Kiwanis of Eastpointe turns 100 years old

EASTPOINTE — Fourteen years ago when Sue Todd was a youth services librarian at the Eastpointe Memorial Library, she went to a Kiwanis of Eastpointe meeting to inquire about a donation for library programs.

She was so impressed with the group and what it was doing for the community that she became a member.

Kiwanis of Eastpointe is part of Kiwanis International, a worldwide organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child at a time and one community at a time.

The Eastpointe chapter formed May 16, 1925, and will celebrate its 100-year anniversary next month. The Kiwanis will hold a centennial celebration from 6 to 7:30 p.m. May 14 at the Eastpointe Memorial Library, 15875 Oak Ave.

The public is welcome to attend the celebration. There will be light refreshments, and everyone will receive a free raffle ticket to try to win gift cards and a hoverboard. People who bring nonperishable food to be delivered to local food banks will get an additional raffle ticket.

“Hopefully, the community will come and join us in our celebration,” said Todd, who recently retired as Eastpointe Memorial Library director.

Along with celebrating the milestone, the group also hopes to attract new members. Kiwanis of Eastpointe at one time had as many as 51 members, but currently there are just nine. Kiwanis meets at noon every Thursday at Cloverleaf Bar & Restaurant, 24443 Gratiot Ave., and new members are always welcome.

“Anyone can come and join us and we’ll let them know about all the things we could accomplish if we had more members,” said Todd, Kiwanis of Eastpointe president.

And even though the charity meets weekly, members don’t have to come each week.

Through their volunteerism, fundraising and donations, Kiwanis of Eastpointe members have made countless contributions to the community in the last 100 years. They’ve prepared meals at churches, assembled Thanksgiving food baskets, donated food to pantries, provided educational scholarships, made snack bags for a Detroit school, donated blankets, assisted Gianna House Pregnancy & Parenting Residence, and purchased bicycles for children.

They’ve been Salvation Army bell ringers, helped foster children, adopted families at Christmastime, and just recently purchased new beds for an underprivileged family that lost their beds to bedbugs.

“I think the satisfaction you get is when you see the good you do,” Len Gray said.

A primary fundraiser for the group has been the ongoing nut sale. Money raised goes right back into the charity. Because the group is so small, the nut sale doesn’t garner as much funding as in prior years.

“When we had 40 members, we sold 450 cases,” Gray said. “Now we’re down to 60 cases.”

The jars of nuts are available for purchase at FreeStar Financial Credit Union, DeRonne Hardware and Rental, and the Eastpointe-Roseville Chamber of Commerce office.

“Everyone works toward the same goal,” Todd said. “There’s camaraderie. Together you can do so much, and we all do so much.”

Norman Hahn, who owned the now-closed Hahn Paint Co. in Eastpointe, became a Kiwanis member in 1960 after attending a meeting at the insistence of another local business owner.

“He said, ‘You know, I think you ought to get involved in the city.’ I went to a meeting, and I liked it,” recalled Hahn, who is the treasurer. “It’s just a nice group. We’ve done a lot of good things.”

Elly Garzel joined Kiwanis 10 years ago. Mary Furi has been a Kiwanis member for 31 years, the last 15 with Eastpointe. Furi became involved with Kiwanis when she was a bank manager.

“As soon as I went to my first meeting, I liked it right away,” said Furi, who is the group secretary. “Everyone is so nice. It’s like you belong. I get that same impression at any Kiwanis event.”

For more information on Kiwanis of Eastpointe, check out the group’s Facebook page.