The Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club is beginning its annual campaign to raise money for Warm the Children, which provides winter clothing every year around Christmastime for dozens of young people in Christian County whose families need assistance.
“This is one of the reasons I stay in Kiwanis,” said Nikki Chambers, who now oversees the effort that was established in 1995.
Chambers said she appreciates the focus on helping young people and that Warm the Children has no overhead expenses. Every dollar donated to Warm the Children is used to buy clothing. Kiwanians and other volunteers accompany children when they go shopping for their new coats and other garments.
Because last year’s Warm the Children fundraiser was so successful — generating about $26,000 in donations — the Kiwanis Club will be able to provide winter clothing for at least 250 children this year, Chambers estimated.
Kiwanians need to have another strong campaign in 2021 to replenish the Warm the Children fund and ensure it continues at the same pace in 2022.
Kiwanians Mike Kissner and Spencer Warren help Chambers manage Warm the Children.
Anyone interested in making a contribution may mail a check to the Hopkinsville Kiwanis Club, P.O. Box 470, Hopkinsville, KY 42241. There is also a donate button on the club’s website. Donors need to specify that their contribution is for Warm the Children.
Warm the Children was established locally in 1995 as a partnership between the Kiwanis Club and the Kentucky New Era. Willie Renshaw, who was a Kiwanian and the newspaper’s marketing manager, got the program started and ran it for more than 20 years. Renshaw died this summer at the age of 86. He related the history of Warm the Children during a club meeting in 2018, which can been seen in this video.
“I still think it was meant to be because so many people got behind this project, especially they Kiwanians,” Renshaw said.
Today the program is run almost entirely by the Kiwanis Club. The local Salvation Army provides names of local families who need assistance, and this year Chambers has asked the resource centers at the county’s public schools to provide additional names.
Chambers is coordinating shopping times with Walmart. That requires more attention because two other retailers that previously collaborated with Warm the Children — JC Penney and Kmart — are no longer in business.
Children ages 6 months to 16 years are selected for Warm the Children. Each child receives $80, and the volunteers who accompany them to the store help guide the children to spend the money on winter apparel.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
