Service Station
By Jessica Handy
The members of the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica are celebrating another successful year of giving back to the community. This year was especially eventful with the donation of a children’s playground at Ozone Park, and the establishment of the Santa Monica Service Club Alliance. Every year the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica awards tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to high school youth who have worked hard to earn good grades while also making time to perform community service. Every year the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica awards tens of thousands of dollars to Santa Monica College students who have overcome adversity to advance their education, and to area young music students who keep the classics alive for all of us to enjoy. Every year the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica grants over fifty thousand dollars to charity organizations in our community who do the selfless work for those in need.
But this year was different.
This year the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica gave an additional $53,000 to the City of Santa Monica for a brand-new playground at Ozone Park where the City was unable to afford a replacement for the antiquated swing set that had been removed. This year the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica established a $9,000 President’s grant for organizations that serve foster and orphan youth. And this year, the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica initiated the Santa Monica Service Club Alliance. Local service clubs perform herculean work for the community as individual clubs; we imagined what we could do if we joined forces, so we did!
The Santa Monica Service Club Alliance is hosting the first ever alternative gift fair here in Santa Monica. The 1st Annual Community Boutique: Give a Gift for Good is this Sunday, December 11 at the (generously donated) Bay Woman’s Club, 1210 4th St. from 11AM to 3PM. Enjoy music performed by the SAMOHI Orchestra and sipping mimosas and hot apple cider while making donations to your favorite local nonprofit organizations as gifts for friends and family on your gift list. There will be 30 nonprofit organizations in attendance, including the Santa Monica History Museum, Boys & Girls Club of Santa Monica, Junior Blind, Sojourn, Westside Food Bank, k9 Connection, Kiwanis Charities and more. Many of the organizations are providing a donor gift such as a soft beach towel from Swim with Heart, or a mug from WISE & Healthy Aging, and an ornament with a donation to PAWS/LA. There will be greeting cards available for you to then send word of your donation to the people on your gift list.
So bring your gift list, your checkbook or credit card (you will pay once for all of your donations upon check-out), and your spirit of giving and get all of your holiday shopping (and end of year tax deductions) completed at once! Please go to our Facebook page SantaMonicaService or emailing ServiceClubAlliance@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Since 1922 the Kiwanis Club of Santa Monica has been the most active service organization in Santa Monica; each year the club awards over $120,000 to our community in the form of grants, scholarships and sponsorships. Regular club lunch meetings are the first three Wednesdays of the month from 12PM to 1:30PM. To join us or to donate to Kiwanis Charities, please visit our website, www.KiwanisClubSM.org, or follow us on Facebook at kiwanisclubsm.org.
