Many years ago, Kiwanis Internation undertook a Worldwide Service Project – eliminating Iodine Deficicency Disorder (IDD)

At the 2010 Kiwanis International Convention last week, Kiwanis International announced its new Worldwide Service Project, the ELIMINATE Project.  This project joins together the forces of Kiwanis International and UNICEF in the task of eliminating Maternal/Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) from the face of the earth by 2015.  While not widely known in developed nations, MNT is a disease that kills an estimated 60,000 newborns and 30,000 mothers each year.

Lafayette Parish Assessor Conrad Comeaux gave a terrific presentation on the recent annexation issues that have been so much in the news.  Using existing parish maps along with craft paints and foam brushes that he probably purchased at Michael’s Arts and Crafts or Hobby Lobby, he literally painted a picture of all the recent annexation activity going on between the cities of Lafayette, Broussard and Youngsville.  Also discussed was the future of the city of Lafayette vis-a-vis its dwindling share of voters compared to the unincorporated areas of the Parish.  Thanks to Mr. Comeaux for such a great presentation.

The Kiwanis Club of Lafayette held its annual “Kiwanis Invitational” luncheon today – an event designed to introduce prospective members to the club and its activities and purpose.  The guest speaker was Lafayette Mayor-President Joey Durel, who as always, was a great speaker.  Topics included annexation, consolidation and recreation – the latter specifically referring to Parc Independence – the public/private partnership between the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette and Lafayette Consolidated Government to build the first playground in Lafayette specifically designed for children with physical and mental handicaps.  Many propspective members were in attendance, and special thanks goes to Jason habbit and Michelle Ghent for everything that they did to put forward such a great luncheon presentation.

April 21, 2010 – A groundbreaking ceremony was held today in Girard Park for the construction of Parc Independence – Lafayette’s first playground specifically designed for children with physical and mental disabilities.  A joint venture between Lafayette Consolidated Government’s Parc and Recreation Department and the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette, the playground is expected to open this summer.

Designed by Lafayette architect Albert Moliere, Parc Independence is designed specifically to accommodate children that have physical and mental disabilities by eliminating separations, thereby allowing all children to play together.  Some features of the playground include extra-wide entrances and ramps to provide access for wheelchairs and other personal equipment, specially-designed swing sets to accommodate wheelchairs, limited entrance and exit points to assist parents and guardians in watching over their children, and many more features typically not considered in park design.  Because even the smallest design elements can create the largest obstacles for many children with disabilities, careful attention has been paid towards making the Park ADA-compliant.  The intent is to eliminate barriers and create a place where all children can play together – regardless of abilities.

Miracle Recreation Company representative Tracey Kincade of Kincade Recreation has been working closely with the Kiwanis Club on designing an optimum playground layout with specially designed playground equipment for children with disabilities.

Kemper Bowen, with the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette says, “This playground is a great project towards servicing the needs of all the children of Lafayette – providing a safe, interactive and adaptable playground for children of all capabilities.”

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world – one child and one community at a time.

Kiwanis members serve their communities all year long. But the excitement for service really builds in early April each year when Kiwanis members all across the globe head out for a global day of service – Kiwanis One Day.

Kiwanis clubs around the world go out on this day and serve their communities on projects big and small.  We rebuilt a fence and performed general maintenance and upkeep for a local childrens home.

The Kiwanis Club of Lafayette wishes to welcome our newest members – Trevor Braun,  Reardon Stanford, Brian Kerstetter, Scott Sutton, Jules Maraist, Tom Clark, Damian Calato, Ken Hanes, Mike Williams, Brian Delahoussaye, Charlie Scram, and Ben Blackburn.

We recently held our latest member orientation – pictured below are Chavanne Stine, Ken Hanes, Trevor Braun, Membership Chairman Jason Habbit, Jules Maraist & Keith Land.

March 13, 2010 – the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette and the Kiwanis Club of Acadiana held the 2010 Kiwanis Areawide Spelling Bee at the Immaculata Center in Lafayette.  33 schools registered their school spelling champions – a total of 60 students.  The event was well-attended & 3 champions were crowned:

3-4 grade: Grace Marty (Plantation Elementary School)

5-6 grade: Emma Young (Edgar Martin Middle School)

7-8 grade: Bianca James (Edgar Martin Middle School)

Miss Bianca James will continue to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC.

February 9, 2010 – Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was our guest speaker at today’s weekly meeting.  He outlined his “Louisiana Way Forward” for facing anticipated budget shortfalls, and described the differences between his plan and the “Washington Way” – referring to President Obama’s multitrillion spending plan that would boost the national deficit to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion.  Jindal vowed instead to cut government spending by streamlining programs and eliminating unneeded jobs.  Jindal stressed primary, preventative care in favor of costly emergency room visits to help reduce costs.  He also proposed more public-private partnerships, such as a recent $14 million investment to expand Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge to better serve Medicaid and uninsured patients currently served at the state-run Earl K. Long Hospital.

Every week, certain Kiwanis members receive a tongue-in-cheek award from President Carey Chopin – this week’s award went to Governor Jindal for for his efforts to keep the New Orleans Saints in Louisiana.  WHODAT!!

Jindal said the team’s Super Bowl win was a significant step in the state’s efforts to rebuild after hurricanes Rita and Katrina.  “I think it shows the world that Louisiana is coming back better than we were before,” he said.

For more information about upcoming speakers, see our schedule.

January 26, 2010 – The Lafayette Kiwanis Club was pleased to welcome Colonel Frank Burns as its guest speaker.  Col. Burns discussed many aspects of life at Fort Polk, and answered many questions about life in the military, the current state of deployments to Iran and Afghanistan and more.   A wonderful speaker, Col. Burns jokingly referred to the hard times when he was a Major, PLUS his wife’s middle name is Margaret.  (That is a reference to the TV show M*A*S*H, for those of us old enough to remember Frank Burns & Margaret Hoolihan…)

We are grateful to Col. Burns and all of the military for their service.

Every year, the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette gets a list from the Louisiana Office of Children’s Services of foster children in our area. We buy bicycles for them and deliver the bikes just before Christmas. This year, we delivered 17 bikes to children in Lafayette, Duson, Breaux Bridge, Broussard, Eunice, Port Barre & New Iberia.  Click here to see more photos.