During December, members collected toys from over 30 Winter Haven/Eagle Lake community locations. In total, the Polk Warehouse collected over 52,000 toys and 400 bikes. We were honored to be part of this collection, as the toys are provided to low-income families in the area.

On December 7th, our club hosted our first Open House for the 2023-2024 Kiwanis Year. The theme was tacky holiday wear, and we invited club members and anyone from the community to attend. We collected toys for the Toys for Tots program. We thank SoCe Market for allowing us to have the event there.

On December 2nd, we sponsored the Salvation Army Bell Ringing from 10 am – 4 pm at the Southeast Plaza Publix. We were joined by the Winter Haven High School Key Club.

In the spirit of giving, the Kiwanis Club of Winter Haven prepared 100 bagged food items (stuffing, rice, instant potatoes, canned vegetables) to be distributed to families during Polk Sheriff’s Charities Inc annual Turkey Giveaway on November 17, 2023.

Thank you to Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies who distributed the bagged food items for the Kiwanis Club.

Thank you to the WAWA foundation for providing funding to the Kiwanis Club of Winter Haven to purchase the bagged food items.

On November 18th, our club had a table at the WH Farmer’s Market. We provided the kids who were there the chance to make a turkey gram or a newspaper hat. We enjoyed having the WHHS Key Club there to help with this awesome activity.

Our club attended the first DCM of the 2023-2024 Kiwanis year on October 24th. The DCM was hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Wachula and their historical Train Depot. We heard from current Kiwanis International Trustee, Matthew Cantrall, on updates from Kiwanis International. We also heard from the current Florida District Governor, Priary Riehel, on her goals for the District. There was even a special presentation by Florida Kiwanis Foundation Division 15 Trustee, Nan Clark, for the recognition of Kelly Casey’s generous donation to the Will and Rachel Blechman Fund.

We enjoyed having the WHHS Key Club there to update us on their club and success this school year. Cauney Bamberg, CEO of Roar Florida, will speak with us at our December 12th meeting.

• November 18th – Kiwanis table at the local Farmers Market (old BB&T bank) from 8 am – 1 pm. We will have games and crafts for the kids visiting and promoting our Pancake Festival.
• December 2nd – Salvation Army Bell Ringing from 10 am – 4 pm (2-hour shifts) at the Publix next to TJ Maxx
• December 7th – Open House at SoCe Market from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm. The theme is tackey holiday wear, and we ask members to bring friends and a toy to be donated to Toys for Tots. 
• December 16th – Salvation Army Bell Ringing from 10 am – 4 pm (2-hour shifts) at the Publix next to TJ Maxx
• Read Around the World – if you prefer certain schools, please contact Missy Joyce. 

Our club had the pleasure of attending two Trunk-or-Treats that were put on by two of our SLPs (Discovery HS Key Club and Winter Haven HS Key Club). We had a ton of fun at both events and enjoyed supporting our SLPs.

On Saturday, October 21st, was Kiwanis’ annual One Day event. This day allows for Kiwanis clubs to participate in various projects around the world and partner with other branches of the Kiwanis family. This year our club partnered with the Key Clubs of Division 15A (Winter Haven, Discovery, Ridge Community, and George Jenkins) to create foster care packs. These packs will be donated to the Heartland for Children, where they will be distributed to foster families. The packs included essential items for kids in the foster care system: a backpack, a towel, a blanket, clothes, toiletries, books, and a toy.

Every year the Cypress Gardens Water Ski Team hosts an event known as Adaptive Ski. This event allows individuals with a mental or physical disability the opportunity to learn how to water ski. The event takes place on the third Saturday of September at MLK Park on Lake Silver. This year we partnered with the Winter Haven High School Key Club to provide fun activities for the participants and they were able to win a prize.