2019 was another busy year for all of us at the Conroe Noon Kiwanis Club with outreach activities affecting children, youth, and families.
Early Spring the club approved a sponsorship for four officers from the Caney Creek High School Key Club to go to the Kiwanis District Convention in Dallas. We are grateful to have student involvement at the high school level and hope to reach more youth in 2020.
In May, the scholarship committee awarded 9 -$1,000 scholarships for the 2019-2020 school year to high school graduating seniors from local schools.
Conroe High School-Alexandra McPhillips
Lori Smith; Caney Creek High School- Alvaro Valdez, Victoria Rangel
Willis High School-Austin Maire, Kelly Carmach
Montgomery High School-Ede Rogers, Trinity Thompson
Covenant Christian School- Madison Adams.
It is with much sadness that we lost a fellow Kiwanis Member on July 6. Morris Straughan was a member of Kiwanis since 2001. As an active member of the community, he was named Conroe’s Man of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce in 1968 and was Kiwanian of the Year in 2001-2002.
Summer was a busy time as the Club organized a Bed/Sheet Drive for Bridgeway Emergency Youth Shelter in Conroe. Bridgeway helps new residents feel at home in a new scary unfamiliar place by allowing each youth to pick out new pillows and bedding. This provides the youth an opportunity to make a decision in their life that is now controlled by being in the “system” and shows their individuality. When they leave Bridgeway, they can take their bedding with them to maintain some consistency and familiarity so they can sleep in comfort.
The Annual Kiwanis Kids Day at the Park was held after Labor Day at Carl Barton Park and included moonwalks, rock wall, petting zoo, and a display with local first responders from the Conroe Police Department, Conroe Fire Department, PHI Medical Helicopter, and Montgomery County Hospital District. Combined with the City of Conroe’s Annual Kid Fish, families came out to the park throughout the morning and played, fished, and even adopted dogs from the Conroe Animal Shelter.
Our last projects of the year were donations to our partnering youth organizations. The Conroe Noon Kiwanis Club had the opportunity to make a monetary donation to The Treehouse Center, a residential shelter for girls ages 5-14 for Christmas gifts and a monetary donation to Yes to Youth, Montgomery County Youth Services.
The Conroe Noon Kiwanis Club has been serving children in the community since 1952 with enrichment activities designed for learning, growing, dreaming, and succeeding. They are dedicated to helping kids locally around the Greater Conroe area.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, January 8th at Hacienda Mis Padres at noon. Vow to start off 2019 with a goal to get involved in the oldest service organization devoted to improving lives of youth and children in the Greater Conroe area. See you Jan 8th!