More young people needed to serve in local volunteer organizations

Powell Kiwanians met for the final time last month, but their absence in the community hasn’t quite set in yet.

The Powell Kiwanis Club often worked behind the scenes in Powell, so their ending wasn’t felt immediately — not like when a storefront closes on Bent Street.

But it’s important to recognize the Powell Kiwanis Club was a staple in the community for 63 years, longer than many local businesses or other service organizations have been around.

Over the decades, Powell Kiwanians served countless children, whether it was reading stories, funding youth activities or giving them a stage to perform on during the annual Stars of Tomorrow.

Kiwanians contributed thousands of dollars to local youth through the years. Of course, in order to donate money, Kiwanians had to find ways to raise it. They did so through a variety of fundraisers, which included selling apples door to door each autumn, sometimes on bitterly cold nights.

Many of us don’t realize how much hard work goes into funding local youth projects, nor do we always see volunteers picking up trash alongside the highway. But those are the kind of ways Kiwanians regularly served our community.

“We have provided labor and money to do so many projects over the years. Our emphasis is to support children in any way we can; that’s what drew many of us to the organization in the first place,” said Susan Richards, who most recently served as president of the local club.

When Stars of Tomorrow doesn’t happen next year and Kids’ Day Races aren’t held at the Park County Fair, kids in Powell will certainly notice. We’re saddened that local youth will also feel the Kiwanis Club’s absence in other ways.

However, we also understand why Kiwanians came to the tough decision to end the club. Like many service organizations, the Kiwanis Club faced dwindling membership in recent years. Not enough new, young volunteers stepped forward to join.

Unfortunately, other service groups face the same struggle; unless new members begin to take the reins, they could face closure.

In recent years, the Powell High School Alumni Committee made a plea for younger volunteers to carry the torch. When planning last year’s 100th anniversary alumni reunion, the average age of committee members was 73.

“I don’t know how to get young people involved. It is happening with everything — all the clubs are going down,” Carolyn Shelby said at an alumni meeting last year. “It is too bad; they don’t participate, you don’t see new people in Kiwanis, Rotary, in everything.”

There are a variety of ways to get involved in the community, and young people can choose to join groups that interest them. As just one example, the Friends of the Powell Branch Library is currently seeking new members (see the story on Page 13 of today's edition of the Powell Tribune).

We know young people are choosing to live in Powell, as evidenced by the steady enrollment in local K-12 schools. Families often enjoy raising their kids here because it’s a good community — but it’s going to take young volunteers to ensure Powell stays that way.