The McDonough County Area Youth Assistance Program Fund was started in 2002 by Illinois State Police Trooper Glenn Daugherty (right) along with other concerned citizens to assist area school children who have a desire to participate in sports, music, scouts, special camps and other organized activities in McDonough County but cannot afford the fees associated with those activities. November program chairman Debbie Vandemark introduced Glenn as this weeks guest speaker.
Glenn said it started when one of his sons asked him for help with a friend whose family was involved in drugs and alcohol. The friend needed help in paying fees for participating in sports. That friend went on to graduate from high school with honors and is now in college. Glenn thought that if this person needed help, there are probably others like him. He discovered there are some "gaps" in some of the programs that help kids in tough situations.
The Youth Assistance Program Fund is under the umbrella of the YMCA of McDonough County and he has contacts with others in the community who help get discounts from stores on shoes and other equipment. Ages are for pre-school to high school senior. The way it works is simple. Requests are submitted and reviewed by a committee. Glenn said the requests "are usually for $50, sometimes much less. The organization is volunteer operated and all money collected goes to the fund."
Glenn is the chairperson for the program and tries to get as much funding and donations as they can to keep it going. He said they spend anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 a year to help these kids.
President Tim Moss said that, thanks to our Pancake and Peanuts Days fundraising, we might be able to financially support his organization in our new budget.
Next week Debbie will have a speaker talking about us establishing a 501(C) standing to help make it easier for people to donate money to the club and be able to deduct those contributions. .
President Tim Moss presided.
John Moon led us in singing "Boost Kiwanis"
Chuck Nicholson gave the invocation.
Tim reminded members again about updating our club bylaws and he hopes to vote on the changes soon.
One additional possible change would be to establish an Executive Committee that would have the authority to fill-in for the Board of Directors and make decisions about club activities and funding requests.
Tim announced the Kiwanis Governor's visit will be Saturday, December 13. Click here for more details. Be sure to let Tim know if you would like to attend.
December is almost here and it's going to be a busy month for us with
"Breakfast with Santa", K-Mart Children's Shopping and helping to ring the
bell for the Salvation Army. The breakfast will be the first
Saturday in December. Shopping is the following Saturday.
Tim said the Salvation Army food baskets will be prepared Tuesday,
December 23, and five or six people are needed. Sign up sheets for
all events will be started soon.
Treasurer Jeremy Benson reported on our Peanut Days fundraiser. Club members spent the last two weekends giving away bags of Kiwanis peanuts in exchange for donations to the club. Jeremy said he hasn't had a chance to count the money brought in this week, but we did raise about $1,350 the first weekend. There are between 8 and 10 boxes remaining and he will be working on setting up one additional Peanut Day to wrap it up.
Jeremy also distributed dues statements.
Celebrating birthdays in November are:
George Hermann, Jay Carter, Rick Bulger and
Tim Moss. Each stood up to say a little bit about themselves. George will be 89 and noted, on our election night meeting, that he has voted in every
presidential election since 1940. Jay was born on the east coast
in Virginia and is glad to be in Macomb. Tim was born in Dewitt
County and moved here about a year and a half ago. Rick grew
up in Grand Forks, North Dakota and moved to Macomb in 1985. Happy Birthday to all!
Joe Vandemark - Said it was "the happiest buck" he's contributed as he announced his retirement.
Jay Carter - Tuesday, November 11, is Veteran's Day and will include many events. The Flags of Love go up at 7:00 AM in Chandler Park and help is always needed to put up the many flags that will be on display. Then, the VFW will host a ceremony at 10:30. Industry will dedicate their Veterans' Memorial and the flags come down
at 4:00. The day will wrap up with a turkey dinner at the American
Legion that evening.
Gary Sash - happy because said he "feels like he's found the right
place" in joining our club. We're happy because he turned in a membership application! That's three new members in just a few weeks.
Debbie Vandemark - for our speaker and for Dr. Sash who helps put her back
together and for Tim Moss who put in many hours at Peanut Days.
Pat Stout - for tonights attendance. Pat said "it's fantastic. A
great
turnout!" And we agree.
Jeremy - happy that Ken Harp put together a good orientation for
two new members and for the great response to Peanut Days.
Jeff Paisley - proud of his daughters involvement in Cross Country.
Owen Thompson - a happy 50 cents (due to the economy that's all he could come up with). Jay added a quarter to get him up to 75 cents.
Tim - $5. Enjoyed being involved in Peanut Days. He
said it was interesting because, while he was giving away bags of peanuts, he
saw an accident, an arrest, a rainbow and many other things during that time.
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