District Foundation

The 2019 Kamping season is now history and it's a great history.
In between the first 2 weeks of adult Kampers and the last 2 weeks of Lifestyle for the Disabled, we had 6 weeks of children Kamperships. During those 6 weeks, we served 650 children of which approximately 150 were children of active military personnel. Thanks to Governor Hank those military children were his guests as he made that program his Governor's Project. You all know that, but you may not know that Governor Hank not only raised enough money for the 150 Military Kampers, he raised enough money for approximately the same for next year.
Gov.-Elect Joe has committed to continuing this project and if the future Governors all continue it, this can go on forever. What's better than that, honoring those who put their lives on the line for your freedom and your way of life. I would like to thank Gov. Hank for his commitment to the military and to your Kamp Kiwanis helping changing the lives of children for the better.
Another great event was the closing weekend at Kamp Kiwanis. This is the weekend when we get the Kamp ready for winter. We do a lot of clean up, we shut down the water system and do some upgrades to the Kamp.
For the last 4 years, we have had Circle K'ers join us for their Service Leadership Program on the same weekend so that they can help us close the Kamp as well as fulfilling their service commitment. These Circle K'ers have been a Godsend to your Kamp. They are some of the hardest workers I have ever seen. They didn't stop all weekend long they were totally great. I want to thank them and CK Gov. Peony Tse for her leadership. These young men and women are your future leaders and I for one, thank God that they represent Kiwanis' future.
Some major improvements are in the works for the Kamp. We are grateful to the Verrazano Kiwanis Club from the Metropolitan division which decided they would knock down and rebuild one of the older cabins that really needed a great deal of work. They decided to raise $30,000 to complete that project and they did. Work has already begun and it should be done before Kamping season 2020.
Another major project is to get all the paths paved. This has been put on the back burner because of the high cost but thanks to Ivan Tarnopoll's generosity, the board approved to use some of that gift for the paving.
With regard to Ivan Tarnopoll, hopefully at your 2020 Kamp opening, we are going to unveil a proper dedication to him. It will be something that he would be proud of and will memorialize his contribution to your Kamp forever.
You might have noticed that I used the word "your" in speaking about the Kamp, I've said it many times. If you are a New York District Kiwanian in good standing you are a member of the New York District Kiwanis Foundation you are part owner of Kamp Kiwanis. Help us keep your Kamp the jewel of the New York District.

Column Posted on Web Site October 17, 2019