Providing the right resources that help students learn in our elementary schools is a challenge that deserves our help. North Ogden Kiwanis Club members have had this as a major goal for the past 15 years. Kiwanis is an international organization whose main objective is to serve and is focused on helping the youth. The local club has been doing just that for the past 72 years in a wide range of projects that include support for individual needs as well as support for several local schools. In 1999 they helped purchase books at discounted prices; in 2005 the club began working with a local teacher Carol North at Majestic Elementary. Carol worked with book publishers to get the best books at the best price and ordered them for her school and five other local schools. Kiwanis donated as much as $3,000 each year, which was matched through the Weber School Foundation, and in a few years the total number of books donated amounted to over 25,000. Book purchases continued until 2012 when teachers and principals asked for a different form of assistance; the club helped purchase E-Books, Audio books, classroom PA systems, and most recently Chromebooks. In each case the goal was to improve the learning experience for students and teachers. It would be difficult to find a better example of lending a helping hand to youth from people in the community. Kiwanis is fortunate to have support from local residents and businesses; volunteer help comes in the form of workers who cook and serve at the annual Cherry Days Pancake Breakfast and through direct contributions to our annual fundraising drive. The Kiwanis Club directs its support to local schools: Bates, Green Acres, Majestic, North Ogden, Lomond View and Valley Elementary. This is the third year that the schools have asked to buy Chromebooks; they believe that this technology helps to engage and empower students to take charge of their own learning and progression. As educators, they find themselves in constant pursuit of ways to improve student achievement. With Chromebooks, students and teachers have the ability to utilize invaluable digital resources. Books are not the club’s only avenue to assist youth and the community. The list includes giving individual support to youth for special projects, Hope of America awards for sixth graders, Achievement awards for high school seniors, an annual Easter Egg Hunt, support for the North Ogden City Youth Council, an essay contest, and many other initiatives that benefit youth as well as the community.
Your local Kiwanis Club hopes to continue to partner with schools, Weber School Foundation, and the community to create a winwin situation for the youth of our community. If you are looking for a way to help make our communities better, consider looking into the local Kiwanis Club. Contact John Reynolds at wbarn28@aol.com.
COMMUNITY LENDING A HELPING HAND FOR LEARNING BY JOHN REYNOLDS
