The Kiwanis Club of Ladner & Tsawwassen is in need of new members.
"We'd like a lot [of new members], but if we can get five, we'd be happy. If we get 10, we'd be elated," said Kiwanis member Graham Parker, the service club's current secretary.
The group has 18 members but not all are active, said Karel Ley, who's been with Kiwanis for about eight years.
"We're just so thin on the ground right now.
Everybody's burned out from trying to do too much," she said.
The club works on service projects, puts on pancake breakfasts in Ladner and Tsawwassen, and supports other local organizations. That list includes groups like KinVillage, the Boys and Girls Club Community Services of Delta-Richmond, and Deltassist.
"We do a lot of things that we don't get a lot of accolades for, but we don't need accolades. We just want to know we've done a good job," said Parker.
He's been a member for 12 years and enjoys the fel-lowship of the group.
"It would be really sad if this group couldn't continue the work it's doing. In order to do that we've got to have new bodies," he said.
Lynn Rycroft is the group's longest serving current member, having joined in 1972.
He noted the club has been trying for some time to build its membership base.
"We need some young people who can carry on or else the club's just going to dissolve itself," he said.
Maryanne Innes joined Kiwanis within the last year. She said the club is an important part of the community.
"It would be sorely missed if it didn't exist," she said.
The group has general meetings twice a month at the Beach Grove Golf Club. Those meetings start again in September after the summer break. There is no age restriction on membership and there's a yearly membership fee of around $100.
If you're interested in joining Kiwanis, contact Jim Matson at 6046444875 or Graham Parker at 604-940-0106 (or via email at [email protected] and [email protected]).
