4 • The Southwest Portland Post
FEATURES
January 2013
Kiwanis volunteers bring spirit of
Christmas to Multnomah Village
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
If you’re one of those people who
just dread the holidays full of parties,
endless assortments of sweets, and the
buzz of shopping madness, then by all
means, the yearly Breakfast with Santa
is the place for you!
I’m not talking about the piping hot,
perfectly round pancakes or the sausage
links that seem to be swallowed whole.
Nor am I talking about the long wait to
see the kindly old gentleman from the
North Pole.
I’m talking about the wonderful vol-
unteers who make up the Southwest
Hills Kiwanis. Yes, those guys, the ones
slathering pancake batter on the large
griddle every year during Multnomah
Days.
Breakfast with Santa is held at the
Lucky Lab in Multnomah Village every
December and the Kiwanis pull out all
the stops. Volunteers from three genera-
tions gather to prepare the tables, create
center pieces, and serve nervous bellies
waiting to see Santa.
But it was one volunteer in particular
who pulled my heartstrings that cold,
blustery day: an eight-year-old girl
named Kaia.
From Oregon City, no less, Kaia
awoke at five-thirty that morning to
get ready for the long ride to the village
she’s never been.
“My job is to set the table and put
the syrup on the tables,” she beamed
as her reindeer antlers flopped from
side to side.
She also helped with trash and reset
place settings after the first set of fami-
lies departed. She said she didn’t even
know Santa would be there.
Over 200 children and their parents
were served that day and collected
nearly $5000 for Doernbecher Chil-
dren’s Hospital.
According to Teri Mills, lieuten-
ant governor of the Southwest Hills
Kiwanis, they raised over $224,000
this past year for Doernbecher. A
Mustang convertible raffle ticket fund
raiser, organized by Vietnam Veteran
Paul Faulk, alone brought in nearly
$126,000.
Paul, along with Kirk Caudill and
Bob Collison, have almost 80 years
of service in Kiwanis alone. They’re
the ones that get to stand over the hot
griddle for hours at a time.
Kiwanis International is over 100
years old and was named after an
Indian Village in upstate New York.
Current membership numbers around
240,000 in 7,700 different clubs in 80
countries. The average age is 57, with
membership being 74 percent men and
26 percent women.
Kiwanians have programs that
range from the elementary school up
to college. The Key Club attracts high
school students who in turn conduct
Kiwanis volunteers Paul Faulk, Kirk Caudill and Bob Collison sling up some
tasty pancakes. (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
community projects.
Monies have also been donated
to the Mt Hood Kiwanis Camp for
children and adults with disabilities,
Neighborhood House, and the South-
west Community Health Center.
”We’re starting a new program,” ex-
plained Teri. “We found out that many
of the seniors, who receive food from
Loaves and Fishes’ Meals on Wheels,
end up giving their pets half of their
meal.”
So starting in 2013, the Kiwanis, in
coordination with the Banfield Pet
Hospital, will solicit pet food dona-
tions and distribute to the seniors
with pets.
When asked why an eight-year-old
girl had to work for hours and hours
for people she didn’t even know, Kaia
replied that her whole family including
her grandmother helps out.
“Kids are missing out on all the fun,”
she said as she took someone’s order. “I
haven’t even said hi to Santa yet. I’ve
been so busy!”
And did she get to eat all the pan-
cakes she wanted? Yes! Three of them!”
For more information on the Kiwanis or
the pet food collaboration project, please
check out their website at http://www.
kiwanisswhills.org.