To the editor:
Kiwanis clubs are valuable resources to communities across Kansas. The opening blurb on the Kiwanis International website states members are ... dedicated to changing the world, one child at a time. Here in Marion County we are fortunate that the local Kiwanis groups in Hillsboro and Marion are consistently and actively committed to this mission.
I recently had the opportunity to observe how the Marion Kiwanis Club responds to needs in our community. Our organization, Families And Communities Together, provides financial assistance and resource coordination for low-income families — between 70 and 80 households per year. We are currently out of funds for that particular line of our overall budget, but when a young boy with no health insurance recently needed some emergency medical care, I committed a small amount of our funds toward payment for the treatment.
A Kiwanis member reported the situation to members, who voted to send FACT, Inc. a charitable contribution that puts our Family Financial Assistance Fund back in the black.
When I talk about the financial assistance fund, I refer to the donations that keep it going as “money from the heart” as opposed to grant or government funds that supplement our other projects.
The contribution to help a young boy made by the Marion Kiwanians this past week to our organization was an example of kindness from the heart and of changing the world, one child at a time. Thank you, Marion Kiwanis Club.
Linda Ogden
Executive Director
Families And Communities Together, Inc. (FACT)