Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City

by David Landis

4STEPS Therapeutic Riding Speaks to Kiwanis. The Kiwanis guest speaker on March 16th at the Woodlands was the Executive Director of 4STEPS Therapeutic Riding Program, Sandy Winter, pictured making a point. The purpose of 4STEPS is "Enhancing Lives Through Equine Activities at their facility in nearby Parsonsburg, Maryland. 4STEPS is about Therapy, Education, Sport, and Recreational Therapy and is used for local students and young adults who are physically or cognitively or emotionally challenged. By riding and caring for the horses, participants are afforded experiences and mobility they would not normally be able to have.
4STEPS is a nonprofit organization and a Premier Accredited Center of NARHA (formerly the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association since 1969) and gratefully accepts donations and volunteers. Learn more by going to their website at www.4stepstrp.org or by calling 410-835-8814. The purpose of Kiwanis is "Serving the Children of the World", much like what 4STEPS does.

Kiwanis Supports the Community. Kiwanis is a service organization with a mission of "Serving the Children of the World". However, Kiwanis also serves their community. At the March 9th weekly meeting, club president, Roy Foreman (on the middle) presented $500 checks to Phil Lassiter (on the left) for the Community Church's Appalachian Project and to Tim Collins (on the right) for Ocean Pines Cub Scout Pack 480. Both Phil and Tim are members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City as well a serving outside the club.

Kiwanis Hears from Rotary Club. There are numerous community service organizations in our area, one of which is the local Rotary Club of Ocean City-Berlin, Maryland. President of that club, Tom Bickerstaff, pictured between Kiwanis Club Speakers and Programs Chair Graham Caldwell, on his left, and Kiwanis President Roy Foreman to his right, was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting on March 2nd at the Ocean Pines Community Hall. The Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs have similar missions in that they focus on local community service. Both award scholarships to local high school seniors. Rotary is International as is Kiwanis with clubs located in most all the countries of the world. Both organizations, as with many other similar organizations, are challenged to retain and increase membership to allow them to continue to be of service.