Greencastle Kiwanis turns 101; pancake breakfast returns May 7

May 2022 will mark the 101st anniversary of the Kiwanis Club of Greencastle. The local club was founded only five years after the initial founding of Kiwanis International in Detroit.

The local club gathers every Thursday at noon at the Inn at DePauw. Three times a month a guest speaker is invited to update the club on their needs, their initiatives and their successes in the community. Recent examples have been presentations by Beyond Homeless, Transformers and the Non-Food Pantry.

Often, a guest from the university may be invited to address a current event or issue, such as climate change or political press coverage. A fourth meeting per month is dedicated to fellowship and visiting with other members with no set agenda or guests.

Any community members are welcome to visit a meeting, learn more about the club, and their meal will be comped. No need to make a reservation, non-members will just need to come to the Inn at DePauw at noon on Thursday and a club member will welcome you.

The simple motto of the club is “Serving the Children of the World,” and while the international club helps with broad programs across the globe, the local chapter focuses it attention and fundraising on the children of Putnam County. Requested gifts to local organizations are always judged on their impact on local children. Transformers, the Mary Allison Trust, Greencastle Parks programs, local food pantries and shelters, and youth sports programs are perennial requests in which the Kiwanis have invested funds.

Additionally, the club assists fundraising for Riley Hospital for Children, which is the major philanthropy for The Kiwanis of Indiana, and the local club always donates to its initiatives every year. The club also supports its affiliate Key Clubs at North Putnam and Greencastle high schools, and the Aktion Club at Putnam County Comprehensive Services, as they teach their club members to be community aware and be active participants in their local communities.

Traditionally, Kiwanis fundraisers were the annual pancake breakfast each May and two coffee-and-donuts stops at the I-70 rest areas on Memorial Day and Labor Day where travelers are greeted with coffee and donuts, and are in turn asked for donation to Riley Hospital. Also, the club has provided annual holiday sales which has included fruit boxes or cookie dough.

Historically, the club raises more than $5,000 a year through these efforts, but COVID and recent policy changes with Indiana Department of Transportation has dampened the ability to fundraise. Thankfully, the pancake breakfast will occur 7-11 a.m. Saturday, May 7 at the Moose Lodge. After a two-year break from the event, the club is anxious to see all its supporters this year as it rebuilds its philanthropy coffers.

With INDOT not allowing fundraisers at the rest areas this year, the Kiwanis will need to have a tremendously successful pancake breakfast to return to pre-Covid giving goals. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from Kiwanis member or at the door the day of the event.

If you have any questions, want to donate, want to join the club or want to be a presenter you may reach out to current President Alan Zerkel at azerkel67@gmail.com or Immediate Past President Andrew Ranck at aranck_pccs@yahoo.com.