As part of its ongoing commitment to serve the youth of the community, the Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg recently expanded its outreach by partnering with the Montgomery County Department of Social Services (DSS).
The collaboration began when the Club reached out to DSS to explore additional ways to support local children. Following a meeting with Kiwanis members, Kelley Edmonson, Director of Montgomery County DSS, visited the Club to discuss opportunities for partnership. During her presentation, she outlined pressing needs not only for children in DSS care, but also for vulnerable elderly residents in Montgomery County.
While Kiwanis’ primary focus remains youth, the Club agreed to work alongside DSS to provide supplies for both children and seniors, as well as volunteer labor where appropriate.
After establishing the partnership, DSS provided the Club with a list of immediate needs. The Kiwanis Club voted to fund and purchase the requested items on a quarterly basis and deliver them directly to the DSS office in Christiansburg.
The first three-month delivery for children included diapers (two sizes, 30 packages each), baby wipes (60 boxes), pull-ups for girls and boys, children’s Tylenol and Motrin, and three Pack ’n Plays. Supplies for elderly clients included Ensure nutrition drinks, healthy snack packs, Tums, pill organizers, and flashlights. The quarterly cost of the supplied items totals nearly $2,000, and similar deliveries will continue every three months.
At the initial delivery, shopping carts filled with supplies were presented at the DSS building in Christiansburg. Pictured in the presentation were Kelley Edmonson, Director of DSS; Kathryn Francis of DSS; and Kiwanis members Jim Vanhoozier and Ernie Wade.
Following the delivery, Director Edmonson expressed her appreciation, stating:
“It is a blessing. Now we can support so many families in the coming months with this generosity. Thank you, Kiwanis. We look forward to the work we will do together for our families in need.”
Since its charter in 1949, the Kiwanis Club of Christiansburg has provided meaningful support to the local community. Funds for service projects are raised through various fundraising events, grants, and donations. The Club’s largest annual fundraiser is the Kiwanis Wilderness Trail Festival, held each year in September.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world—one child and one community at a time.
