A local service group has set a lofty goal for supporting the children of Morgan County as it celebrates 100 years.
The Jacksonville Kiwanis Club has been preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. Current Club President Luke Worrell says the group wanted to celebrate by raising the bar in their support of children in the area.
“It’s hard to believe, but we as a club are turning 100. This is our 100th year and late this fall we will celebrate that official birthday. So we wanted to celebrate in kind of a big way, and the Kiwanis motto is to serve the children of the world. So everything that the club does goes back to kids in our area.
So we wanted to make sure that we could reach an ambitious goal of contributing something to one hundred organizations, scholarships, groups within Morgan County that serve the children.”
Worrell says with the 100 for 100 campaign, the Kiwanis Club aims to support 100 groups that serve children in Morgan County.
Worrell says the campaign is not meant to take away from the work the club does during the year to serve children in Morgan County.
The Club has discussed what to do for the 100th anniversary for approximately two years, and are thankful they are able to hold events again this year, after being forced to take last year off.
“The club does so much on a yearly basis, so we definitely don’t want this to overshadow what the club has done quite literally for ninety-nine years up to this point, and what they will do well into the future. We are excited about it. We are excited that the fog seems to be lifting from the pandemic and our schedule is full, we are doing events and we are back up and running and are thrilled about it.”
Worrell says a request form will soon be available on the Jacksonville Kiwanis Facebook page for groups interested in receiving support from the 100 for 100 campaign.
“Very soon, in fact probably today, our outreach form will be on our Facebook page. Also, I feel like everybody knows at least one Kiwanian, and so every member is going to have access to this. They are also more than welcome to reach out to me personally at 245-1618. Our hope is that within the next week, it’s going to be hard not to be able to reach out to us and request help.”
According to Worrell, the Jacksonville Kiwanis Club annually assists 30 to 40 area organizations that support children, so the goal of reaching 100 is ambitious.
He says due to the number of groups the club is trying to help, combined with not being able to hold fundraisers last year during the pandemic, the club will take a week by week look at the budget to make sure they can contribute the most possible support to all 100 groups.