Sam McMahon Jr., member of the Kiwanis Club of Mecklenburg in Charlotte, North Carolina, called last week, his voice bubbling over with excitement. He just got back from Belize, where he traveled to celebrate the charter ceremony of the Kiwanis Club of Belize Central, a club he helped build.
The new members, with help from their sponsoring club in Charlotte, will work with the Ministry of Health to tackle the issue of pediatric cancer care in their country. Of course, this is just one of the projects they plan to work on, but it’s certainly one close to their hearts. Rashale Arana, who traveled to Charlotte for cancer care with help from the Mecklenburg club, was from Silk Grass, Belize.
Sam says Kiwanis is the talk of the town right now in Belize. While Sam visited for the charter ceremony at the end of January, TV stations ran spots about the new club 2-3 times a day, and at least one radio station got in on the fun as well. Sam was even featured in interviews with the CEO of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Peter Allen, as well as other officials. It was wonderful publicity for Kiwanis and the new club—a great way to get off and running!
Sam reports the club chartered with 22 great people ready to serve the children of Belize. And the members already have big plans—they want to start a CKI club and a Key Club as soon as possible. And Kiwanis still has plenty of room to grow in Belize. In fact, Sam says there already seems to be enough interest to start a second club within the year.
Posted
Feb 09 2009, 09:40 AM
by
Kasey Jackson