Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2011! I hope all of you had a restful break and are revived for the new year. The beginning of a year often brings reflection of the past and planning for the future. In reflecting on this past year in Kiwanis, I am filled with pride and honor to be a part of such an amazing club. Not only did we meet our Two Tons of Tuna goal, but we surpassed it by over 1000 pounds. We also recognized 37 Teachers of the month, 642 Terrific, and held a very successful Breakfast with Santa event. These successes lay on the shoulders of the club members, community members, local businesses, and students. We have spent countless hours serving our community, and I look forward to the countless other ways we will continue to serve. As I look forward to the three quarters that we have left in the Kiwanis year, I am excited to see the great things that are yet to come. We will continue to support our 18 Service Leadership Clubs, including the East River High Key Club that will officially be chartered soon – woohoo! We are now gearing up for our first ever 5K run/walk! Because of the hard work of our Public Relations Chair, Stacy Peterson, and her team, we have been highlighted in many of the local newspapers, magazines, and online publications. Keep your eyes open for where we will be next! It’s going to be a great year!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Second Harvest Receives Two Tons o' Tuna

Central Florida families will be ringing in the New Year with plenty of tuna salad sandwiches. Due to the overwhelming success of the “Ton o’ Tuna” challenge in 2009, the Kiwanis Club of East Orange County accepted a heftier goal of collecting TWO TONS of tuna by the end of 2010. With the assistance of numerous Key Clubs, Builders Clubs, K-Kids Clubs, Circle K International, other Kiwanis clubs, and numerous other community groups, the Kiwanis organization presented the local food bank with a grand total of over 4,000 pounds of tuna.

Here’s the math: 1 can of tuna is 6 ounces. One ton is 2,000 pounds, or 32,000 ounces. A “ton o’ tuna” is therefore 5,333 cans, and two tons of tuna is 10,666 cans of tuna.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, through its five hundred participating agencies, provides food to about 60,000 people each week. With demand increasing daily, the food bank has never had less food on the shelves. The most pressing need, in short, is for more food. And among the non-perishable food items that Second Harvest distributes, none is more in demand among families in need than canned tuna – versatile, nutritious, and delicious.

Members of the community responded to the need for tuna again in 2010. East Orange County Schools from the Kiwanis club’s sponsored service leadership programs (Key Club, Builders Club, K-Kids, and Circle K) donated about 1,000 pounds collectively. Sunrise Elementary K-Kids and UCF Federal Credit Union topped the charts by each contributing just over 400 pounds of tuna. StarKist, one of the leading distributors of seafood products in the United States, also donated several cases of tuna. Due to a generous monetary contribution from the Kiwanis Club of Orlando of the equivalent of 1,500 pounds of tuna, the two-ton goal was achieved in December 2010.

Thank you to everyone who made a tuna donation!

Please contact our club if you are interested in serving the Central Florida community with us, or if you have suggestions for making next year’s tuna drive even more successful.