Area Kiwanis clubs band together for disaster relief

Kiwanis is an international organization that works to serve children and their communities. They think globally and act locally. Here in the Maine Highlands, we are lucky to have a number of active Kiwanis clubs whose members work tirelessly to serve the children of the world by serving children and their families in our own towns. Now, they’ve decided to get together and combine their resources in order to do the most good that they can for folks confronted by natural disasters.

From now through the end of March, the Kiwanis clubs in your town are working with local redemption centers to turn returnable bottles and cans into cash that will go directly to the Good Shepard Food Bank so that Maine people affected by natural disasters can feed their families a little easier. Their fundraising goal is just $2,500, and they hope to raise much more from the good-hearted contributors in our towns.

Disaster relief is a tricky business. In most cases, the need for immediate assistance is overwhelming when a disaster like a big fire, flood or storm hits a region. Emergency medical care, housing assistance, and feeding programs for thousands of people can become daunting tasks for even large international organizations like the Red Cross or UNICEF. The Kiwanis clubs are great at what they do for children and families, but effective assistance in a large-scale disaster is just beyond their means.

After the October wind storm and the wildfires and hurricanes elsewhere in the country, clubs in our region met to look for ways to make a difference here in Maine. The idea was born to raise funds locally so that local families affected by a natural disaster could at least check food insecurity off their lists. The Good Shepard Food Bank provides nutritious food to folks in need here in Maine, so it made sense to focus their fundraising efforts through them. Everybody has returnable bottles and cans, and most redemption centers are eager to assist in their communities. So the bottle and can drive started up.

In Dexter, one of the children’s wings of the Kiwanis has gotten involved in a big way. The Kiwanis K-Kids at the Ridge View Community School have created special artwork that has been turned into posters for the bottle and can drive. Merchants in Dexter are displaying these posters now to remind shoppers that they can be a part of things by returning their bottles and cans and directing the money to go to the Kiwanis.

The bottle and can drive will continue through the end of March. All you have to do is bring your returnable bottles and cans to one of the participating redemption centers listed and donate the proceeds to the Kiwanis: Bwart’s and the Dexter Redemption Center for the Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis; the Northern Redemption Center for the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis; and 3 Rivers Feed and Grain of Milo for the Three Rivers Kiwanis.

The Kiwanis motto is “Serving the Children of the World.” ere in the Maine Highlands, the Kiwanis does that by pooling resources and making it easy for communities to participate directly. They’re asking you to participate today.

Contributed photo
BENEFIT ARTWORK — K-Kids from the Ridge View Community School in Dexter have jumped into a Kiwanis fundraising project by creating special poster artwork. Merchants in Dexter are displaying the art to remind shoppers that they can be a part of things by returning their bottles and cans and directing the money to go to the Kiwanis for disaster relief in the state of Maine.