kiwanis club: Los Gatos, saratoga,monte sereno

We held our first "Los Gatos Holiday Market" in December 2023, a benefit for Local Youth Programs and Los Gatos Senior Nutrition Center!  Featuring gorgeous handcrafted gifts from local and regional artisans, with all monies raised for a good cause. Can't wait to do it all again, and this time for the whole weekend: 12/14-12/15/2024.  Nothing better than shopping for a good cause!  Added bonus::  live music from the fabulous local duo of Phil & Rob!!  For more information click here.

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We can't do much to support various causes without some money, so fundraising events are critical!  Here are our main fundraisers:

LOS GATOS ART & WINE FESTIVAL, FIESTA DE ARTES

September 21-22, 2024, 10am-6:30pm, Civic Center Lawn

2024 is the 52nd year for this super fun & free festival, with live music all weekend, great local wines and wonderful art. Entirely run by our club, every single cent made goes right back into the community. For more details, visit  www.losgatosfiesta.com.   Note: proceeds from this event fund our Turn-Around Scholarship program, as well as a host of other local youth programs!

TURN-AROUND SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS LUNCHEON

May 8, 2025, 12noon-2pm, at Double D's Sports Grille in Los Gatos, MC'd by our very own Mike Wasserman, Former Mayor of Los Gatos and long-time Santa Clara County Supervisor.  An event not to be missed!  You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be inspired by these great teens.  Most of all, you'll be happy you came!

Some of the other fundraisers that we participate in throughout the year::

Town of Los Gatos 4th of July, Symphony in the Park, we run the Beer & Wine Garden.

Registrar of Voters.  In election years, we volunteer with the ROV to deliver ballots to their headquarters.

​The Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos was formed on December 20, 1923. (Making it the oldest international service club in Los Gatos).  We represent Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno & Almaden Valley.  That's right, you read it correctly: we are celebrating 100 years of community service in Los Gatos!

The very first Kiwanis Club was formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1915. Clubs were originally organized to promote the exchange of business among members. Shortly after its organization it became a service club helping children around the world. Click here for more details on the origins of Kiwanis. 

Today there are nearly 600,000 Kiwanis Club members, including: Key Club (high school) Circle K Club (college), Builders Club (middle school), K’Kids (elementary school) and Aktion Club (for those with disabilities).

The word "Kiwanis" was derived from a Native American phrase meaning "We trade our talents"...and that we do!

About the organization:  Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos is part of Division 12; we are one of 11 clubs in the South Bay that make up our division, which is currently lead by the West San Jose Club's Gene Delaplace(LTG).  Our very own Rosalie Patterson was the Lieutenant Governor over the entire division in 2021.  In 2020, Terry Martin, and 2018 Rex Upp, both also from our club, were LTG's; . We are honored to have numerous past illustrious "LTG's" in our club, including Don Wolf.  By the way, Raymond J Fisher was President of our club in the 1930's - the middle school is named after him!  We are in the Cal-Nev-Ha district, meaning that all of California, Nevada and Hawaii fall into the same group (with Governor Doug Frost at the helm) and we have district conferences that are sometimes in Hawaii, YAY!!  When your travels take you around the globe, know that you can always find a friend in a fellow Kiwanian...and check out these Global Initiatives!     

Our local club is made up of the following officers and board members for the 2024-2025 fiscal year:: 

Board of Directors

Officers: 

Clay Marr, President

Kasey Rice, Past President '23-'24

Greg Lovely, President-Elect

Ernest Patterson, Treasurer

Nancy Pearson, Secretary

Directors:

Barbara Koplos

Bert Olson

Joe Pirzynski

Rusty Rinehart

George Sikich

Other:

Nancy Pearson, Past President & Current Secretary, Kiwanis Special Games 2024-2025

KIWANIS CLUB OF LOS GATOS: VOLUNTEERISM WITH A FRESH APPROACH 

Community Service Organizations (Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary, to name a few) have all been around for many decades and all serve the community in slightly different ways. These groups are designed for people who want to get involved - do good things - and give, not just give back, to the communities that they care about. It is volunteerism at its finest and is a vehicle for many people who are looking to do something meaningful in their lives. 

