The Watonga Kiwanis Club has been conducting its summer youth program in the community for more than 70 years, since 1950. Over that time hundreds if not thousands of Watonga youth have participated in baseball, softball, swimming and various other activities provided under the leadership and funding by the local club. While the programs provided have evolved over the years, the key mission is to provide local youth with fun and safe activities during the summer. All this falls under the Kiwanis International mission of helping kids both in the world and in our local communities.
Over the past several years, the Watonga Public Library conducted its own summer youth activities program with similar goals of providing local youth with safe, fun and learning activities while kids are out of school.
This year, to reach more community youth, the Watonga Kiwanis club has teamed up with the Watonga Public Library to coordinate their programs because of shared similar goals. This entails coordinating schedules to assure optimum participation in both programs. Also, since the library’s efforts match well with Kiwanis Club’s mission of helping kids, this year the local club will donate $1,000 to the library to aid in their efforts.
Both the Kiwanis and library’s programs start on June 3. The library kicks it off with an opening carnival from noon to 4 p.m. on Monday, June 3. The summer program will focus on summer reading with activities daily Monday through Thursday through June. The Kiwanis summer program will provide swimming at the Roman Nose State Park pool on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday weekly with a bus picking up participating kids at the Watonga Elementary Cafeteria at 12:30 and returning by 3 p.m. Other activities in- clude bowling at Watonga Lanes at 10 a.m. Wednesdays. On Fridays at 10 a.m. there will be an art class at the library sponsored by Kiwanis.
Watonga Kiwanis President Damon Jones said, “We are excited to coordinate our summer program this year with the Watonga Public
AT RIGHT: Watonga Kiwanis Club President Damon Jones (L) and Kiwanis Division 17 Lt. Governor Andy Barrett ( R ) present
Library as we are always looking for partners in our community that match well with our mission of ‘Serving the Children of the World’.” For more information on both summer programs, please contact the library at 580-623-7748 or for Kiwanis call Missy Roberts at 580-6030453.
Watonga Public Library Director Jadon West.