Kiwanis spreads generosity around

By Matt Williams, RRStar.com
Published August 19, 2010, in the Rockford Register Star
http://www.rrstar.com/carousel/x1695112210/Kiwanis-spreads-generosity-around

ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS—Alpine Kiwanis decided it was too difficult to pick just one recipient for the charitable group’s capital fund grant.

Instead, it picked multiple youth-oriented groups to share $10,000 each year for the next three years.

The Boys & Girls Club of Rockford received $6,000 this year, and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will get $4,000, said Andy Krauss, chairman of the charities committee. Checks were handed out Thursday morning.

“Normally we will find just one project, but we had a hard time narrowing it down,” Krauss said.

The Boys & Girls Club has been in fundraising mode for the past two years for separate renovation projects at its Flodin and Carlson sites. A little more than half of the $2.4 million goal for those projects has already been reached, President and CEO Chip Stoner said.

Stoner said both facilities will be expanded to allow for more children and programming.

“We currently have waiting lists at Flodin, and we have to stagger our programming at Carlson,” he said.

Stoner said the Carlson building was built in the late 1960s and is in dire need of improvements.

“The Carlson club is in a greater need because of the age of the building,” he said. “It is showing its wear and tear of having 100-plus kids there a night.”

He hopes to have the fundraising campaign completed within the next year.

“Obviously it has gone slow because of the economy, but we continue to get pledges and commitments,” he said.

The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts will use the money to help build a shared operations facility on donated land just south of Harrison Avenue in Cherry Valley. It will serve about 45,000 youth and 10,000 volunteers a year.

All money donated by Alpine Kiwanis is raised during its annual Brat Days fundraiser, which was held in July.

“We have two days in July to make it count, rain or shine,” Krauss said.

He said the group raised about $70,000 last year, which also helps pay for smaller charity projects throughout the year. Kiwanis officials didn’t have a final figure on the amount raised this year.