Kiwanis helps kids around the world. Local clubs look out for our communities and the international organization takes on large-scale challenges, such as fighting disease and poverty. Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos has some great plans and ideas for our communities of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga & Almaden Valley.  We put on many events, such as the annual Hippity Hop Egg Hunt at Oak Meadow Park, and the Kiwanis Special Games at West Valley College for over 1000 special needs kids. We give school backpacks and supplies to elementary schools in surrounding communities who need our help. We honor students and educators by awarding scholarships to kids who have overcome huge obstacles and turned their lives around to get good grades and go on to college.  We also hold monthly trail-cleanups on the Los Gatos Creek Trail and open it up to other groups and businesses who may be interested and need their own ‘schedule’. This includes anywhere in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga that has a need. 

On a last, and fun, note, we have once a month "Roving Socials With A Cause" where we do anything from play bocce ball to wine-tasting and everything in between. This includes restaurants, wineries and everything fun and interesting.  To elevate the social event, we make it into a donation drive for a different cause each month.  For example, we have collected new toys for children, donated to Sacred Heart Family Services in San Jose; recently we donated needed supplies for the Kiwanis Family House in Sacramento (part of the UC Davis Med Center - and what the Ronald McDonald House was modeled after).  We 've had a donation drive for Hope Services and a drive for new items to donate to The Grateful Garment Project, which is a non-profit organization that helps victims of sexual violence. 

It's all about community.  We help other local non-profits and we support local businesses. 

The Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos is made up of a lot of people who want to make a difference in our communities - and happen to have a lot of fun along the way, which makes it all the better.

If you want some more info, please email kiwanislosgatos@gmail.com

Here's a list of some of our more popular community service projects, sponsorships and events:

• Los Gatos & Saratoga High School: 
  • Academic Scholarships
  • Turn-Around Scholarships, for students who have overcome adversities.  The TAS program started over 50 years ago!
  • Los Gatos High School Key Club
• Hippity Hop Egg Hunt with the Easter Bunny, Oak Meadow Park, Saturday before Easter. 
• Los Gatos Art & Wine, Fiesta de Artes: Each September we put on this great community event, with live music and fun all weekend long, free to the public. www.losgatosfiesta.com
• Kiwanis Special Games, each Spring at West Valley College in Saratoga, for extremely challenged special needs kids in Santa Clara County  www.kiwanisspecialgames.org
• We proudly sponsor and advise Student-run Community Service & Leadership Programs at the following schools:  K Kids at Blue Hills Elementary, Daves Ave Elementary & Van Meter Elementary; Builders Club at Fisher Middle School & Stratford Prep; Key Clubs at these fine high schools: Los Gatos, Leigh, Prospect, Stratford Prep, Pioneer, Leland  &  Bellarmine!.
• Los Gatos Veterans Memorial, sponsor
• Los Gatos Youth Park, sponsor and Board Member.  We sponsor and help maintain the Neverland Clubhouse, which is a landmark in Los Gatos that is for any & all youth organizations to use.
• R J Fisher Middle School Awards.  We provide Kiwanis Awards for graduating 8th-graders who excel in the arts.
• Kiwanis International Foundation – The Eliminate Project, eliminating maternal & neonatal tetanus
• California-Nevada-Hawaii Kiwanis District Foundation – Prevent Pediatric Trauma
• Trail Cleanups each month, along the Los Gatos Creek Trail system
• Donation Drives for various communities, such as for the CZU Fire Victims in 2020
• We support numerous student groups, including: the LGHS Ironclaw Robotics Team.
• We support numerous community non-profit organizations, including: Second Harvest Silicon Valley; Sunday Friends; The Family Giving Tree, Live Oak Senior Nutrition Center & Sacred Heart Community Services.

