2019 Give A Christmas: Kiwanis keeps it all about the kids

Spare time comes at a premium for any working parent bogged down with responsibilities inside and outside the home.

With her daughters grown and moving out of the house, Croydon resident Jill Saul used a careful eye to decide where she wanted to spend her extra minutes and hours. The search quickly ended, however, when she found the Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club eight years ago.

“Somebody I knew asked me to join,” said Saul, who taught special education at Harry S. Truman High School at the time. “It was an easy decision because the Kiwanis is all about helping children. That focus means a lot to me, it’s been a part of my career and entire life.”

Saul helped the club’s efforts when she could fit in the time around her school duties and home life. After her retirement in 2018, Saul finally had a chance to really dig in and become a truly active member. Saul served as vice president last year and has been selected club president for the 2019-20 season.

“It’s a great group with good people that quickly become your friends,” said Saul. “My goal this year is to continue to help as many children as possible and recruit new members to grow the organization.”

The Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club has 23 active members, Saul said, and right now they are all focused on raising money for the annual Give A Christmas fundraiser. The group has partnered with the Bucks County Courier Times to raise up to $120,000 that will be donated to needy children in the form of $25 vouchers, which can be redeemed at partnering retail stores.

Now in its 62nd year, the Give a Christmas drive is the Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club’s largest fundraiser and one of two major events organized by the group. The club also has its hands full each spring with the Sesame Place Classic 5K, which benefits the Dick Dougherty Scholarship Fund. The race enters its 22nd year in May, and has raised more than $400,000 in scholarships for Bucks County high school seniors headed to college.

The two fundraisers take a lot of time and energy to organize and manage, yet members of the Levittown Bristol Kiwanis Club know children need help all year long. The rest of their charitable efforts may not make the same big splash as Give A Christmas and the Sesame Classic, but every little bit makes a noticeable difference.

“We’re not the greatest at promoting ourselves,” said Saul. “We’re quiet volunteers that like to hunker down and do the work. It’s a real word-of-mouth organization.”

That work includes partnering with Advocates for Homeless & Those in Need (AHTN) to serve hot meals to the outdoor homeless population in Lower Bucks once a month. That was where Kiwanis members learned that the usual plastic ware accompanying the meals couldn’t cut through the meat. The volunteers quickly got to work putting together four-piece sets of stainless steel utensils as replacements. Kiwanis volunteers also collect socks and personal care products for the homeless, and they give hat and gloves to crossing guards for children walking to school who don’t have them.

“The Lower Bucks community has been wonderfully generous for many years,” said Saul. “People give as much of their own time and money as they can to help others who need it, and we recognize how difficult that can be sometimes.”

 

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