Latest Headlines

Live Your Dream SCORE Can Help ( SCORE Ventura )

SVBL's 30-Year Celebration and Spring Registration ( Mike Joslin )

Documenting Immigrants to America 1882-1954 ( Jan Allen )

Fitness Boot Camp Graduates Young and Old ( Sarita & Randy Shoemaker )

share stories | more stories »

YourHub.com \\ Simi Valley \\ Stories \\ Posting is no longer available. \\ Stories

We've Only Just Begun...To Give

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Margie Ramey on 12/23/2007

The first full year of Simi Valley's SimiSu Aktion Club is ending, and from their Charter Night party to their final event of the year, they are so very proud of all they have achieved in 2007. New organizations usually take time to become established; not getting much accomplished their first year or two, but not so with the Aktion Club. With top-notch leadership from Simi Valley Kiwanis Club member Roberta Leap, support from Simi Valley and Santa Susana Kiwanis clubs, Aktion Club parents and ARC advisors, our 35 charter members started out cautiously, but quickly picked up steam along the way.

These individuals who live with disabilities, often have many talents but little opportunity to develop or apply them. With guidance from Kiwanis, the Aktion Club performs a variety of services for the community by conducting fund-raisers and performing a variety of community services. From day one, the Kiwanis sponsored club far exceeded expectations and looked for ways to participate in the community long before they received their official charter.

December 2006 found the group at the Simi Valley Town Center caroling for shoppers who were rushing around picking up last minute holiday gift items. With hearts and flowers in the air come February, Aktion Club members wanting to show some love of their own, signed Valentine cards later delivered to Veterans' Hospital to boost patient's spirits.

In March, it was finally time to celebrate their official charter with a Hollywood style party held at the Elks Club. Complete with red carpet, dinner and music, members were presentated with Aktion Club pins and the club's first official Executive board was introduced. Present at the party were friends and family, Kiwanis Club, Elks Club and City Council members. Now official, they jumped in with both feet and experienced their busiest month yet.

April 1st, Aktion Club helped their Kiwanis mentors at the MS Walk by passing out bottles of water and protein bars to participants walking to earn donations. A few days later, they loaded up on gloves, shovels and plastic bags, and joined 120 other adults and teens to clean up Tierra Rejada Park. Together, they literally picked up tons of trash, but they were not through yet. Up at the crack of dawn Easter Sunday, several members helped serve breakfast at the Senior Citizen's Center, and two very lucky members dressed up as the Easter Bunny and a giant orange carrot and posed for pictures and photo cards with their new senior friends. Somehow, they still managed to squeeze in a See's Easter Candy fundraising event that earned them close to $1,000.

When May rolled around, they paired up with their Kiwanis Club sponsors and sold plants in decorative pots to local community patrons for Mother's Day. The proceeds from this event earned them $130.

The hot, sticky days of July found the group armed with hoses, rags, buckets and an abundance of soapsuds, and by the end of the day, they washed 120 cars and raised over $600. This event was so much fun that they plan to make it an annual affair.

The Aktion Club took a little time off during the summer, but before they knew it, Simi Valley Days were upon them and members joined with the Kiwanis Club, helping to direct parking and sell beverages at the event's Musical Festival. The following week was the annual Kiwanis Lobster Fest, one of Simi Valley's most well known events, and Aktion Club earned $200 for their help in running the drink booth.

The cool weather of fall was upon them in October, and several members volunteered to buy, cook and serve dinner for the homeless at Samaritan Center. The center was appreciative and the members so moved by the experience, that Aktion Club is now planning to do this once a month after the first of the year. October also brought the one event they were not entirely sure they could pull off, 'The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life'. Nevertheless, they did it and it turned out to be a life changing experience. Twenty-five members and advisors of the club took turns walking around the track at Royal High School, earning over $1,100 in donations for the American Cancer Society, and they promise to be back again next year.

With all of their hard work, and that of the Simi Valley Builder's Clubs and Key Clubs, all which are Kiwanis sponsored Clubs; Kiwanis threw a fantastic family picnic to show their appreciation in October. Over 200 people ate, danced and played games at Lemon Park in Simi Valley. Although Kiwanis sponsored the event for their groups, everyone agreed, this would be a perfect time to help their community yet again, so they charged admission, a canned or other non-perishable food item, and all items were donated to the Care and Share Food Bank.

December has turned into yet another busy month. Their See's Christmas Candy fundraiser netted them close to $1,400. Two Saturdays in December, several of the members accompanied the Kiwanis Club to Pasadena to help decorate Rose Parade floats with hundreds of others from around Southern California. Surely an experience to remember, members were also treated to an up close and personal look at the inside of a float where they could see the inner workings of what actually makes them run.

Although Aktion Club finds community service extremely rewarding, what exactly, did they do with all the money they raised in 2007? They helped many in their own community and across the country. Cash donations were made to 'For the Troops', 'Greensburg, KS Disaster Fund', 'Simi Valley Free Clinic', 'Care and Share Food Bank' and two special education classes at Garden Grove Elementary and Royal High School, and most recently, to 'Head's Up Therapy on Horseback' in Santa Clarita. The ranch, which provides therapeutic riding for disabled children, burned down during the October fires and our members were especially moved by the loss of this program's facility. And just when you thought, 'what else could they possibly do?' they donated baskets of food, gift certificates and presents to needy families in Simi Valley both at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So what's left for 2008? Plenty...they're going to do it all again, and more!

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Margie Ramey

Simi Valley , CA

Margie Ramey has posted 8 stories and 0 comments since joining on 3/18/2007. Margie Ramey 's average story rating is 4.4.

view profile » view other postings from Margie Ramey »

Loading Ad

Story

Margie Ramey