For the second year, the Kiwanis Club of the Haddons is organizing service projects in advance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day that will benefit children and the community.
From now through the Jan. 17 holiday, 10 separate but concurrent projects will be available to volunteers. Milton Smith, secretary of the club, explained that the projects were inspired by members who had personal involvement with some of them. The club seeks low and no contact community-service efforts to keep the community engaged.
“We wanted to create an event that would appeal to different people at the same time, and also an event that families could participate in on their day off of school,” Smith said.
The 10 projects address a variety of issues, including food insecurity and literacy. Participants are asked to record their service on the club Facebook page at @HaddonsKiwanis.
Donations for the following will continue through Jan. 17:
- Nonperishable foods for food pantries in Bellmawr, Barrington, Haddonfield, Collingswood and Cherry Hill.
- New pajamas, any size, to be distributed by the NJ Pajama Program to local organizations, including the Greater Collingswood Children’s Center and Ronald McDonald House in Camden.
- Gently used pillowcases and towels, dog/cat food and treats for the Homeward Bound Animal Shelter
Some of the volunteer and other activities are as follows:
- Sort and shelf books on Jan. 17 at BookSmiles, 1879 Old Cuthbert Road, Unit 33, Cherry Hill. Hour-long shifts are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with limited slots available. Contact HaddonsKiwanis@gmail.com for the Signup Genius link. Volunteers need to wear face masks.
- Create alphabet flash cards as part of the Love Letters for Literacy Project. All letters must be in upper-case, block font. Visit www.lovelettersliteracy.org for more information. Each set of cards will be distributed by Prevent Child Abuse NJ.
- Film yourself reading aloud your favorite children’s book for videos that will be uploaded to the Kiwanis Club’s YouTube channel and viewed by the Children’s Specialized Hospital in Hamilton. Prospective volunteers should email HaddonsKiwanis@gmail.com for instructions.
- Create a rice sock to keep animals at Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center in Blackwood warm in their crates. Visit (https://www.petplace.com/article/cats/pet-health/how-to-make-a-rice-sock-for-heat-or-cold-support-for-cats/. Or create a dog toy out of gently used T-shirts. Visit (https://post.bark.co/products/how-to-make-a-t-shirt-dog-toy/)
- Create “Thinking of You” greeting cards or Valentine’s Day cards for residents of the United Methodist Communities in Collingswood, who face restrictions on outside visitors due to COVID. Write to the senior center at 460 Haddon Ave., Collingswood, 08108, attention community life.
- Creating a colorful card holder out of a Pringles potato chips can, oatmeal container or any other tall can. Follow instructions from https://craftbits.com/project/pringle-tin-christmas-card-holder. The cards will also be delivered to United Methodist Communities in Collingswood
For a list of donation sites, visit the Kiwanis Club of the Haddons Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/HaddonsKiwanis.
“Last year, we were really happily surprised with the turnout that we had with people participating,” said Smith.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. The club meets every Friday in person and virtually at Tavistock Country Club in Haddonfield, where it plans and carries out service projects from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. All area adults are invited to join.
For service project and club information, contact club Secretary Milton Smith at (856) 559-2009, HaddonsKiwanis@gmail.com or visit the club’s Facebook page.
