Kiwanis Club and friends do good for One Day

by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Most people spent early Saturday morning sleeping in, exercising or having breakfast while watching the news.

But in the 900 block of W. Glenville Drive, 20 Claremont Kiwanis Club members, along with students from Claremont High School’s Key Club, spent their weekend morning doing good as part of the Kiwanis Club’s One Day program.

“We do a national Kiwanis program every year called One Day. And the idea is to help the community by doing a service project for them,” Jerry Feingold, Claremont Kiwanis Club’s project manager and member at-large, said. “Our whole objective is to help the people in the city and to help the city itself.”

At 8:30 a.m., the group came out to water seal the block’s fence which runs along the Thompson Creek Trail, and which had sustained damage during January’s windstorm. Feingold said he spoke with Claremont City Manager Adam Pirrie about three weeks ago to get the project underway.

“When I talked to the city manager, he felt that these rails needed to be waterproofed to protect them from having to be replaced because it’s costly,” Feingold said. “But that’s basically what we’re doing. We volunteer, following the city’s recommendations on what they need done, to see whether we can accomplish something and help refresh everybody.”

Water sealing the fence, also known as “taking care of maintenance on city property,” as Feingold puts it, is not only good for the residents who live nearby, but also for those who frequent the trail. The seal will prevent the wood from water damage, and, according to Feingold, doing so now will save the city a few bucks down the line.

It took the group about 90 minutes to complete the two-block stretch of waist-high fence with Thompson’s WaterSeal.

“It means a lot. We can contribute to maintaining the city property and making things look prettier and nicer for everybody,” Feingold said.

Even with COVID-19 to worry about, the group has continued to fulfill One Day service projects. Over the last few years, the Kiwanis Club has worked to improve the surroundings of the Thompson Creek Trail. Last year, Feingold said the club made signs identifying plants along the trail.

Other One Day service projects the Kiwanis Club of Claremont has carried out include building a planter box at CHS, painting houses, performing yard maintenance for seniors and fulfilling good deeds alongside the Rotary Club and Habitat for Humanity.

“You know, whatever needs to be done [around town],” Feingold said. “We do a program called Read Me where we buy [books] for the preschool kids and give them a copy … we’ve done that for almost 10 years.”

“We do scholarships for the high school skids. We provide the backpacks for Shoes that Fit,” he continued as he applied one final layer of seal to the fence. “We do a lot of different service projects around the community; this one is a little more visible.”

A hot topic on Saturday morning was the pancake breakfast the club often hosts along with city events. Speaking of which, residents will see the club at this year’s Spring Celebration on Saturday, April 16 at Memorial Park … you guessed it, serving up pancakes for all to enjoy. After the Spring Celebration, the club will turn their efforts towards Fourth of July festivities and fundraising, and then Monday night concerts in the park.

To learn more about the Claremont Kiwanis Club, its upcoming events, or how to become a member, visit claremontkiwanis.org.

 

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