Richardson Kiwanis Club - Join or Donate

Christmas, 2010

Jim and I picked up the trailer early in the week. On Friday I took it to Bowie for the K-Kids to decorate. Linda had them all organized, and they decorated and made a sign in an hour. Their theme was a patriotic one = "Thanks to our Soldiers" - which fit into the parade theme of Santa's Helpers = our soldiers are certainly "Santa's Helpers!" I left the float at Bowie over night, and Jim and I got it early Saturday morning and were in our Parade spot by 6:30 am. Then the long wait. Linda and the K-Kids started arriving around 8 am. After several rounds of hot chocolate we were on our way. The kids were most enthusiastic with their singing, waving American flags, and shouting greetings along the whole Parade route. We disbanded back at the school.

Saturday afternoon I got a call from the Parade coordinator that the K-Kids had WON an award. Linda, Jim, and seven K-Kids attended the Awards Ceremony Saturday evening. Bowie K-Kids won FIRST place in the Civic Club division. YIPEEEEEEE!!!! Way to go K-Kids. Many thanks to Linda and the K-Kids for their hard work and enthusiasm. What a great way to start the Holiday season.

For Christmas 2008, the Highland Springs "WoodChucks" donated over 400 wooden toys made in their woodshop. The Kiwanis Club of Richardson sanded the toys, and the K-Kids (Bowie Elementary) and Key Club (Pearce High School) painted the toys. The finished toys were then donated to the "Network of Community Ministries" in Richardson. The "Red Hats" at Highland Springs ran their 3rd annual toy drive and collected over 200 toys. These were also donated to "The Network". The volunteers and residents at Highland Springs have made Christmas a lot brighter for children whose families are having a tough time this year. Thank you to these wonderful people at Highland Springs. Also, Thank You to the Richardson Kiwanis Club for all the hard work they put into sanding, painting, and delivering the toys this year.		From Left to Right Mike McKinney, Scott Teagle, Sharon Beall, Marshall Kregel. We sanded almost 400 little wooden toys.
Dee Hejnar (in white) with a guest	Painted toys with decals.	Assorted painted toys
Assorted painted toys	Detail on wooden toys after sanding and painting	The Red Hats at Highland Springs have run a Toy Drive for 3 years. There are over 200 toys in this small mountain!
Red Hats and Kiwanians gather at Highland Springs for a picture event	Ray Beall and Marshall Kregel picked up the toys at Highland Springs and delivered them to the "Network of Community Ministries" in Richardson.	Alice Mae Britt (center), CEO of the "Network", admires the donated toys along with 2 volunteers.

The Richardson Club builds a ramp - June 28th, 2008 6 members from the Richardson club built a wheelchair ramp today. In attendance were Ray Beall, Jim Hagan, Dee Hejnar, Bill Schaid, Scott Teagle and Marshall Kregel (photographer).
Ray Beall gives a pep talk to the crew	Dee attaching the flooring to the frame.	The guys trying to figure out what Dee just did.
By 10:30, it was getting a little warm outside. But, the ramp is almost done!	President Dee puts the last screw into the ramp	Our client gives the ramp a tryout while Bill does some cleanup







	Pictures above taken during the 2 Angels games on April 11th and April 18th. Thank you to Stu and the volunteers at Central Christian Church for coming out to cheer the kids!!!

Below are some recent pictures of some of the Ramps volunteers gathered at the warehouse before heading off to build.

(in a previous career, Ray was the tallest man in the NBA)
		Thank you to Walter for the great pictures of the volunteers at the Ramp Warehouse 4/14/07

Texas Ramps Project now has it’s own Blog Spot! As you know, John Laine has expanded the Dallas Ramps Project into a Statewide effort. He travels all over Texas to meet with volunteer groups, materials suppliers, and referrers from various health agencies. You can read stories about some of the folks for whom the Texas Ramp Project has changed their lives for the better. Check out this link: http://www.texasramps.blogspot.com/

Ramp photo of the month

Team leader Richy Earle supervising while volunteer Leslie digs a ditch.

Thank you Walter for the great pic!

Richardson Kiwanis was chartered November 1, 1954. Prior to that time, several men met informally for evening meals to discuss the possibility of forming a club. With Dallas and North Dallas Park Cities Clubs as the sponsoring clubs, Richardson Kiwanis Club was formally chartered on Tuesday, January 18, 1955. The ceremony was held in the cafeteria of Richardson High School.

Thus, Richardson Kiwanis became the second service club organized in Richardson, the Rotary being the first. When organized, Richardson Kiwanis was in Division 22. It was not until 1971 that there were 37 divisions in Texas – Oklahoma District.

There were thirty-six charter members, among them Ben B. Judd, who was the only life member of the club. Officers included N.G.Johnson, President; Herman F. Dieterich, Vice President; Virgil McIlvaln, Treasurer and Glen C. Hoskins, Secretary. Notable among those charter members was Glen Hoskins, a mayor of Richardson, and C.B.Owen, founder of Owens Sausage. Of seven city council members, four were members of the Richardson Kiwanis.

In 1955, the approximate population of the city was 3,000. Central Expressway was approaching Richardson in 1954. With the exception of farmhouses, there were no houses West of Central at that time.

On February 11, 1971, several members of Richardson Kiwanis [and with the sponsorship of Richardson Kiwanis], formed Richardson Central Kiwanis as a noon club. Richardson Kiwanis has also assisted in forming Garland – West Kiwanis Club [1965], and Plano Kiwanis [1970].

Richardson Kiwanis has a long history of service to the community. Among their first projects was a $250.00 scholarship for worthy students in the community. Today, the club sponsors the Terrific Kids Program in Bowie, Dobie, and in Spring Valley Elementary Schools. We also support the Bringing Up Grades (BUG) Program in the Neighborhood Service Council’s after school program for children in the Coit Road and Spring Valley area. As of April 2004, the club has also provided over 1,200 wheelchair ramps throughout Dallas County at no charge to the recipient.



	April 30th, 2011. Twelve volunteers came together to build a wheelchair ramp in Richardson, Texas. Members of a local Key Club participated with Richardson Kiwanis members and guests to build this ramp in about 2.5 hours. The home owner was very appreciative!