Kiwanis Club of Lindenhurst, N.Y., Inc.
Serving the Children of the World
Lindenhurst Kiwanian Vo l u m e
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I ssu e3
Fe br uar y
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Guest Speakers Welcomed •
Food Drive March 2
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St. Pat’s Dinner & Raffle March 14
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Lindenhurst Kiwanian takes First Prize
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Lindy Bulldog Ice Hockey
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LI Birthday Wishes Pack 645 Blue & Gold
Inside this issue: St. Pat’s Dinner & Raffle
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Scout Pack 645
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Kiwanis Kalendar
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Lindenhurst Kiwan- 3 ian 1st Prize LI Birthday Wishes
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Lindy Bulldogs Ice Hockey
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Member Profile: Kelly Drummond
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By: Ralph A. Somma
Lindenhurst Kiwanis is excited to announce the guest speaker program into its regular meeting agenda. Our lineup is varied and interesting. Our first guest, Circle K Lt. Gov Charles Hager, discussed the Thirst Project and Food Drive his division worked on to provide food and clean drinking water to those in need. At our last meeting, we welcomed Maureen Mantesta from Long Island Birthday Wishes which provides birthday parties to homeless children on Long Island. On
Feb. 28 Capt. James Vaz will discuss the great opportunities the U.S. Army/Kiwanis partnership offers high school-
ers. On Mar. 7, we welcome back 2013 Key Club scholarship winner Caroline RakusWojciechowski who will share her experience at Harvard College and beyond. On March 28, Ki-
wanis Pediatric Trauma Center President Joe Corace will fill us in on the work of the KPTC at the new children’s hospital at Stony Brook University Medical Center. Finally, on April 4, LoriAnn Novello of the Lindy Community Cares Coalition will share her organization’s efforts to combat substance abuse in our community. If you would like to join us at a meeting or are interested in sharing your experience helping youth in our community, please contact President Ralph Somma at 631.388.7891 or lindenhurstkiwanis@gmail.com.
Food Drive March 2 By: Paula Magdalena-Vidal
Did you know that over 316,000 Long Islanders are hungry and 90,000 of those are children! In an effort to combat hunger in our community, the Kiwanis Club of Lindenhurst will periodically host food drives to help stock food banks in
our area. Our first Food Drive will be on Saturday, March 2 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Stop and Shop Supermarket at 575 Montauk Highway in West Babylon to benefit the St. John’s Lutheran Church food pantry which has been in Lin-
denhurst since 1871. Your donations of nonperishable food items will be greatly appreciated to help those in need.
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St. Patrick’s Dinner & Raffle By: Paula Magdalena-Vidal
Happy wheelbarrow of cheer winners
On Thursday, March 14th the Kiwanis Club of Lindenhurst will hold its annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner and raffle at the American Legion Post 1120 at 80 Herbert Avenue in Lindenhurst. The fun begins at 7pm. The money raised by this event is used to fund our high school senior scholarships and to
send needy children to participating in the raffle Kamp Kiwanis for a can attend the festivities week of summer fun and for $35 per person. adventure. The Hirten Family Irish A $100 raffle ticket inDancers will perform tracludes two delicious ditional Irish step dancing corned beef and cabbage and chances to win a dinners, open bar and a wheelbarrow of cheer will chance to win be available. $5,000! Only 100 tickTo purchase tickets call ets will be sold and the 631-388-7891 or email winner need not be prelindenhurstkiwasent. nis@gmail.com. Those not interested in
Scout Pack 645 By: Melody Butler
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” Mahatma Gandhi
Cub Scout Pack #645 has kept quite busy this winter. The Pack held its annual Pinewood Derby on January 25 where Scouts raced handmade customized cars with the help of their parents and supporters. The Scouts have also been working on their advancements in preparation of their upcoming
Blue and Gold Awards Dinner where scouts’ achievements will be celebrated, and pack leaders and supporters who have been instrumental in the pack's success will be recognized. The Kiwanis Club of Lindenhurst has played a big part in supporting Pack #645 and all Kiwanis members are welcome to
attend. The Blue and Gold will be held on Saturday, March 2 at 4pm at the Baiting Hollow Scout Camp in Calverton. Tickets are $20 a person, children are $17 (under 2 are free). For tickets contact Melody Butler at 631-6974714 or Pack645bsa@gmail.com by February 23rd.
Kiwanis Kalendar Feb. 28 - Guest Speaker: Capt. James Vaz, US Army Mar. 2 - Food Drive for St. John’s Lutheran Food Pantry. Stop & Shop. West Babylon. Mar. 2 - Cub Scout Pack 645 Blue & Gold Award Ceremony. Baiting Hollow Scout Camp. Mar. 7 - Guest Speaker: Key Club scholarship winner Caroline Rakus-Wojciechowski Mar. 14 - St. Patrick’s Day Dinner & Raffle. American Legion. Lindenhurst. Mar. 20 - Cohalan Cares for Kids. Suffolk Co. Bar Assn. Hauppauge. Mar. 28 - Guest Speaker: Joe Corace, KPTC Foundation President Apr. 4 - Guest Speaker: Lori-Ann Novello, Lindy Community Cares Coalition Apr. 12 - Country Music Dance Party III. Fireman’s Park. Lindenhurst. Apr. 25 - Community Dinner. Moose Lodge. Lindenhurst.
