The members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Pine Island are proud of their contributions to the Pine Island Community. We work hard to earn the funds to benefit the youth of the area. We have given hundreds of Pine Island student’s college scholarships. We sponsor the annual Fall Festival for elementary aged kids and their families. We have donated thousands of dollars to the Beacon of HOPE’s Community Learning Center. We support the Pine Island Little League, Boy Scouts, sponsor community pool parties, and the list goes on and on. We consider it an honor and a duty to support the youth of our neighborhood. It’s our passion. It’s the club’s reason for being.

We have recently added a new project to our repertoire of good deeds. We are joining with Kiwanis International and UNICEF in their efforts to eliminate maternal and neonatal Tetanus from the world. According to the Eliminate website, “This deadly disease steals the lives of nearly 60,000 innocent babies and a significant number of women each year. The effects of the disease are excruciating — tiny newborns suffer repeated, painful convulsions and extreme sensitivity to light and touch.” http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/en/theELIMINATEproject/home.aspx

It cost just $1.80 to save a LIFE from this horrible disease and our club has made the commitment to raise enough funds over the next five years to save almost 13,000 LIVES.
We are adding several fundraising efforts specifically to support this project. The Taste of Pine Island/Matlacha Coupon Book was the first of these projects. If you haven’t purchased yours yet, they are available at Stonegate Bank, Century 21 at PI Center, the PI Chamber of Commerce, or any PI Kiwanis member. We are also working on a Mother’s Day Luncheon to be held on Saturday, May 9th. We thought that having a fundraiser in conjunction with Mother’s Day was very appropriate since this horrible disease affects so many mothers and newborn babies. Details for the luncheon are still being worked out, so please stay tuned for more details and mark the date in your calendars.

FIn the meantime, donations for the Eliminate project are gratefully accepted. Please send any donations to the
Kiwanis Club of Greater of Pine Island
Attn: Eliminate
PO Box 111
St. James City, FL 33956

Thank you for helping the Pine Island Kiwanis makes a difference in our community. We could not do it without you. Please contact me if you have any questions about Eliminate or any other Kiwanis project. Our meetings are held at 7:30 Friday mornings at Bert’s in Matlacha. Feel free to join us anytime.

Sincerely,
Tonya Player,
President,
Kiwanis Club of Greater of Pine Island
Phone: 239-313-8722