Pancakes for kids
Kiwanis helps keep Boys and Girls Club alive

Dominik Molina watches as his basketball goes into the hoop during a Boys and Girls Club outing to the Aquatic Center Thursday. It was Molina's first day as a member of the Boys and Girls Club. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Cable Hoover

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Leslie Wood
For the Independent

GALLUP — Long summer days would not be as thrilling for second-grader Rayann Fay if it weren’t for the Boys and Girls Club.A typical week of summer vacation now consists of computer games, air hockey and highly anticipated trips to the city pool.

“You get to score goals. It’s a lot of fun,” Fay said about games of air hockey in the club’s game room.

On Thursday afternoon, many other local children shared enthusiasm as a steady stream of school-aged children could be seen walking to and from the club’s northside campus.

Thanks to a $2,000 donation from the local Kiwanis chapter, many more local children’s lives will be enriched through Boys and Girls Club programs. The group’s members presented Boys and Girls Club representative Carl Lohman with a check Thursday during their weekly meeting at the Golden Coral to support the club’s services. The donation was raised during the Kiwanis annual pancake breakfast at Jefferson Elementary School in February.

“It’s become a bit of a Gallup institution,” Calvin Marshall, a member of Kiwanis, said of the event that served between 400 and 500 people.

Marshal joined the Kiwanis nearly 15 years ago as a way to give back to the community he loves.

“It’s been a way to learn about my community beyond the confines of work,” he said.

The international organization boasts nearly a million members in 93 countries worldwide and functions to provide services for youth. Locally, the only prerequisite for membership is the desire to serve. The organization’s members come from all walks of life, he said.

“The unifying draw to joining is a desire to be of service to people of our community ... we have deep roots in the community and have representatives from all over the place.”

The local chapter hosts two big fundraisers a year — the pancake breakfast and a flower sale during the Memorial Day holiday. The proceeds go directly toward programs that will enrich local youths’ lives.

Kiwanis also sponsors organizations geared toward children such as K-Kids for elementary school students and Key Klub for high school students. Members also work in conjunction with Camp Kiwanis, which is located 18 miles south of Gallup in Vanderwagen. Other activities include holiday parties hosted for residents of the Battered Families shelter.

On an international level, the organization has worked to eradicate iodine deficiencies and has raised nearly $100 million for the cause.

Lohman said he is thankful the local organization chose Boys and Girls Club as its beneficiary.

“We’ve always received support from Kiwanis in small and large ways,” Lohman said. “I know it’s just the beginning of an avalanche of support.”

There are four Boys and Girls Club campuses in Gallup, and nearly 750 children participate in the organization’s primarily free programs daily. Lohman said the program has seen increased growth within the last three years and could use the funding.

“We are definitely invested in the youth in the community and appreciate the support,” he said. “ ... We are rounding up for a large summer experience.”

Information: Marshall, 863-6940, Boys and Girls Club, 863-3745.