Eastmont Kiwanis Hosting Fundraiser for Elementary Schoolers

Eastmont Kiwanis will be hosting their annual fundraising lunch at the Country Inn Wednesday from 12:00-1:00 p.m.

The event has been held for 39 years with the money donated going towards their Third Grade Christmas Party which will happen later on this month.

Part of the lunch will be a Christmas-spirit type contest where attendees can dress up in their most holiday-inspired attire with two winners who get a free prime rib dinner at the Country Inn.

The group says all are welcome.

If you'd like to go, contact Walt Ness of Eastmont Kiwanis at 509-670-8668 no later than 5:00 p.m. Monday.

From Eastmont Kiwanis:

What is the Third Grade Christmas Party?

For nearly forty years, we’ve coordinated this effort with the Eastmont School District administration, elementary school principals, third grade teachers, district transportation department and parents of each child. Attendees are selected by their teachers using one criteria: which children in their class will benefit most. This can be financial need, family circumstances, or other aspects of the child’s life. Each year, between 35 and 40 third graders are selected.

The excited third graders are accompanied by their teachers, picked up by a district bus and brought to the Country Inn. They are all treated to lunch, sing traditional carols, and have a visit with Santa. Before returning to their schools on the bus, each child receives a flannel blanket, knitted stocking hat and candy cane from Santa.

Why do we keep doing this, year after year? Well, when you hear children say things like, “..I’ve never been in a restaurant before…” “..this is the first blanket I’ve had that’s mine…” “..I wasn’t sure I’d get anything for Christmas…” you’d start planning for next year too.

This isn’t any ordinary Christmas party. It’s the culmination of a year of preparation and fundraising activities. The fleece blankets are all hand-made by our Eastmont Kiwanis members with help from the kids in the school-age Kiwanis clubs which we sponsor in the Eastmont Scholl District. Our Eastmont K-Kids (grade school), Builder’s Club (junior high) and Key Club (high school) help make the Third Grade Christmas party possible. Each of the knitted stocking hats is handmade by one of our members.
We are also thankful for our community partners, The Country Inn and the Eastmont School District.

The Country Inn hosts our weekly club meetings, plus provides the food and facility for our Fundraising Lunch. For the Third Grade Christmas Party, they reserve half of the restaurant and provide us with discounted lunches for the kids. Each child receives a hamburger, fries, soft drink and dessert.

The Eastmont School District and their wonderful staff look forward to doing their part each year to make this possible. They arrange the transportation, select the third grade attendees and coordinate with the parents.

The Third Grade Christmas Party is a just a small taste of what the spirit of community service can accomplish. We hope you can join us next Wednesday the 11th at from noon to 1 pm at the Country Inn in East Wenatchee to support this effort. Please remember to RSVP by Monday with Walt.