Aktion Club

Numerous individuals in Southeast Missouri volunteer for worthy causes, giving invaluable support locally and throughout the world. Now a local Aktion Club is providing an avenue for those with developmental disabilities to help others.

Aktion Clubs are a service organization through Kiwanis International. Last year the local chapter started thanks to the Cape Girardeau and Jackson Kiwanis clubs and the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence.

While volunteers assist the organization, it's the members who run the biweekly meetings. The club's efforts include having helped provide baked goods for a Jackson foster home and care packages for troops overseas. Other projects are also in the works.

Tyler Smith, a club member, said giving back to the community makes him "feel happy and proud." But his mother, Cheryl, said her son has also benefited from the club. "It gives him confidence in himself that he's able to do this," she said.

The local Aktion Club is another example of how this community reaches out to help others. The members, parents and organizers should be commended for their efforts.

To learn more about the Aktion Club, call SADI in Cape Girardeau at 651-6464.