The Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu provides service to Te Awamutu and the surrounding area and has been doing so since our club was organized on 8 June, 1981.

If you desire to enhance your community, the Kiwanis organization may be just what you are searching for.

Take a few minutes to review this information and see what Kiwanis is about. The information presented is specific to the Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu, but is typical of the activities of Kiwanis clubs located throughout the world. If you like what you read, see the contact information at the end of this document which will put you in contact with us or a Kiwanis club local to you.
 

Now, about the Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu ....

What do we do?

We voluntarily share the challenge of community improvement and leadership, assuming personal responsibility for civic projects including assistance to youth, the disadvantaged, the elderly, conservation of natural resources, development of community facilities and creation of international understanding and goodwill.

If you have a community service project in the Te Awamutu area which you think the Kiwanis might be able to help you with, we want to hear from you. All requests will be considered but projects which directly benefit young children and their families will be given more favorable consideration. We prefer projects that we can do, build or otherwise participate in rather than just providing financial assistance.

Some of our community projects completed in the past two years are listed here. For a more complete description, see our activities page.

Multi-Sport Challenge
Originally known as the Kiwanis Kakepuku Killer and run as a duathlon in October, 1994, the event morphed into the ASB Bank Multi-Sport Challenge and was held in April in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The funds generated were largely donated to the Kiwanis International IDD project ( Iodine Deficiency Disorder - a world project of Kiwanis International to fight this crippling disease of children) and other service projects of the Te Awamutu Kiwanis. The Multi-Sport Challenge was discontinued after the 1998 event due to lack of a major sponsor.

Yarndley's Bush
In cooperation with the Waipa District Council, The Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu built a board walkway and a viewing platform into this unique stand of Kahikatea trees (a New Zealand native podocarp). This project stretched over numerous weekends during several months.

Ngaroto Lake Walkway
Ngaroto is a peat lake which serves the Te Awamutu area as both a recreational area and a natural marsh wildlife sanctuary. In cooperation with the Waipa District Council, The Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu built a board walkway through the marsh at the upper end of Lake Ngaroto. This will be part of a recreational and nature walk that the Council is developing to go entirely around the lake.

What do you get out of Kiwanis?

K An opportunity to develop leadership and public speaking skills.

K The pride of belonging to one of the finest service organizations in the world.

K An opportunity for meeting and networking with prominent community leaders in the Te Awamutu area, in the Waikato, nationally, and internationally.

K The good feeling from knowing you have personally helped your community and its people.

How does one join?

Kiwanis membership is open to all individuals of good character and community standing residing in, or having other interests within, the Te Awamutu area. We require of our members, only that they have a willingness to serve the community, attend the majority of our meetings and pay the annual dues.

If you think that Kiwanis sounds like a pretty good idea and you might be interested in joining our club please write, call, fax or email us. We want more members and would be happy to have you visit one or more of our meetings as our guest and find out first hand who we are and the type of activities that we do for the Te Awamutu and world communities. See contact details below.

What does it cost?

Dues are currently $100.00 per year with a $25.00 joining fee. The dues cover the administration of the club at the local, national and international levels. Each member gets the monthly club newsletter and a quarterly district bulletin. The price of the meal at our regular tea meetings is currently $20.00 (drinks extra).

Our Meetings:

The Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu holds its regular meetings twice every month on the 2nd and 4th Monday starting at 6:00 PM. We normally meet at the Te Awamutu Club, 542 Alexandra Street, Te Awamutu. Our evenings start with an informal half hour of socializing followed by a buffet dinner provided by the excellent kitchen of the Alpha Hotel. Our aim is to have at each meeting an invited after dinner speaker to address our members on topics relevant to our community, to our charitable work or to our personal development. The short business meeting which follows deals primarily with the organization of our various community service projects.

Guests are always welcome! We are proud of our small organization and will happily tell you about what we are doing to build a stronger community.

Social Activities:

We have a number of "partners evenings" throughout the year; special meetings such as these allow our non-member friends and spouses to participate in our Kiwanis activities and fellowship. In addition, there is traditionally a mid-Winter social and a Christmas social where partners join us in a special outing. Children of members are not forgotten either and older children frequently join with us on our many worthwhile service projects.

Funding:

Administrative funds are acquired through dues and the sale of our labor to firms and individuals. Money for service projects comes through other fundraising projects such as the Multi-Sport Challenge and donations. These funds are strictly separated and well accounted for.

Want to join the team?

Now that you know what Kiwanis is all about, wouldn't you be proud to be a member of this great service organization? If you would like more information about the Kiwanis Club of Te Awamutu, you can contact one of our officers or send an email to our secretary. We would be happy to invite you to one of our dinner meetings as a guest of the Club to see if Kiwanis membership is for you.

Feel free to drop a line to:

If you are elsewhere in New Zealand or the South Pacific, see our District pages for a Kiwanis Club near you; farther away, you can contact Kiwanis International.

Return to the Club Home Page.

Page last updated by webmaster@kiwanis.org.nz (David Fentress) on 3 August, 2008.
Your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto, USA for getting us started and to Warren Hall of the Kiwanis Club of New Hartford, USA for some good ideas used in this page.