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Editor’s note: On Feb. 16, Northern Life hosted the ninth annual Community Builders Awards of Excellence. Over the next several weeks, we will be publishing profiles of the eight winners whose works has inspired and continues to inspire Greater Sudbury.
The Kiwanis Club of Sudbury is best known for the annual music and dance festivals it hosts each spring. Thousands of aspiring musicians and dancers have participated in the competitions that fuel their interest in the performing arts.
In addition to the festivals, the Kiwanians support more than a dozen other projects. Last year, the club provided $105,515 in cash or donated volunteer hours to good causes, said president Richard Arcand. This is an impressive record for a club with just 21 members.
“We are a modest club,” Arcand said. “We are not always in the media. Every penny we raise, we give away.”
Arcand volunteered at the dance festival, and then joined the club enticed by its slogan, “Serving the Children of the World.”
He said he loves the camaraderie, and even enjoys working at the fundraising bingo games at Boardwalk Bingo that are so vital to cash flow.
The Kiwanis Club of Sudbury opens its heart and bank account to the Aktion Club, a service group for adults living with disabilities; Terrific Kids, a program held at six schools that awards students and promotes self-esteem; the Salvation Army’s women’s shelter; and the Staples School Bus Program that collects supplies for area schools. The Sudbury club also supports several International Kiwanis initiatives such as Sleeping Children of the World, which provides bedding to children in developing countries, and The Eliminate Project to end maternal and neonatal tetanus.
The Kiwanis Festivals for music and dance get some assistance from the city and arts grants, but they are primarily operated with club funds and an army of volunteers.
The music festival, which started in 1945, and the dance festival, which is celebrating its 32nd year, are often the first opportunities for young people to perform in a front of an audience. Many who made their debut at the festival are now professional artists.
Each March, some 800 students participate in the music festival. About 600 students compete in the dance festival that is held in April.
Charlene Biggs, a music educator, said, “I have been impressed by the level of dedication shown by a small group of volunteers working to better the lives of children in our community.”
Allen S. Browne and Joseph C. Prance started the Kiwanis Club for young professional businessmen in 1915 in Detroit, Mich. It became international with the organization of the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton in 1916.
Kiwanis is adapted from a phrase in the Otchipwe dialect of the Chippewa language, “NunKeewan-is,” which translates as “We trade.” The phrase also can be translated as, “We have a good time; we make noise.”
“We have so much fun at meetings,” Arcand said.
The Sudbury club meets twice a month at its offices above Gloria’s Restaurant, and new members are welcome.
The Kiwanis Club of Sudbury was established in 1945. Veterans such as Wally Cook, Armand Michel, Jack Wyman, Viato Kaltianen and Gordon Annis have been members for more than 50 years.
It’s the Kiwanis Club of Sudbury’s turn to take a bow. It is being inducted into the Community Builders Hall of Fame for almost seven decades of caring and commitment to this community.
“I am thrilled to be a part of this moment in time, when a humble group of people I am pleased to call friends, simply doing what they believe in, is being recognized for the example they set in our city,” Heather Parker, co-ordinator of the Kiwanis Festival, said.
Posted by Laurel Myers
