Kiwanis Charters a New Club in Cape Girardeau Coun

The Kiwanis Clubs of Cape Girardeau and Jackson in partnership with the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence (SADI) will be celebrating the chartering of a new service club called the Aktion Club of Cape Girardeau County. The mission of an Aktion Club is: to provide an opportunity for disabled adults to develop initiative and leadership skills, to serve the community, to be integrated in society, and to demonstrate the dignity and value of citizens with disabilities.

The official chartering event will take place at the Creative Edge Event Center, 160 N Enterprise Lane, in Jackson on Thursday, June 14 at 6:30 pm. Following a catered dinner, members of the sponsoring clubs, as well as guests from The Aktion Club of Jefferson County, the Mayor of Jackson and Kiwanis leaders from across the region will be on hand to recognize the members and advisors of this new club and present the Club's official chartering documents.

AKTION CLUB inspires adults living with disabilities to take on a leadership role- to play a part and really make a difference. More than anything, people living with disabilities want to be treated like everyone else. They want to have close friendships and feel connected to their community. They want to get out and give back. Members of the Aktion Club of Cape Girardeau County meet twice a month at the SADI office complex, 1913 Rusmar in Cape Girardeau. The group meets to make friends, socialize, learn and practice leadership skills, assess the needs of the community, and plan service projects. The group began meeting in August 2011. During the past nine months, social activities have included mixers and games at meetings, a "family fun" night, as well as shopping trips and ice cream socials offsite. Service projects have included providing military care packages to servicemen and women and a meal to foster children at Christmas. The group also created special valentines and cupcakes for foster children and spent a morning at the Heartland Care & Rehabilitation Center visiting and playing card and board games with residents. During the summer, the group plans to provide help and mentoring with a Girl Scout project at SADI. Fund raising projects have included participation in projects/events sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Jackson and SADI as well as plans for carrying out their own projects, such as hosting a benefit at the Gordonville Grill on July 17 and a Kiwanis Peanut Day in the fall.

Please visit the Kiwanis Aktion Club website at: www.aktionclub.org for more info about Aktion Clubs. For more information about the Aktion Club of Cape Girardeau County, contact Susan Jespersen (Kiwanis Advisor) at 573-683-0515 or Stephanie Williams (SADI Advisor) at 573-651-6464 ext. 235

About Kiwanis

The Kiwanis Club of Jackson and the Aktion Club of Cape Girardeau are two of the 15,000 Kiwanis clubs for adults and youth with nearly 600,000 members of all ages in 80 nations. Last year, Kiwanis clubs raised more than $100 million to sponsor nearly 150,000 community service projects. Kiwanis members also donated more than 6 million volunteer hours to these service activities.

For more information about the Kiwanis Club of Jackson visit www.jacksonmokiwanis.org or contact Susan Jespersen at 573-683-0515. To learn more about Kiwanis go to www.kiwanis.org.