Community Education
Club sponsored by local Kiwanis allows everyone to get in on the AKtion
Developmentally disabled adults have an opportunity to give back to the community through AKtion Club, which was chartered last year and sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Gig Harbor. Members help with area events and work with nonprofits.
Education Sponsor
Education stories are made possible in part by Tacoma Community College, a proud sponsor of Gig Harbor Now.
Tina Shoemaker, president of the Kiwanis Club of Gig Harbor and AKtion Club advisor, saw a presentation years ago by the first AKtion Club during a conference in the Midwest. When she moved to Gig Harbor from Kansas 17 years ago, she kept the idea in mind.
“Our Kiwanis Club used to provide a Christmas party for the Community Transition Program, a school district program for developmentally disabled students,” Shoemaker said. “I became aware that we had a population here in Gig Harbor. Last year I approached the school district, and PenMet Parks, because they have the adaptive recreation program, and I learned about the therapeutic swim program at the YMCA, and the time was right.”
From CTP to AKtion
Shoemaker hosted an introduction meeting at Peninsula High School last year. Ten people who attended the meeting became members.
Members of AKtion Club sort through donations of clothing for a local nonprofit. Photo courtesy of Tina Shoemaker
Levi Myer was in the Peninsula School District’s Community Transition Program for developmentally disabled students. His mother, Cindy, heard about AKtion from Levi’s CTP teacher. She said it answered the question of what he would do after he aged out of CTP.
“I was so excited about AKtion Club,” she said. “It’s worrisome for parents, because school is ending, and that’s a big part of their social time, and structure for our kids. There’s concern about what is going to happen, what are they going to do, we don’t want them to sit at home and do nothing.”
Aktion Club provides a sense of community and belonging and is a great fit for Levi. It has also been good for the parents of the members.
“I would love to see this group grow,” Myers said. “All of the people who support this group are so organized, and they really care. A lot of thought went into creating this group.”
Having 10 members is a great start, but Shoemaker said the goal is to welcome more into AKtion Club.
Members of AKtion Club, a part of the Kiwanis Club for developmentally disabled adults, pose in their masks after an activity. Members of AKtion volunteer in much the same way that Kiwanis members do. Photo courtesy of Tina Shoemaker
“We hope to grow that number as more people learn about the club, and what we are doing,” Shoemaker said.
Serving the community
Members help with Kiwanis Club events, such as a Veterans Day event in November at the Gig Harbor Vintage Aero Museum. They helped assemble gift packets given to attendees, which included a coin and information card.
The also helped with KidVantage, an Issaquah-based program that assembles kits for families with young children. KidVantage has a warehouse in Bremerton.
Donors drop off items like toys, diapers and clothing at the warehouse. AKtion Club members helped sort donations, which KidVantage distributes to those who need them.
Because some of the members had volunteered there through the school district, Shoemaker said they were familiar with the place and the work.
“They had seen the warehouse, and took a leadership role in the sorting, so it was fun to see,” she said. “Some are more limited than others, and they help each other. It’s fun to see the joy of contributing something to someone else, and the fact that they can make a contribution is very satisfying.”
AKtion Club members, from left, Gracie Wellman, Levi Myers and Christian Portillo stuff plastic eggs with trinkets for the PenMet Parks Egg Hunt. Photo courtesy of Tina Shoemaker
Recently, members filled 1,000 plastic eggs for the PenMet Parks Spring Egg Hunt. The club plans more projects for the future.
Click here for more information about AKtion Club.