By Matt Marn
Published December 13, 2010 by Advance Newspapers
With the holidays upon us, many take an opportunity to turn to others and think of giving rather than receiving. The Byron Center community is no exception. A group of educators, businesspeople and other community members are starting a local club of the Kiwanis organization to help kids in their area.
Kiwanis is a group based around helping children the world over. They are a self-described “global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time.”
From local clubs such as those in Caledonia and the new club in Byron Center, to groups in high schools and universities on to the international level, they are already changing lives the world over.
The Caledonia club, for example, offers infant car seat inspections, providing families with a new seat if theirs does not meet current safety standards. They also provide dictionaries to every third-grade student in the school district, as well as a thesaurus to every fifth-grade student.
And with weeks left before their chartering dinner event, the Byron Center club wants to make the same impact in their own community.
Mark Marlowe, general manager of the Courthouse Athletic Center and a member of the new Byron Center Kiwanis club, said they are looking for more members who want to make a difference.
“It’s a great thing for the Byron Center community,” Marlowe said. “I looked into Kiwanis, and it’s a great way to get to know more people, and give back. And the more people get involved... it’s better for everyone.”
Marlowe said when you work with kids as much as his staff does at the athletic center, joining a group centered around kids seemed like a natural fit.
“It’s an organization about kids,” he said. “And 99 percent of my business here is kids. I saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community. Also, it is a nice way to meet other people in the community, in a different environment than walking in and out of the athletic center.”
Marlowe said the Kiwanis club from Caledonia has been helping get the Byron Center group off the ground, led by the Caledonia club president, Vince Weiss.
“They are filling us in, giving us the background,” Marlowe said. “The Caledonia group is passionate, fired up. When I see that kind of passion, that tells me something. They’re not trying to make a sale; they want to be a part of it. You can tell the group has had a positive impact on Vince’s life.”
Weiss has been involved in Kiwanis clubs for 20 years, starting in Virginia, when joining Kiwanis was a part of a job he held. But then he found out how much fun it was to help kids.
Weiss said Kiwanis is a great cross-section of the community. From educators, business people, and retired individuals, he knows the Byron Center community will benefit greatly from this new club. And so will its members.
“It’s amazing,” Weiss said. “You get involved because your job asks it, but it’s not long before you’re in – hook, line and sinker. And the enthusiasm from the Byron Center club is extraordinary. We want 30 charter members, and that should not be a problem.”
Kurtis Marlowe, Mark’s son, is also a member of the Byron Center club. While he didn’t quite know what to expect in the beginning, he knew he wanted to be a part of the effort from the ground floor up.
“For me, getting to meet people in the area is big,” Marlowe said. “I’m from the Kalamazoo area, so this is a great way to meet businesses and educators in Byron Center. But most of all, I’m here to give back. At the athletic club, I do all basketball. It would be nice to help in other ways, like in schools and with other community projects.”
Marlowe also said it was good to see a variety of age groups in attendance at the first meetings.
“Today, I was one of several younger people at the meeting,” he said. “It’s not just for older individuals, it’s really rewarding for younger people as well.”
“You see people come in and out of here all the time, and you recognize their faces, but that’s it,” he said. “This way, you not only know their names and faces, but you get to know who these people really are.”
For more information on the Byron Center Kiwanis club and joining the ranks, contact Caledonia club president Vince Weiss at (616) 890-5776.
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