INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATI Kiwanis Ciub has been helping others for 75 years THE END of 1989 and the beginning of 1990 brought with ita new decade to cele- brate, and while the world will welcome a new era. the International Kiwanis Club has special cause to throw a party, for 1990 is the year the world-wide service organization turns 75, While the North Vancouver Kiwanis Club got its start a litte later in life than the international club, local Kiwanians will also be celebrating this month, when the North Vancouver club turns 69 on March 30. In North Vancouver, the Kiwanis Club’s main focus has been on building affordable hous- ing for senior citizens. In 1951 the club incorporated the Kiwanis Cit- izens Homes Ltd. and a board of directors govern the operations of the housing group. The Kiwanis Towers, located at the corner of 2nd Street and Ches- terfield in North Vancouver, is one of three major senior citizens’ housing projects built by Kiwanis Homes Ltd., with help from the North Vancouver Kiwanis Foun- dation, a foundation that has about $50,000 set aside each year for the ‘welfare of the the com- munity,'’ according to Dave Welsferd, a board director of the North Vancouver Kiwanis Club. “*We use that money for social activities, cultural activities. We've ON ANNIVERSARY 3S susidiy, Should men be “NEWS photo Cindy Goodman FOUR TENANTS of the Kiwanis Lyna Manor (left to right) Nan Staney, Lu Murrell, Amy Milner and Cynthia Carter, sip tea while they knit, manor engage in include excere ‘ew and crochet items for a bazaar sale. Other ac dancing and bingo, just to name a few. This year marks the 75th anniver- sary of the International Kiwanis Club. used that money to buy equipment for the ambulance service, to basketballs for various organiza- tions,’” said Welsford. Kiwanis Senior Citizens Homes Ltd. also operates a 121-bed care facility and houses close to 230 te- nants in its apartment complexes, which provide subsidized housing to seniors. Tic liding Zeiss La PQ WESTERN 1320 Lonsdale at 13th Street, North Vancouver Nother discounts apply «No retunds or exchanges © ATE sales final: Personal shopping only While the Kiwanis Club is first and foremost a service organiza- tion aimed at improving the dif- ferent communities the clubs are involved with, the North Van- couver Kiwanis Club is also big business. Its real estate holdings today are in excess of $25 million and the club has a payroll in excess of $2 ities the members of the nillion. On ton of that are the countless hours of volunteer time the club puts in making sure the residents of its housing complexes have a good social life. Parking in rear shared? PAGE 36 7 Marine Drive;,North Vane March §1, 1990 - North Shore News Other act vities the North Van- couser Kinanis Club is involved with include sponsoring Vancouver Symphony Orchestra concerts at North Vancouver’s Waterfront Park, providing scholarships for all North Vancouser high schools and contributing to the North Vancouver Christmas Bureau. The North Vancouver club has also been instrumental in forming the North Shore Intermediate Care Society. The North Vancouver Kiwanis Club, which is the second oldest club of its kind in the Lower Mainland, has 38 members and president Norm Rutledge said this year the club’s main mandate will be to try and increase that membership. While the club’s membership varies from year to year, Rutledge admits it is ‘‘at a low point right now.”* He also admits the club has had problems in attracting younger members and said the amount of volunteer work required by Kiwanis members is one reason very few young people have decid- ed to join the service club. ‘The problem has been (with young people) that they just don't seem to have the time. It's very time consuming,”’ said Rutledge. Rutledge said the club is open to “tall men of good character,"’ but stresses the club is open only to men, although women do con- tribute behind the scenes. ouver nal