Circle K News
UWSP Circle K Points!
Volume 5-February
Countdown to 1000 Service Hours: 93.25 Remaining (217.75 Hours Served during February)
NOTE: We surpassed our 2003-2004 club service goal of 700 service hours on February 10, 2004. Our new club service goal is 1000 total service hours by March 31, 2004 (the end of the Circle K year).
Bingo at the Edge(water)
"B-2. O-64."
"What did he say? We can't hear you!"
"Look, you DO have O-64. It's right there."
"How old are you? I remember when..."
If you haven't guessed what event this is about, you haven't had the pleasure of calling and playing Bingo at Edgewater Manner. Every so often, the Circle K of UWSP drives in a group, goodies in tote to an assisted living facility in Stevens Point. Around 30 residents come to play Bingo... and socialize! The ladies sit around in "their" chairs while the single man of the group slinks into his own seat, knowing that he probably has the best deal, being around so many women in one fell swoop. Bingo squares are yelled across the room: often repeated for the hard of hearing. Then prizes are given away: socks, candles, photo albums. The prizes are nice, but it is more a time to socialize. Finally, six or eight games later, we pick up the chairs and put away the tables. "Come again," the residents request as they direct how to put away the equipment. We smile. We'll be back.
Where Have All the Addresses Gone?
Winter Weekend Getaway was loads of fun in snowy Houghton this year. Aside from the lack of numbers on the houses, it was a relaxing and enjoyable weekend for all. There was something for everyone to do…from Trivial Pursuit to swimming to movies and the action-packed “Speed” tournament. Outdoor adventures included sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and sightseeing in Houghton. The weekend was made complete with a few games of bowling, a Chili-dump for dinner, and the crowning of the King and Queen. Penguins in Paradise? I don’t know about the penguins, but I know I sure had a perfect polar weekend!
Bowling for the Sake of Kids
Bowl for Kids Sake took place on Saturday, February 28th at Five Star Lanes in Plover. The money raised during this event went to help out Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Portage County. I ran one of the registration booths for the 7pm shift. Everyone coming to bowl seemed really excited and it was awesome seeing all of the pledges that came in. When I left, a total of about $45,000 was raised and by the end of the night the grand total was $64,000. That’s a lot of money helping out children to receive a Big Brother or Big Sister.
UWSP Model Kiwanis
Recently, the UW – Stevens Point club had a chance to participate in a Model Kiwanis meeting with our sponsoring organization, the Plover Kiwanis. This meant that three of our members, as well as our faculty advisor, got to run the Kiwanis meeting, complete with the prayer, pledges, and raffle tickets. We also had the opportunity to either have a guest speaker or to provide information of some sort to the club. After pondering the several possibilities of how to do this, we decided that it would be a great opportunity to inform them about Circle K and our club in particular.
First, we started off with a rousing game of Circle K Jeopardy. Categories that Kiwanis members were enlightened in included Wisconsin – Upper Michigan district, International, and UWSP. Two winners were awarded blue ribbons of honor to recognize their outstanding knowledge. Next, the Kiwanis was presented with some facts about our club at UWSP and some of the events we’ve participated in recently. These included library parties for children at Portage County Public Library, Bingo at Edgewater Manor Senior Apartments, and our Christmas Basket program.
All the members of the Kiwanis enjoyed learning more about our club; plans are even underway for presenting it to the Stevens Point Kiwanis, as well. Model Kiwanis is definitely a great way to increase involvement and awareness between the different levels of the K-family.
Relay For Life 2004-“Start Your Day off Hungry for a Cure”
How about another lap? On Friday February 27th about fourteen teams gathered to walk all night to help out the American Cancer Society raise money to help find a cure for cancer. Cancer survivors, honorary family members and caring citizens respectively took numerous walks around the track dedicating each hour to a specific theme. Circle K members helped out the event by selling and decorating luminaries to be placed around the track in memory or in honor of the lives that cancer has changed. Take a warm trip to Hawaii by wearing your leis and flowered skirts, dazzle yourself in your formal wear, or put your pj’s and comfortable slippers on for the final laps. A great time was had by all with compliments to the continuous DJ entertainment, plentiful food, and not to forget the massages available towards the end.
Dancing Like We’ve Never Danced Before
All you can eat free food, free gifts, free shirts, and volunteering: what more could a college student ask for? This is exactly what the volunteers that participated in ACT's Dance Marathon benefiting the Children's Miracle Network thought. Many of the Circle Kers who volunteered in the Dance Marathon helped out with registering the dancers and the Miracle Children at the event. Afterwards some of the volunteers even stayed to hang out for part of the dance where they played balloon games with some of the kids. More importantly, the Children's Miracle Network raised over a thousand dollars that night. All in all this was a very fun event for the people who attended and I hope many of you consider volunteering or participating at it in future years.