As a volunteer organization serving children around the world through members in more than 70 countries, Kiwanis International has had a longstanding commitment to opportunity and dignity for all people. In June 2022, the Kiwanis International Board of Trustees adopted the latest expression of that principle: a detailed statement of our continuing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

At Kiwanis, our mission — to serve the children of the world, one child and one community at a time — is reflected in our continuing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We understand that the children of the world represent a variety of races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, socioeconomic statuses, gender identities and sexual orientations. Our vision is to be a positive influence in societies worldwide, so that one day, regardless of background, all children wake up in communities that believe in them, nurture them and provide the support they need to survive.

To ensure our vision comes to life, it is imperative that our Kiwanis family welcomes, includes and serves individuals with diverse backgrounds, talents and perspectives. With Kiwanis’ worldwide presence, it is critical that we work with and engage members and organizations representing diverse communities throughout all levels of our organization.

Diversity: We commit to increasing diversity and celebrating the range of human differences. Kiwanis clubs shall not discriminate based upon race, color, creed, national origin, age or sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, when considering membership or during any of their activities or operations.

Equity: We commit to a policy of opportunity that promotes fairness, impartiality and nondiscriminatory actions for all persons — no matter the criteria. 

Inclusion: We commit to pursuing efforts to ensure the dignity of all people is recognized, respected, valued and empowered.

Questions or comments about diversity, equity and inclusion can be emailed to diversity@kiwanis.org.

Another milestone in the organization’s longstanding commitment came in 2008, when delegates at the Kiwanis International convention adopted a resolution that celebrates inclusiveness and encourages and empowers clubs to create environments that nurture mutual respect. The language reads:

Therefore, be it resolved that the delegates assembled at the 2008 Kiwanis International convention in Orlando, Florida, and all Kiwanis leaders and members to take action to create a culture and club environment that develops and nurtures mutual respect for all and celebrates the inclusiveness of our beloved Kiwanis.

When you work hard, you want to play hard!  We do everything from wine tasting to bocce ball and more!  We have roving socials, where we visit a different restaurant, winery or coffee shop in Los Gatos and Saratoga once a month. We want to have fun and spend locally.  It's a win-win!  The extra added bonus is that we tie in our fun with a good cause; thus our "Socials With A Cause"!

Coming Soon:  We will be starting our Weekend Warrior Hikes, where on the first Saturday of each month we will meet at a designated trail and have a nice hike, perhaps a picnic, for sure coffee, and all for a good cause!  These Weekend Warriors will be donating food to local food banks for those in need in Silicon Valley.  YAY! 

The Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos is a community service organization, serving Los Gatos, Saratoga & Monte Sereno. With our recent merger of the Almaden Valley Kiwanis, we have expanded out even further!  

We are non-profit & completely made up of volunteers who simply want to do good in our community. 

To put it simply: We hold fundraisers so that we can continue doing community service projects & providing scholarships for our youth, as well as sponsoring Student Leadership Programs at our local schools.

Think you might be a good fit?  Email us at kiwanislosgatos@gmail.com and we will tell you how to come to our meetings and get a feel for our group.  

Recent articles in the Los Gatan Weekly Newspaper, SJ Mercury News, Los Gatos Patch, Los Gatos Living Magazine and Saratoga Spotlight Magazine:

https://losgatan.com/dinahs-event-log-a-fiesta-a-gala-and-an-upcoming-flick/

https://issuu.com/metrosiliconvalley/docs/lgn_2235_e-edition

https://www.metrosiliconvalley.com/best-of-silicon-valley-2023/

https://losgatan.com/special-games-draws-hundreds-to-west-valley-college/?fbclid=IwAR3hEqx9e0Utn1KaLDYvC9HnKzAqy7uwZoTfQEUd7vj2bvgzsvuuSzsEiW8

https://losgatan.com/festival-pairs-opportunity-with-wine/

https://patch.com/california/losgatos/los-gatos-fundraiser-benefits-students-who-beat-odds?utm_source=shared-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/01/31/los-gatos-sends-a-valentine-to-local-heroes/

Los Gatos Living Magazine article,April 2021: email kiwanislosgatos@gmail.com for pdf version.