COMMUNITY ADVOCATE

June 25, 2007

Kingston Kiwanians pursue members, service

By Mark Jones mjones@timesleader.com
Editorial Page Editor

mark jones community advocate

KINGSTON – Donna Gizenski doesn’t live in this borough, but she and about 25 other concerned men and women want to make the place better.

As members of the startup Kiwanis Club of Kingston – a group celebrating its first anniversary this month – they’re hoping to sign up at least 15 new participants and devise do-good projects that benefit area residents, particularly children.

The group’s formation flies in the face of conventional wisdom, which holds that service organizations such as the Lions, Rotary and Kiwanis are going belly-up because of declining interest.

“We’re trying to be a little bit different,” said Gizenski, 35, the club’s president.

Rather than spaghetti dinner-style fundraisers, for instance, this club might try an “upscale art show,” she said.

Likewise, this group staggers its twice-monthly meetings between lunches (at Gelpia’z Restaurant) and dinners (at Theo’s Metro), in attempts to accommodate busy adults’ schedules. “We recognize a lot of people want to be part of Kiwanis,” Gizenski said, “they just can’t be part of the meetings.”

Club officials emphasized that incoming members are not required to live in Kingston, merely have “ties” to the community. (Perhaps your workplace is based here, for instance. Or maybe it’s your birthplace.)

Perfect attendance isn’t a priority, either, explained president-elect Ken Lexie, 52, of Plymouth Township. “We don’t expect you to give up precious work hours or family hours,” he said. “Just a little bit of help will go a long way.”

Increasingly, Kiwanis and similar service groups are attempting to boost their membership rolls by shedding stereotypical images of 1950s-era supper clubs.

Among the strategies: Roll out the welcome mat for women and minorities. Foster more feeder programs in colleges, high schools and even earlier grades. And be flexible with scheduling, allowing members to get together at times that suit their lifestyles, maybe even “meeting” via the Internet rather than in person.

Kiwanis International has set an ambitious growth goal, aspiring to register a worldwide membership of 1 million people by 2015 – the 100th anniversary of its founding. Today, the Indianapolis-based organization tallies about 260,000 members.

The Kingston club’s launch, however, had less to do with strategic plans than sentimentality.

Returning the favor

Forty Fort and Kingston residents had sustained a club here for 59 years, but, presumably due to waning membership, it fizzled in 2004, sources said. That didn’t sit well with Kiwanians from neighboring towns, particularly Tunkhannock.

Decades ago the Forty Fort/Kingston bunch had helped to charter the Tunkhannock club, which has since become a dynamic doer of good works in Wyoming County.

So, as a debt of gratitude, Ken Leone, 67, and other members of the Tunkhannock club set out in 2005 to revive the organization’s presence in this well-populated, Luzerne County community. “We actually went out and banged on doors and gave our Kiwanis spiel,” he said, noting that the process took about six weeks. Prospective members were approached at businesses, not in homes, he said.

The gumshoe-type effort paid off.

“I think they’re going to do OK,” said Leone, who has served as an adviser for the fledgling club. “They have a good nucleus of members who are really enthusiastic.”

Already, the young club has powered a successful fundraiser – a raffle linked to the Labor Day holiday in which the winner received picnic fixings for 25 guests. Club members also have tackled several small-scale service projects.

Building momentum?

In time, the group aims to start a companion “Builders Club” for students at Wyoming Valley West Middle School.

More immediately, it will be taking on community-enhancing tasks and trying to launch a high-visibility fundraising activity. “We’re trying to get them to find a niche – a signature event that they’ll be known for in the community,” Leone said.

The Tunkhannock club, for instance, sponsors the wildly popular Kiwanis Wyoming County Fair, which draws 50,000 or more patrons, he said. Plus, it conducts about 25 smaller projects, ranging from a Halloween parade to basketball and wrestling tournaments.

Proceeds are donated to the community, helping to do things such as supply goods to Tyler Memorial Hospital’s pediatric program.

“Basically, when people see what we do in the community,” said Leone, the club’s treasurer, “it gets their attention and they want to be part of it.”

As proof: The Kiwanis Club of Tunkhannock maintains a membership of more than 100 – well above the average club roster of 32.

Putting priority on kids

The Kingston group, even in its earliest stages, has focused on helping children.

This month, club members plan to hand out magnets that are meant to remind new parents to keep track of their children’s immunization schedules, said Gizenski, a Lehman Township resident and mother of two.

Each magnet states: “All their shots while they’re tots.” The items will be made available at day-care centers, doctors’ offices and Head Start-type programs, she said.

Lexie, who is slated to become club president later this year, intends to champion similar causes. In fact, he has begun to brainstorm ways for the group to support Kingston’s low-income, single moms and their children.

Rather than simply grumble about social problems, Lexie said he has found that being part of this club gives him the confidence and ability to take action.

“In Kiwanis,” he said, “you can actually do something.”

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Mark E. Jones, the Times Leader’s community advocate, can be reached by calling 831-7305.

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