The days are getting shorter and the evenings cooler. Kids and parents are settling into their “back to school” routines, but unfortunately not all kids have what they need for a good start to a productive school year.

This time of year, the Kiwanis Club of Kirkland (KCK) looks to our community to see where they can provide help to kids who need assistance making this back-to-school transition possible. In past years, the club has partnered with Hopelink (www.hope-link.org) in helping to provide backpacks filled with back to school essentials for kids needing assistance. The backpacks were filled with basic things students would need like notebooks, pens and pencils, scissors, index cards, etc. This year, in addition to these basics, more supplies, like USB flash drives, scientific calculators and headphone were included. These packets were designed to help junior high and high school students with what they needed to get started for school.

This year, joining Hopelink in this program was the YMCA KTUB (www.ymcaktub.org) and together they helped provide students with some very important things they needed to get a good start for the school year.

The KCK helped Hopelink provided 15 sets of supplies and assisted KTUB in providing 10 backpacks with the same provisions.

Lending a helping hand to this project was the Kiwanis Aktion Club. The purpose of this club is to help young adults with disabilities between the ages of 18-40. It enables them to participate directly in community service projects, gain leadership skills, become more involved in their community and to have some fun. Each month the Aktion Club does a community service project and for the month of August, their project was stuffing 10 backpacks with school supplies for KTUB.

Kiwanis members Cherri Hoyden and Kat Cannon were responsible for purchasing the supplies that were donated by the Kiwanis Club of Kirkland.

KCK provided the supplies and Hopelink and KTUB distributed them to the students who needed them most. Hoyden says, “I feel fortunate that I am able to have the opportunity, through Kiwanis, to partner with the Aktion Club and provide students in our community with supplies they need so they may succeed and pursue their dreams.” This is just another way the KCK helps bring our community together to help children in our area that are in need.

If you would like more information about the Kiwanis Club of Kirkland, visit www.kirkland.kiwanis.org. or contact Secretary Tom Pendergrass (206) 910-1949. The club meets at Hector’s in Kirkland every Wednesday at noon.

Bonni Sundberg is the marketing chair for the Kiwanis Club of Kirkland.