Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club Holds Successful Fundraiser at Wal-Mart

by Bruce Malkin

On October 30 from 3-9 pm and on October 31 from 9-5, the Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club (MVKC) held its first Peanut Day fundraiser, whereby it offered a small bag of specially packaged roasted peanuts to any Wal-Mart customer who made a donation to the Club to help it fund its community service programs. Due to the cooperation of Wal-Mart management and the extraordinary generosity of its customers, the fundraiser was a success, raising $1271 over the 2-day period and distributing in return over 1,000 bags of peanuts. Six MVKX members participated in manning the different shifts, and even a light drizzle on Saturday morning did not dampen their spirits.

Anne Tuccillo, Scoutmaster of Troop 1851, which is sponsored by the MVKC, brought two of her Scouts, Brian Tuccillo and Daniel Vasquez, to help collect donations. Friend of MVKC, Reyna Reyes, also participated successfully among the Spanish-speaking customers. The attached photos show MVKC members Bruce Malkin, Jim Todd, and Richard Peterson offering bags of peanuts for donations, and the positive responses of several customers, namely, Curtis Gray, Sally Waller and her two daughters, and Achmed Anwar and his two sons. MVKC members Ken Smith, Richard Keil, and Joanne Malkin also worked hard to make this a successful event for the MVKC. Readers interested in knowing the many ways that the MVKC spends its funds by helping the children in the Mount Vernon community should visit its website at www.mtvernonvakiwanis.org where they will also learn how to become a member of this community service organization.