Island Park Kiwanis Club ramping back up

The Island Park Kiwanis Club has been around since 1954 and has a long history of accolades and exemplary members, such as legendary Teddy Papatsos, who selflessly served the community and who an award is named after. But that long history and any future history was nearly lost to time till the neighboring Oceanside Kiwanis Club decided to step in and lend a hand. 

At the end of Seth Blau’s time as Kiwanis Division Lieutenant Governor late last year, he started thinking more and more about neighboring Island Park and the dwindling numbers their club has faced due to the pandemic. Lending a helping hand to a neighbor in need, a Kiwanian ethos, he messaged Island Park club President Karen Davis and started making a plan.

“It was just an idea to sort of help rebuild from the inside,” Blau said, “My fear and concern was it would have just ended up folding and it would never come back.” “And that’s what was happening,” Davis chimed in.

“We couldn’t have meetings, the majority of our members were older, they didn’t know how to Zoom. So, we really didn’t have any meetings and we couldn’t really do anything,” Davis said. “It kind of just stopped. I was ready to throw in the towel until Seth here said, ‘C’mon. Let’s give it another shot.’ So, I said, ‘Okay we’ll give it a shot.’”

Now, the club is in the beginning stages of the club’s resurgence back to it’s former glory, starting with planning the ever popular Pancake Breakfast, which will be hosted in April. 

Davis and Blau encourage the community to reach out and sign up. Davis said the club is “for those who are community driven (and a ) giving person. It doesn’t give you anything monetarily or anything like that. Its camaraderie, its recognition, it’s something to make your life a little bit more worthwhile.”