Potomac Kiwanis Club members Beth Bentolila, Jackie Cronin, Bob Cressy and Mike Cronin participate in Veterans Day ceremomies at Woodmont Triangle, Bethesda. Photo Contributed
Would you like to help Wounded Warriors? Serve meals at the Children’s Inn? Tutor a child? If “yes,” then attend a meeting of the Potomac Kiwanis Club to learn about its commitment to making the community as well as the world a better place to live.
Potomac Kiwanis is involved in a variety of projects. Members volunteer to serve meals at the NIH Children’s Inn. They tutor children in Montgomery County Schools and participate with Community Kids to make needy youngsters’ holidays better. The organization makes certain that the Armed Forces, Wounded Warriors, military veterans — and their children are not forgotten.
“The Potomac Kiwanis Club has chosen to focus, because of our geographic location, on our military neighbors and their children,” Club President Mike Cronin said. “Each year for the past seven years, we have held our annual Armed Forces Day Dinner at Kenwood Country Club. The funds we raise support Wounded Veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center — many servicemen and women are invited guests for the evening. This year, the event will be held May 20. Our speaker will be Vice Admiral Raquel Bono, director of the Defense Health Agency. It is always a gala evening and the public is invited to share in honoring our military. The cost is only $60 per person — and if you are unable to come, consider sponsoring a member of the military to come to this very special event. It will mean a lot to them.”
Cronin’s wife, Jackie is the club secretary. “Since we are a non-profit service organization, monies raised by our various fundraisers, such as the Armed Forces Day Dinner, go towards Kiwanis projects such as the Winston Churchill Key Club for Leadership Development (over 100 student members), for the Air Warrior Courage Foundation, the Children’s Inn at NIH, the Miracle League (handicapped children),the Disabled Veterans Kayaking Program (River Runners) and other projects,” she said. “The club also participates in the Kiwanis International service project, ‘Project Eliminate’ which provides tetanus shots to pregnant women and babies in third world countries.
Kiwanis International was founded 100 years ago in Detroit, Mich. Today, Kiwanis is a worldwide service organization of men and women who share the challenge of community and world improvement. Since its founding, Kiwanis has grown to more than 8,400 clubs in 96 nations.
Kiwanis Clubs help their communities in countless ways. Each community’s needs are different — so each Kiwanis club is different. Service is at the heart of every Kiwanis club, no matter where in the world it’s located. Members stage nearly 150,000 service projects and raise nearly $100 million every year for communities, families and projects.
The Potomac Kiwanis Club meets the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 6:45 p.m. at the Potomac Community Center Art Room, 11315 Falls Road, Potomac.
“Our members live in the Potomac, Bethesda and Gaithersburg area and vary in age and backgrounds,” Jackie Cronin said. “We have quite a few husband/wife teams. We are always looking for new members and new service projects. Kiwanis is a wonderful place to meet new people and to form friendships while doing good. We would be pleased to have as our dinner guest anyone interested in learning more about possible membership and giving back to our Potomac community.”
Find out more about the Potomac Kiwanis Club by contacting President Mike Cronin at 301-527-1235, through email: potomackiwanis@gmail.com or through its website www.kiwanisfoundation.org.