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15 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, May 27, 2009 More than cheques Continued from page 13 The club is also fine-tuning an application system through which local groups can pitch to be among the causes selected annually for Kiwanis support. The Oakville Kiwanis club has been operating in the community since 1951. Any community need can become a Kiwanis service project, but there is a particular focus on the needs of children. Kiwanis exists to improve lives through fellowship in service worldwide. Its defining statement centres on being a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. The local club meets the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. It hosts dinner meetings the third Monday of the month. Under its new funding model, the trio of top priority organizations will receive a minimum $10,000 annually. According to Kopp, even that doesn't address the needs that exist. He knows because when the club asked local groups to outline their wish list, some had projects whose price tags approached $100,000. Hall said part of the Kiwanis plan is also to work with the recipient groups to develop fundrais- ing strategies -- with an ideal goal of establishing fundraising that can lead groups to self-sustaining status. Such working partnerships will be a win-win as it will lend Kiwanis reputation to the groups and will bring Kiwanis to better attention in the community. As a means of heralding to the public its new way of doing business, the Oakville Kiwanis club will host a fundraising concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 at Sheridan College Theatre on Trafalgar Road. The concert will feature the internationally-renowned, 40-piece band, Windjammers. Tickets cost $35 and are available from Leasa Hennessy or Margaret McConnell at 905825-3242, ext. 222, fundraising@haltontraumacentre.ca, www.haltontraumacentre.ca, 60 Lakeshore Rd. W. or Scotiabank, 207 Lakeshore Rd. E. or 905-845-7625. "We used to be more of a cheque-writing club," said Kopp, noting the new way of doing business involves much more interaction of local groups with club members. It connects club members with people in the community and raises the profile of the club, which, with 27 members, is always ready to welcome new faces. Currently, the club, which includes men and women, draws on what are called Friends of Kiwanis, those who believe in the club values, but don't want to commit to full membership, to boost its ranks when it comes to the club participating in daffodil sales for the Canadian Cancer Society, running fundraising bingos and more. While Kiwanis was writing cheques for requests of $200 to $1,000, its move to invest $10,000 annually to a few groups means its donations will be "more significant, but still not enough," said Kopp. "We're still not having a huge impact, but at least $10,000 is better than $1,000," said Kopp. "It's too early to tell if this new model will work, but it has created a little excitement for a change, it has created some interest that could bolster the club along the way," said Hall. "The bottom line is helping kids. In Oakville there is a perception that there's not a lot of need. We know it's not true," said Hall. "I had no idea there was such need in the community," said Kopp. "We could have picked 50 different agencies that were just as needy. The need is overwhelming in our community," said Hall. For more information, visit www.oakvillekiwanis.com. FRESH MEAT WAREHOUSE OAKVILLE'S MOST TRUSTED NAME FOR QUALITY MEAT Our Famous $ Shishkebobs N N N N N N N N N only Lemon Herb Chicken Honey Garlic & Maple Sausage Tandoori Chicken Texas BBQ Beef Orange Ginger Pork Szechwan Pork Mandarin Garlic Beef Pork Souvlaki Hot Italian Sausage & Lamb N N N N N N N N N Beef Teriyaki Red Wine & Garlic Beef Pineapple Chicken Thai Chicken Chili Watermelon Pork Hawaiian Pork Jerk Chicken Oktoberfest & Sweet Italian Sausage Herb & Mint Lamb 2 19 ea. SPECIAL!! 24 x 6oz. $ ONLY N 4th Line OUR FAMOUS BACON WRAPPED FILETS AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOP 860 Progress Crt. Unit #2, Oakville General repairs to all make and models Oil changes, brakes, tune ups, tires, diagnostics Shuttle services to local customers Licensed Mechanics ng Retail performance parts c in an Free Estimates re rm sto rfo e ration M-F 8-6 s and high p QEW 3rd Line 1260 SPEERS 95 00 X Tues-Thurs 10-7 Fri 9-7 Sat 9-6 Sun 11-5 e SATURDAY BY APPOINTMENT 905.465.9916 www.spi-performance.com i liz ia ec Sp Unit 13 1260 Speers Rd. Unit 13, Oakville 905-847-5295 P R O U D LY S E R V I N G O A K V I L L E S I N C E 1 9 8 6