GREENVILLE—The Kiwanis Aktion Club Member of the Month for December 2022, is Kenny Barnes.
He said that he was surprised to be named member of the month.
“I was shocked,” Barnes said. “It made me feel very good.”
Barnes is a long time member, and has been in the club for about five years. He was nominated by his peers, and chosen for his willingness to volunteer, and to lend a helping hand.
Some of his favorite projects to work on recently are sorting bottle caps, and volunteering at the Darke County Humane Society.
“He’s a helper, and he pays attention to what needs to be done,” Sue Huston, Darke DD Community Connections Coordinator said. “He doesn’t always even need to be asked.”
He loves to attend the monthly club meetings.
“[I like] helping others and being nice to others,” Barnes added.
When he’s not with the club, he loves listening to cassette tapes, the Cleveland Browns, and singing.
Barnes lives in Lafayette, and attends Your Happy Place, in Greenville, for dayhab.
In the month of December, the 55 Aktion Club members volunteered 147 hours of their time.
Recently, the club found out that they are the second largest Aktion Club in the country. They just barely trail behind the largest club in the country, that has 56 members.
Up next for the club, they’re holding a food drive all of February, to collect different paper products for locals in need. The club will compete against other area Aktion Clubs to see who can collect the most items.
“We’re going to be donating to Grace [Greenville Grace Church],” Husten said. “They need toiletries, hygiene item and paper products.”
The club worked with the Greenville High School Key Club, and the athletic department, who will allow the club to collect items for the drive as an entry fee at one of the remaining boys basketball games.
GHS has allowed the club to collect at basketball games for several years. Husten added that they have not confirmed which game they will be working at.
“We want to thank Key Club for their partnership, and the students, for helping us serve our community,” she said.
Looking forward into March, which is DD Awareness month, the club plans to embark on local school visits, and to focus on education and awareness.
For any questions on The Kiwanis Aktion Club, follow the Darke County DD Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DarkeDD. For any questions or to donate food items to their February food drive, contact Huston at sueh@darkedd.org.
