History

In 2004 the Kiwanis Club of The Kingsway and the Kiwanis Club of Humber Valley merged. The charter for The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber was granted on October 1, 2004.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE KIWANIS CLUBS OF KINGSWAY AND HUMBER VALLEY

The Kiwanis Club of The Kingsway

1947-2003

The Kiwanis Club of The Kingsway was founded in 1947.    In early Spring 1947 it was decided that the Club be named Kiwanis Club of the Kingsway and the meeting place would be the Old Mill.  The first meeting was in the Garret Room of the Old Mill in May 1947 and attended by around twenty men.   First Charter Night was at the Royal York Hotel on Thursday, September 4th, 1947.        During their first year, the Club took a very active part in the Kiwanis Music Festival which has continued to this time; supported the Toronto Star Christmas Santa Claus Fund by distributing 150 parcels; financed dental work for two families.   Next year an emergency fund was established with over $3,500 to a needy family in the community who lost their home and two of their seven children in a disastrous fire.  Thirty-three mothers and children were sent to Bolton Camp for summer holidays with their expenses paid by the Club.    24 members and 28 cars transported 250 children to and from the Odeon Humber theatre for a special performance put on by the Hat and Rabbit Club.

The following are a very few of the wonderful earlier contributions that the Club made to the community – projects such as dentist visits, new glasses, winter clothing and transportation for underprivileged children to cinemas;  10,000 Holland tulip bulbs to the Queensway General Hospital.   “As we were the only organization in Etobicoke with a population of a hundred thousand that has done any benevolent dentistry, we had a large field, but a small budget, however with an expenditure of $300 we did over $1,000 worth of dentistry by inducing dentists of the district to do a little charity work”.    Ongoing contributions of cash, food, clothing and often accommodation to families in need sometimes brought to the Club’s attention by other area clubs.    Support for the Senior Citizens Christmas Party; aid to the Canadian Cancer Society to establish a branch of the Society in the Township of Etobicoke;  the ownership of 110 acres bearing 39,000 Christmas trees with members keeping up the maintenance to save money for projects.   Over the years scholarships and education loans were added.     Maple syrup was sold by members and their wives “Kiwaniettes”. Kiwaniettes visited children’s homes, shut-ins and hospitals to hand out hampers, toys and books.

Many of the projects such as the Diabetes Foundation (Camp Huronda); H4 Clubs, Etobicoke Collegiate and the Kiwanis Music Festival have been beneficiaries for scores of years.

Over the generations dedicated Kiwanians gave, and many continue to give, lifetime commitment to the Kiwanis Club of Kingsway and now to The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber.

 

The Kiwanis Club of Humber Valley

(1957-2003)

The Kiwanis Club of Humber Valley was founded in November, 1957.   Murray Dryden, then President of the Kingsway Club, and his fellow members sponsored Humber Valley.    Many members were also members of Humber Valley United Church so it was appropriate that the name of Humber Valley be selected.

Only a short time elapsed before this new Club became involved in community service which continues today to be the driving force for The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber’s activities.

The fifty charter members began by first raising funds through the sale of peanuts and Christmas cakes to finance the Club’s early endeavours.

Two park benches were donated to the Etobicoke Parks Department; support was given to an ice carnival for the children of the community; a baseball team was sponsored and coached for young boys; award for Teacher-Of-The Year.  The first major project was the restoration of the then Gordon Dairy Building to be converted to a Senior Citizen Centre for the community.    The Club assumed financial responsibility for the complete renovation and underwrote the cost of heat, light, taxes, water and insurance until the centre could operate independently.   Since its beginning, The Kiwanis Club of Humber Valley and now the Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber has taken a keen interest in the Kiwanis Music Festival, and as early as 1958 had a representative on the Festival’s Executive Board.    Every year The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber donated a minimum of $12,500 to the Kiwanis Music Festival.

In 1959-1960 the members’ wives of Humber Valley organized a companion group with its own objectives, mainly at the time to provide leisure activities.  The ladies called themselves “Sinawiks” a word that spells Kiwanis backward.  This wonderful group of ladies meets regularly today around social activities but also with a strong desire to raise their own funds for community projects.   The Sinawiks have always steadfastly supported the members of Humber Valley (and now The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber) with years of dedicated community service. Hosting events and parties, selling baked goods, nuts, maple syrup, helping with garage sales, volunteering long hours at the Kiwanis Music Festival, Blood Bank, serving school breakfasts and reading to children and so much more.

The Kiwanis Club of Humber Valley provided decades of community service and fellowship always highlighted by important contributions to many projects large and small.      To name a few:  a pre-Christmas party for needy families; playground equipment, support for the Humber Valley baseball league, garage sales, organized dinner and games night, dental program, purchase of hearing aids, collection of used eye glasses, seniors’ rides,  Polar Golf.

