Every year, Kiwanis International is joined by local Kiwanis clubs worldwide to raise money for much needed projects. One of the most successful and rewarding programs that Kiwanis clubs worldwide have been involved in is The Eliminate Project: www.TheEliminateProject.org. Partnering with UNICEF, this fundraising endeavor has helped save thousands of mother’s and baby’s lives by vaccinating them for maternal/neonatal tetanus.

Thanks to the efforts of Kiwanis and UNICEF, this disease is on the brink of elimination.

In 1940, a Kiwanis member named Walter Zeller made a generous donation to the Kiwanis International Foundation one year after its inception. It was his dream to help launch the Kiwanis International Donations’ worldwide efforts. Zeller was a well-respected business man that started his very successful and lucrative career in 1912 as a stock boy with the FW Woolworth Company. Zeller gave much of his life to philanthropy and was very involved in his local Kiwanis club in Montreal Canada. His dream came true and from that dream, years later, the Eliminate Program got its start.

With each donation of $1,250 given to Kiwanis International Eliminate Program by a Kiwanis club, a Walter Zeller Fellow award is given to that club. Recipients of the award are recognized with a medallion, certificate and commemorative lapel pin. This award has become quite prestigious among Kiwanis members and receiving one is considered a great honor.

This year, the Kiwanis Club of Kirkland made donations to the Eliminate Program in the amount of $5,000. With this donation, KCK was given four Walter Zeller Awards. These awards were, in turn, presented to four KCK club members, to honor and thank them for their hard work and generous support of the Club’s involvement in various ways. Kiwanis members Cherri Hoyden, Bill Ward, Ross Dessert and Owen Jones were all honored with a Zeller Award in April. Cherri for her volunteer work in the club, with the Eliminate Project and the School Supplies Program for Lake Washington School District, Bill Ward for his volunteer work in the club, Auto Angels and the School Supplies Program for Lake Washington School District, Ross Dessert for his volunteer work in the club and especially for his continued service as the club’s treasurer for the past five years, and Owen Jones for the wonderful job he has done as the Builder’s Club advisor at the Kirkland Middle School. All four of these Kiwanis members exemplify what this award stands for. The Zeller Awards are a way for Kiwanis clubs can say “thank you” to those special members who deserve recognition and appreciation for their service, their time and their continued support to their Kiwanis club and their community.

If you would like more information about Kiwanis and what they do for your community, visit their website at www.kirkland.kiwanis.org or stop by a meeting. These are held every Wednesday at noon at Hectors in Kirkland.

Bonni Sundberg is with the Kiwanis Club of Kirkland.