Volume 2, Issue3
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Lindenhurst Kiwanian Takes First Place By: Ralph A. Somma
I am proud to announce that our newsletter – the Lindenhurst Kiwanian – won First Prize in the Emerald Division at the New York District Mid-Winter Conference in Albany last weekend. This labor of love is the product of several contributors not the least of whom is our PresidentElect Paula Magdalena-
Vidal. Paula is constantly put under the proverbial last-minute gun of producing and editing articles for publication and always comes through. Thankfully, Paula’s background in journalism prepared her for the pressure. Special thanks also to Vice President Jo-Ann Boettcher and Margaret, her assistant at Douglas
Elliman, who generously donate their time and effort to print our newsletter for distribution – also, at times, at the last minute … and on overtime. Thank you and please help us promote the good work of Kiwanis by sharing our newsletter.
Long Island Birthday Wishes By: Paula Magdalena-Vidal
Imagine a child’s birthday party with no guests and no place to hold a celebration? Every day on Long Island there are over 2,000 homeless children and families tackling serious problems which might take precedence over celebrating their child’s birth-
day. Maureen Mantesta, of Birthday Wishes Long Island, was the guest speaker at the Lindenhurst Kiwanis Feb. 7 meeting. This non-profit organization provides a “Birthday in a Box” which includes all the necessary goodies for a birthday party - wrapped gifts, party favors and cup-
cakes - and delivers them to family shelters and transitional housing sites across Long Island. In 2018, Birthday Wishes helped children celebrate 1,316 birthdays bringing them happiness and joy on their special day. Check out the website for ways you can help:www.longisland.birthdaywi shes.org.
Lindy Bulldogs Ice Hockey By: Ralph A. Somma
While attending a Lindenhurst community forum last year, I spied a gentleman wearing a Lindenhurst Bulldogs hockey jersey. I immediately introduced myself and learned the man sporting the green and yellow sweater – Bill McDonald – not only shared my passion for the sport but was also dedicated to teaching the youth of our community to learn the game.
Since then, Bill has coached the Bulldogs through two seasons and successfully petitioned the Lindenhurst School District to support a middle school team. Hockey is a great sport requiring dedication and hard work. The comradery and athleticism that kids develop playing this exciting team sport is unrivaled anywhere.
Lindenhurst Kiwanis is committed to helping Bill offer this wonderful opportunity to children in our community. For more information, contact Bill at 516-351-9638 or LindyHockey@outlook.com.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.
Kiwanis Club of Lindenhurst, N.Y., Inc. Serving the Children of the World PO Box 406 Lindenhurst, NY 11757 Phone: 631-388-7891 Fax: 631-587-1760 Email: lindenhurstkiwanis@gmail.com www.lindenhurstkiwanis.org
Since its original charter on April 5, 1950, the Kiwanis Club of Lindenhurst has proudly served the children of its community and the world through the dedication and sacrifice of its members and supporters. Thank you for helping us continue the mission of Kiwanis. For more information about Kiwanis or our club, please do not hesitate to contact us or be a guest at our next meeting. We’d love to have you! We meet at 6:30 PM on the 1st, 2nd and 4th Thursday at Goccia D’oro Restaurant 118 S. Wellwood Ave. Lindenhurst
Member Profile: Kelly Drummond By: Paula Magdalena-Vidal and Ralph A. Somma
This month’s member profile highlights our immediate past president and current treasurer, Kelly Drummond. Kelly is a lifelong resident of Lindenhurst and a 2009 graduate of Lindenhurst Senior High School. She attended Stony Brook University, graduating in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.
sponsible for coordinating community events among the eight Kiwanis clubs in the division.
While attending SBU, Kelly found her love for Kiwanis after joining Circle K International – the collegiate counterpart to Kiwanis International – where she Kelly’s involvement in the comserved as Secretary/Treasurer munity dates back to her childand President. hood when she attended events Since joining Lindenhurst Kiwa- at the Loyal Order of the Moose nis in 2014, Kelly has served as Lodge 1421 with her father, Bria board member and two conan and grandfather, Frank secutive terms as President. She Criscuolo. They instilled in her is also currently the Suffolk the value of “giving back to the West division secretary and re- community.”
Kelly is a member of the Women of the Moose Lodge 1421 and on the board of directors of the Lindenhurst Chamber of Commerce. Kelly is the manager of Starbucks in Lynbrook and spearheaded its grand opening in October. Her store has one of the highest customer service ratings in the area and reflects her commitment to service, organization and empathy. On March 31 Kelly will be honored with the Flutterflies 2019 Community Excellence Award for her outstanding work in community service. Flutterflies is a local organization dedicated to empowering, motivating and inspiring women. As a member of our executive board Kelly continues to support the mission of Kiwanis and we are proud and thankful to have her as a part of our organization. Congratulations, Kelly!