KEY CLUB

The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber sponsored the Father Redmond High School in 2008.     Club member Arthur Scauzillo, Service Leadership Chair, continues to donate a great amount of his time, energy and leadership in overseeing this award winning club.

KEY CLUB is the oldest and largest service program for high school students.   What makes Key Club so successful is the fact that it is a student-led organization that teaches leadership through service to others.  Members of the Kiwanis International family, Key Club members build themselves as they build their schools and communities.

The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber donates to the Eastern Canada District Convention of Key Club each year.

Our club is very proud of the 2009/2010 exemplary efforts of Father John Redmond’s Key Club for completing 13 projects and donating 1,302 volunteer hours.

Over the years Father Redmond’s Key Club has won numerous awards for their outstanding efforts.   They now operate and maintain The Father Redmond’s Kiwanis Key Club Breakfast Program providing a nourishing breakfast for 75 students 4 days a week.

THE KIWANIS CLUB OF KINGSWAY HUMBER WELFARE/COMMUNITY FUND

The 2011 Kiwanis Music Festival was held in February/March at various locations around the GTA.     Twelve Kiwanis Clubs sponsored the successful Festival along with business sponsors from the community.

The Mission of the Kiwanis Music Festival Association of Greater Toronto is to operate competitive music and performing arts festivals.  Working closely with educators and parents, the Festival encourages young people to know and love the arts and fosters the values of self-discipline, teamwork and excellence.  In addition the Festival Association supports the further development of the performing arts in Canada of talented young people through the provision of scholarships and performance opportunities.

The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber contributed $12,500.  60 members of the Club participated in the “Halls and Stages” activity, which involves greeting the performers (both individuals and school groups) and directing them to their reserved performance space in the respective schools and churches.  There was also a major commitment to delivering and collecting all supply boxes for adjudicators and secretaries for each performance site one day prior.   Coordinating with the schools and acting as MCs.    Also delivering and setting up chairs, music stands and signs and the collection and deposit of all revenues.    Club members’ attended regular organizational meetings at Festival’s central office.    Coordination of 60 assignments, distribution of music schedules, general location information,   parking, reporting charts and transport arrangements.

The Eastern Canada District Convention of Key Club,

This year Key Club members from around Eastern Canada were sponsored to travel to Montreal to attend events and opportunities.    This important convention encourages Key Club members to display their public spirit and learn the importance of cooperation and team work to gain objectives.

  • The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber contributed $4,000 and many club members gave hours of their time to help arrange this convention, act as administrators and guides to ensure that each participant gained the most from attending convention meetings and elections, and to escort them to tourist sites.
  • In 2008/2009 The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber also sponsored new Kiwanis Key Club Father Redmond High School.

The Central Ontario Leadership Seminar offers a program to help develop Canada’s leaders of the future.  Through contributions of sponsors and fundraising activities, the COLS offers this program to student ambassadors free of charge.  In this way we, as sponsors, guarantee that all young people, regardless of their social or economic background, are eligible to participate.   The program includes motivational speakers, teambuilding activities, professional panels and lots of positive mental attitude.   The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber contributed $1,000 to this seminar every year

4-H Clubs

To advance the 4-H youth development movement to build a world in which youth and adults learn, grow and work together as catalysts for positive change.   Each year The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber hosts award winners and their families to a luncheon at The Old Mill.     We sponsor the Syd Collier Award in honour of club member Syd Collier.

Etobicoke Children’s Centre

ECC is a Children’s Mental Health Centre serving children from birth to age 12 and their families who live in the communities of Etobicoke and York. The centre helps families and children who are experiencing:

  • emotional or behavioural problems
  • difficulties with family and peer relationships
  • trauma from abuse, family violence, loss
  • family problems
  • parenting challenges
  • difficulties at school/day care
  • delays in communication, motor learning skills
  • autism

Dorothy Ley Hospice

Opened in 1990 the hospice has served 4,000 clients and their families.   The Dorothy Ley Hospice is an essential provider that bridges health care services providing quality end of life care.  The only dedicated hospice in Etobicoke and the largest volunteer-based hospice in Toronto.   The goal of the hospice is to help clients live in comfort with their pain managed, and with dignity, meaning and hope.   The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber donated the funding for furniture and equipment in the new family/media room.

Family Association for Mental Health Everywhere (FAME)

FAME was founded in 1989 by a group of families in Etobicoke.  Since then FAME receives core funding from the Ministry of Health, and financial support by community agencies, groups and clubs and many other individual donations.

The FAME head office is currently located in Etobicoke.

FAME’s mandate is to provide advocacy, education, referrals and supportive counselling to families that have a mentally ill relative suffering from any diagnosis.

FAME works hard to ensure that families have a strong voice within their communities. They also are based on a self-help model which respects and supports the expertise that families have regarding their mentally ill relative and their experiences in the system.

Lakeshore Area Multi-Service Project (LAMP)

LAMP has been serving the South Etobicoke/Lakeshore community since 1973.

