Membership on par with fundraising growth

Fifty years ago, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, nearby Mason, Ohio, was a village of fewer than 1,200 people, 35 of whom belonged to the local Kiwanis club, whose major fundraiser that year was a chicken barbeque that netted $1,200.

Nowadays, the village is a city of about 30,000 people, the Mason Kiwanis club has grown to more than 100 persons, and that chicken barbeque has been replaced by a golf outing that chips in more than $30,000 a year for the club’s scholarship fund and community service projects. An annual pancake breakfast adds about $16,000 to the fundraising mix.

“Golf outings tend to be popular, but I think ours has become a major draw because it raises money for college-bound high school seniors,” notes club secretary Tom Paffe. “Our first outing some 23 years ago, earned more than $5,000. This May’s outing will draw more than 200 golfers and should clear more than $30,000. Through the years, we’ve given away well more than $150,000 for scholarships.”

Tom, who has been a Kiwanian for almost 35 years, says the idea for the outing was born when club was looking for a way to make a difference in its community. One of his fellow Kiwanians, an avid golfer, suggested the club hold a benefit golf outing. And another member—a parent of two youths in college—suggested the club consider using money raised for scholarships.

The club is understandably proud of the growth its golf outing has enjoyed through the years, just as it is proud of its own growth. This past February, the club marked its 50th anniversary by recognizing two its charter members, John Fox and Al Voorhis, both of whom still play valuable roles with the club.

“Our (mission) is helping children—one child at a time—for a better childhood,” John told The Enquirer, “and one community at a time for a better community. We hold true to that.”