Community interest into the idea of forming a new service club in Cochrane will be gauged at an open house being held on November 15th.

Kiwanis members will be talking to community leaders and residents about community needs and the opportunity to make Cochrane a better place for children by establishing a local club, according to Roland Sabourin.

Sabourin is a member of Kiwanis in Calgary and a volunteer who works with communities hoping to establish a club.  

He says there has already been some interest shown in Cochrane.   "We have a couple of folks in Cochrane who've said it would make sense.  Cochrane is of a certain size and there are unmet needs and they would like to establish a Kiwanis Club.   The introductory meeting is really to assess what the level of interest is, start bringing some like-minded people together and to see how quickly we can move forward."

Sabourin says the focus of Kiwanis is on children and youth.  "Kiwanis is a service organization and our whole mission and mandate is really around children and youth leadership.  We'll work to find what those unmet needs in Cochrane are related to children and youth.  We would either work to fill those needs or partner with other organizations in the community to address those." 

Sabourin says two things set Kiwanis apart from other service clubs.  The first is their focus on children.  And the second?

"There are actually Kiwanis programs and clubs from elementary to university.  In Calgary we actually have two university-aged Kiwanis Clubs where the focus is volunteering, service to the community, a little bit of fun, and giving back."We also have programs for junior high and high school." 

In Calgary, where Sabourin is a member, Kiwanis has done a number of projects to benefit children.  He explains, "One of the clubs in Calgary works with the city police and a local bike shop.  They get lost bikes which they actually repair and put back into the community through a couple of different schools and organizations.   Typically these are families in financial need.  They then give them a bike helmet and some instruction and, obviously, a new to them bicycle. 

Another club I know of in Calgary provides funding to an organization that runs a day-long anti-bullying program in the junior high and high school environment.  A larger project is held in both Calgary and Airdrie.  It's a Christmas toy project where the clubs themselves work with local social agencies and we partner with Wal-Mart for a Christmas party."

Sabourin believes Cochrane could benefit from a service club like Kiwanis.  "Whether it's Lions who are very well established in Cochrane, or Rotary or other organizations, they do great work.  I think part of this is our focus is on children and if there are needs that a local group can't meet, we partner with other organizations.  As part of the community, we're all working to make Cochrane a better place to live.  For us, for our children and for our grandchildren."

The Open House is set for Wednesday, November 15th at 7:00 pm in the Community Room at Cochrane Toyota, 8 River Heights Drive.