LAMP’s Community Health Centre strives to improve quality of life by supporting people to reach their full potential.  LAMP does this by making a partnership with our community to address new and emerging community needs, and by supporting a wide-range of health care services, community programs, and advocacy initiatives that promote the physical, emotional, social, and economic well-being of our community.

LAMP’s breakfast programs currently need $50,000 each year in addition to government and foundation support.

LAMP’s adult literacy program has helped 50 Lakeshore residents this year with basic reading, writing and math skills.

LAMP’s youth programs provide safe and supportive social, recreational, educational and cultural programming to hundreds of local youth each year.

Also ASK provides community information, an emergency food bank, income tax and legal clinics and immigrant and refugee services.

Trillium Health Centre

Trillium Health Centre is a two-site facility serving over one million residents in Mississauga, west Toronto and the surrounding regions.

Trillium is a regional centre for stroke, neurosurgery, cardiac services and sexual assault and domestic violence.  It also houses a model ambulatory care centre, the largest day surgery facility in North America and one of the busiest Emergency Departments in Canada.    The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber donated $100,000 to Trillium Health Centre Foundation in June 2004.

Youth Without Shelter (YWS)

YWS is an emergency residence and referral agency serving homeless youth aged 16 to 24.  Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, YMS believes in second chances, building confidence and teaching life skills to empower youth to break the cycle of homelessness.  It provides the basic necessities of life but it also steps well beyond the basics, to offer support and training programs and a unique educational opportunity for youth who want to finish school.  YWS’s vision is to end youth homelessness, one person at a time, one step at a time.  In 2011 our club donated $3,000 to YWS with a portion going to the “Stay in School” program.   Club members painted the room of “David” a member of the Stay in School program.

UNICEF

In 2010 The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber presented UNICEF a total of $7,000 to assist their efforts in Africa and Haiti.   In 2010 Kiwanis and UNICEF will join together to globally fight Maternal Neonatal Tetanus (MNT).

GlobalMedic

GlobalMedic is a local (Etobicoke) disaster relief organization that has the ongoing capability to respond with emergency supplies, within a few days – avoiding government red tape – and can provide items such as electrolyte replacements, water purification units, inflatable surgical tents, generators, pumps, medical staff and qualified volunteers (nurses, doctors, firemen, engineers) who bring lifesaving skills.

In January 2010 The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber presented a cheque for $3,000 to Haiti Relief GlobalMedic to buy a briefcase-sized water purification unit capable of providing 2,000 Haitians a day with clean water.

In 2009 we provided GlobalMedic with $2,000 to assist their efforts in Africa.

West Park Healthcare Centre

In 2010 The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber presented a cheque for $5,000 to West Park to purchase medical equipment.   This donation was to honour club member Syd Collier, faithful Kiwanian for 45 years and dedicated supporter of West Park.   West Park is located on 27 acres with a total of 487 beds (200 long term care).  They are Ontario’s only dedicated in-patient Tuberculosis treatment unit.  They provide an amputee Rehabilitation Program which includes an out-patient unit to assist with emotional needs, also an on site manufacturing prostheses unit. They are actively fundraising for an Electronic Patient Record Program which will help clinical staff red-flag medication allergies, reduce potential medication errors and promote the reliable transfer of diagnostic information between healthcare facilities.

YOUNG CHILDREN

PRIORITY ONE BANNER

One of the Club’s projects was Books for Kids program. The intent of the program was to assist elementary schools to enhance their library collections and thereby draw more children into reading and “a love of books”.

The recipient school was Parkfield Junior School on Redgrove Drive – a school which welcomed assistance in expanding the library collection.  The donation from the Kiwanis Club of Kingsway and Humber was $2,000 and both the Librarian and the Principal were very grateful for our donation, and our perceptiveness in meeting this need for this school.    Our funds added more than 150 books to the school’s collection.  Each donated book held a bookplate naming our Club as the donor.

The event to celebrate the additional books took place in the school library.  In addition to the students selected to participate directly in the presentation there were staff members, community members from the Parents Council and the school’s Area Superintendent, along with Members of our Club.

Bill Stuart was the Club spokesperson at the event.

$100,000 MAJOR FUND RAISER

To celebrate the first year as an incorporated club The Kiwanis Club of Kingsway Humber raised money and personally donated generously the sum of $100,000 to the Trillium Health Centre in June 2004.     This major fundraiser by the dedicated members of the club was brought to fruition by the handing over of the symbolic cheque by Dan Gallo, Harold Shipp and 2004 President Barnaby Ross.

Trillium Health Centre is a two-site facility serving over one million residents in Mississauga, West Toronto and the surrounding regions.

Trillium is a regional centre for stroke, neurosurgery, cardiac services and sexual assault and domestic violence.  It also houses a model ambulatory care centre, the largest day surgery facility in North America and one of the busiest Emergency Departments in Canada.