Celebrate Community was a great success for Service Organizations ⋆ Hot Springs Village Gazette

For the first time in Hot Springs Village, the Kiwanis, Evening Lions Club, and Rotary Club banded together to participate in a multi-organizational project called Celebrate Community. The Celebrate Community initiative was established in 2021 to ensure service work continued even while the country and the entire world were dealing with the effects of COVID-19. These three HSV service organizations challenged each other with the promise of one club winning a Club Spirit award. Together, the groups decided they would focus their attention on participating in the Patriot Walk on September 11 at Grove Park, which would benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. This organization was founded to assist 9/11 first responder families that lost loved ones in the Twin Towers attack. The service club with the largest percentage of participation (event registrations) would take the Club Spirit Award and have bragging rights as the best club in town, at least until the next challenge.

The Kiwanis started fast by registering several members via the website. The Lions collected donations from club members and registered a large number via the website hours before the event. The Rotarians showed up on the 11th and registered in person. The final participation tally was Kiwanis -30%, Rotarians – 36%, and HSV Evening Lions came in at 50 % participation with a 3-club total contribution of almost $1800.

**Rotary club members gathered together at the beginning of race for a photo op. (Photo by Kathy Wright**)

Judy Corwin, the organizer of the Patriot Walk this year commented, “The challenge between the three service clubs made a huge difference in the turnout on Patriot Day. That day alone, we took in over $1200 in donations. We estimate when all of the donations are finally counted — we will have collected close to $7,000 for Tunnel to Towers.”

These HSV service organizations are proud to be a part of these efforts. Look for other joint projects between these groups and unique ways to serve our local community.