Pasadena Kiwanis Club to Celebrate 102nd Year of Serving Children With Anniversary Event

The Pasadena Kiwanis Club will celebrate its 102nd year of serving children within the community with a “Roaring 20’s Dinner Celebration” next Thursday.

One of the oldest service clubs in the nation and in Pasadena, the local club was founded in 1920. It provides support to children that are homeless, children that have been adopted, children that are in a single parent family, and children that are disabled.

Staying focused on its vision, which is to serve the children of the Pasadena community, is the club’s key to success, said incoming President Chris Kolbeck.

Kolbeck added that the club’s success has been accomplished by working closely with numerous schools and nonprofit organizations that serve children. 

Kolbeck believes that the next 100 years of the club will be more productive and fruitful.

“A hundred years from now, I would see the club consisting of, I would say several hundred members in the Pasadena community providing support, even beyond the 20 current schools and nonprofit organizations that we support, helping and encouraging the youth to strive to improve their own lives in many ways,” said Kolbeck.

“And have those youth today become the leaders of the community over the next many decades,” he added. 

At the upcoming anniversary celebration, guests will enjoy dinner and music, said Kolbeck. During the event, the club will also be installing new officers for the coming year, including Kolbeck and incoming Vice President Laura Hernandez. 

The event will be held on October 20, 5:30 p.m. at the Salvation Army Campus, 960 East Walnut Street, Pasadena. 

Tickets are $50 each, and guests are requested to RSVP to Chris Kolbeck at cjkolbeck@gmail.com. Proceeds will benefit the Kiwanis Club’s charitable activities in the Pasadena community. 

Without mentioning names, Kolbeck said City and state representatives will be attending the event. 

Pasadena Kiwanis Club’s most recent activities after the pandemic have included a Student Awards Dinner in May, celebrating distinguished students from local middle and high schools and Pasadena City College, and hosting a Rose Queen and Court Dinner and Open House. The Kiwanis Club of Pasadena also recently participated in a holiday Adopt-A-Family Program and awarded grants to local youth-serving organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena. 

Members of the community can support Pasadena Kiwanis Club fulfill its mission by partnering with the club, donating or volunteering. For more information about the club, visit: https://www.pasadenakiwanisclub.org