That’s what Kiwanis shoulders are for

Not too long ago, I overheard a phone conversation. A woman was heading to Washington, DC, to support her daughter. Her daughter was alone at a hospital with her nine-month-old baby, who suffers from a variety of severe birth defects. The only other baby ever diagnosed with this condition passed on at the age of only six days. To make matters worse, the baby recently contracted a life-threatening bacterial infection.

The baby’s mother had not slept in days. The mother had not eaten in days. The mother had no friends or family in the area. The mother was alone.

Fortunately, the baby’s father is in the military, and the government is paying all expenses. The financial worry is not there. The mother simply needed a friend to talk to. She needed a shoulder to cry on. She needed someone to be there.

So I called my family in Washington, DC. My Kiwanis family, that is.

To make a long story short, humanitarians from the Kiwanis Club of Northeast Washington, have been visiting with the mother on a daily basis. The baby is not in the clear yet, but her health is slowly progressing in the right direction. The mother gave me a call to say thank you and to tell me how much she appreciates the support of our fellow Kiwanians.

What a great organization we belong to. Who can you call whom you’ve never met before, you’ve never seen before, and you’ve never spoken to before, yet will rise to the occasion based on a phone call of an absolute stranger hundreds of miles away?

What a great day to be a Kiwanian.—Brian Siegelwax, Kiwanis Club of Mount Olive Township, New Jersey