Anyone who gets out and about in Issaquah and Sammamish knows that the local Kiwanis clubs are a big part of the community.
You will have seen them working as volunteers at Salmon Days, the SAMMI Awards, raising money and resources for a myriad of social service organizations, such as Eastside Baby Corner and the Issaquah Food Bank, and providing behind the scenes support for city and community events. Kiwanis is, in every sense, a community group.
But for one day each year, Kiwanians from all over America and across the globe come together for a worldwide single day of service.
The Sammamish club decided to use their global day of service to support what they see as being an admirable and effective local project – the Habit for Humanity homes in the Issaquah Highlands.
In an area where the median price for a house is about $600,000, the provision of affordable housing is crucial to the creation of diverse and vibrant communities, and the ability of workers to live in the communities in which they are employed.
The Highlands Habitat site will consist of 5 four bedroom units, 3 three bedroom units and 2 two bedroom units, to be made available to families who earn less than the East King County average.
With Mother Nature clearly blessing their endeavor, blue skies and a warm spring day greeted the Kiwanians as they worked on the Habitat site on Saturday.
From early in the morning until the late afternoon, the Kiwanians put up timber siding, dug trenches, painted and nailed. Though many of the members didn’t have any construction experience, the AmeriCorps volunteers leading the project found them a job for every skill level.
When The Reporter caught up with the Kiwanis late in the day, they were exhausted, but also very buoyed by being able to contribute to the Habitat project. It will soon become one of key foundations upon which the Highlands community is built.
The Habitat homes are scheduled for completion this summer.
For more information on Habitat for Humanity in East King County, visit www.habitatekc.org
Speakers series
With sore thumbs mended, and weary arms rested, the Sammamish branch of Kiwanis will now return to a regular schedule of guest speakers at their Wednesday morning breakfast meetings.
Held at the Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church, diagonally across from Sammamish City Hall on 228th Avenue Southeast, the program of guest speakers is a way to discuss, inform and enlighten people in the community on all sorts of subjects, organizations and projects that are taking place in our city and our state.
Kiwanis is not religiously affiliated, and is strongly focused on volunteering and serving the community.
On Wednesday, April 21, former City of Sammamish Planning Commissioner, and Washington native plant expert, Erica Tiliacos, will talk about local efforts to preserve the native ecology of the Plateau, and discuss how residents and businesses can do their part to encourage the maintenance of green spaces which provide native wildlife habitats.
On Wednesday, May 5, the Kiwanis will talk culture, with the Director of Sammamish’s Vedic Cultural Center, Harry Terhanian, exploring what educational and cultural activities bring to the Plateau community.
On Wednesday, May 19, CEO of American Red Cross in the Seattle area, Randy Huston, will the special guest speaker at the Kiwanis breakfast.
All meetings begin at 7 a.m. They are free, and all interested residents are encouraged to attend.
For more information on the Sammamish Kiwanis, visit www.sammamishkiwanis.org.
