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First Kiwanis Club of Lima to be Inaugurated in November

Californian Anne Menne will be coming to Lima on October 25 to officially inaugurate the first Kiwanis Club of Lima. Anne is an anthropologist and Executive Director of the non-profit corporation Heart of Anthropology, and has worked with children and communities in Lima since 1977. The U.S. Ambassador to Peru, the Honorable J. Curtis Struble, will be an honorary charter member of the new Kiwanis Club of Lima and plans to attend the Charter celebration at AmCham on November 8.

The new club will be bilingual: some members will speak only English or Spanish, others will speak both. This will facilitate communicating with the people served in Peru as well as communicate with Kiwanians in the United States who wish to hold dual membership in their own club and the Kiwanis Club of Lima.

Kiwanis International is committed to having membership be accessible to all. Kiwanis believes that the organization will be enriched and strengthened by including people of all cultures, races, creeds, classes and ethnic backgrounds, regardless of social or economical status. Kiwanis believes that different people bring different gifts, and that the combination of many points of view will be most effective in helping needy children - some have more financial resources, some have expertise in helping children, some have more time to give. Kiwanis is simply looking for service-minded men and women who are united in their commitment and compassion for others, especially needy children.

In order to further these goals, the Kiwanis Club of San Rafael & Central Marin, together with individuals from other Kiwanis Clubs in northern California, have established a scholarship fund for prospective members who are unable to afford the first year's $15 dues.

Anne will be presenting an information meeting in Spanish at the Lima Chamber of Commerce on October 31st at 11a.m., and another in English on October 27th at 7:30p.m. Then at 7:30 p.m. on November 2nd, prospective members will gather at the Miraflores offices of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) to elect officers, pay dues, and select a regular meeting time and place. The Charter presentation celebration - to be attended by the new members of the Kiwanis Club of Lima, including honorary member Ambassador Struble and visiting Kiwanians from the United States and officers of the Kiwanis Club of Huaraz, Peru - will be in AmCham at 7:30 p.m. on November 8th.

During this time additional meetings will be also be set up with interested schools, including Colegio Franklin D. Roosevelt, to establish Kiwanis-sponsored student volunteer clubs or discover alternate relationships of support.

Based on requests by organizations in Peru that serve needy children, one of the first joint projects planned between US Kiwanians and the Kiwanis Club of Lima Peru will be a donation program for needy children in collaboration with the University of California Maritime Academy. Pending approvals by Peruvian customs, the 500-foot ship will dock in Callao next summer with donations from Kiwanis Clubs in the United States. Once approved, the Kiwanis youth group for college students called Circle K will unload the items from the ship in Callao and the Kiwanis Club of Lima will coordinate and distribute them.

For further information, please contact:
Anne Menne
New Club Builder, Kiwanis Club of Lima, Peru
Director, Heart of Anthropology
AnneKiwanis@gmail.com
Telephone: 415 459-0173

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