Hope Individuals in Aktion Give Back

Williamsport, Pa. –  At meetings of the Hope Enterprises Aktion Club, attendees aren't thinking about themselves. Instead, they're focused on how they can use their abilities to help others.

Each month, approximately 25 individuals with disabilities meet to share ideas about how they can give back to their community and then fulfill those goals through fundraisers, collection drives and other community-service projects.

Affiliated with Kiwanis International, Aktion Clubs are service groups designed to offer adults living with disabilities an opportunity to develop initiative and leadership skills and help them serve their communities. With a motto of "Where development has no disability," the club's core values include character building, leadership, inclusiveness and caring. The Kiwanis Club of Williamsport serves as Hope's Aktion Club sponsor.

"These individuals at Hope are raising money for charities and giving back and doing community service, and they're really excited to do it," said Mike Barclay, a member of Hope's board of directors and the Williamsport Kiwanis Club. Barclay, along with former Williamsport Kiwanis club president, Chuck Harris, approached Hope in 2006 with the idea of starting an Aktion Club.

Whether it's participating in the club's annual nut, hot dog, and sandwich sales; serving at Kiwanis Club pancake breakfasts and burger burns; packing boxes at the Central PA Food Bank; adopting a family at Christmas; assisting with "Santa's Seniors" collections; helping with Meals on Wheels; or collecting wish-list items for various area charities, the members of Hope's Aktion Club are devoted to the cause.

"Our folks are very giving, and they love to give back," said Tina Beach, production manager at Hope Enterprises and the club's advisor. "They come to every meeting with great ideas of how to raise money, places they would like to donate and why." Also a Kiwanis member, Beach chartered the Hope Aktion Club in 2006 and notes that, in addition to the joy members receive from being able to help their community, they also enjoy the sense of comradery the club brings.

"This may have been the first opportunity for some of our individuals to belong to a club. The sense of belonging is very big," said Beach.

In its nearly 12 years of existence, Hope's Aktion Club has donated more than $8,000 to other area non-profits, including the American Rescue Workers, Lycoming County SPCA, Salvation Army, Lycoming United Way, Soap Box Derby, SunnyBrook Meadows Therapeutic Riding, Family Promise, ACES North America and Special Olympics.

In addition to Aktion Clubs, the Kiwanis organization sponsors a number of other service organizations, including Key Clubs for high school students and Circle K International, the world's largest university-level service and leadership organization. Barclay, who has worked with several other Kiwanis clubs in the region, said Hope's Aktion Club takes enthusiasm for giving to another level.

"I've been an advisor to these other groups, and we do a lot of great stuff," said Barclay. "But the giving can kind of become routine. With the Aktion clubbers, they're giving $100 to the Soap Box Derby or United Way and they're cheering! They're excited about it.

"You always leave an Aktion Club meeting feeling better," said Barclay. "You're uplifted. I remember one meeting where a woman raised her hand and said, ‘I just want to tell you, I love the Aktion Club,' and she began crying from happiness. You have those memory moments as a Kiwanian, and that's definitely one of mine."

"It's important for people in the community to know that our individuals love to volunteer and to be involved in serving their community," said Beach. "And it's wonderful that the Kiwanis Club approached us about this partnership and continues to sponsor us each year and to support us anyway that they can."

Kiwanis International designates the first full week of March each year as Aktion Club Week to help raise awareness of the clubs and the impact they make in their communities. More than 500 clubs have an opportunity to participate. This year's Aktion Club Week runs March 5-9.