We support Well-Help, our local food pantry, and are the chartering organization for Troop 414, the local Boy Scouts troop, as well as the local Cub Scout den.
Kiwanis helps with the annual Duke Pride Carnival by sponsoring a bounce house for students to enjoy. The proceeds from the carnival benefit Well-Help.
We help sponsor Wellington High’s community day where students spend a day providing community service work throughout the community. In 2025, we helped sponsor the first Dynamic Duke Shake program (above), in which 6th graders were treated to lunch with community leaders, learning how to interact with a handshake, eye contact, and a confident voice. The Dynamic Duke Shake is also a competition, in which each community leader selected one student from their lunch table to participate until one student came away with the “best in class” title.
Wellington Kiwanis is co-sponsoring a Bed Build event and fundraiser for the benefit of Good Knights, a county program that provides beds to children who do not have one. Together with the Wellington Masonic Lodge and the Wellington Eagles, there is a fundraiser on October 4, 2025, and an opportunity to build beds in front of the town hall on October 25, 2025.
This summer, as part of the Kiwanis’ statewide Governor’s Project to “Bee a Hero” by planting pollinator gardens, Kiwanis teamed with the Cemetery Board and Hook’s Greenhouse to create a 1600 square foot pollinator garden in a difficult-to-mow area along Cemetery Road. Also, Kiwanis members and Scouts cleaned up the greenery under the three “Welcome to Wellington” signs at the south, east, and west entrances to the village, and followed up by planting petunias and pollinator plant seeds to give the signs a bit of color.
In addition, Kiwanis works with Oberlin Community Services each month and delivers food packages to income-eligible Wellington residents. As Kiwanians, we also assist other local civic organizations by providing volunteer manpower with their main civic events, including bell ringing for the Salvation Army Wellington Service Unit and Main Street Wellington.
Wellington Kiwanis presented with Key to the Village of Wellington (2024)
Although receiving awards is not the reason Wellington Kiwanis serves the community, the club’s service over the past 100 years has not gone unnoticed. At the 2024 State of Wellington breakfast as Village Council president Gene Hartman (left) looks on, Mayor Hans Schneider presented Kiwanis with a Key to the Village of Wellington in recognition of a century of community service. President Carol Burke received the honor on behalf of all Kiwanians – past, present, and future.
Toys and beans were the main themes this week for the Wellington High School Key Club, working with Well-Help. On Monday, members of the club sorted toys. On Friday, the Key Club and the Student Council, with some assistance from the Wellington Kiwanis Club, teamed up to package 130 green bean casserole kits and had them delivered to Well-Help's food pantry at the First United Methodist Church. The Key Club is one of three service leadership programs sponsored by Kiwanis, with the others being the Westwood Elementary K-Kids and the McCormick Middle School Builders Club. ... See MoreSee Less
They wore bib numbers 62 and 63, and joined the Turkey-Wanis 5K late Thanksgiving morning. Mari and husband Steve Fridenmaker (their last name means “peace maker” in German) from Columbus were on their way to visit family in Avon Lake for the holiday.
“Despite the fact that we were late, the Turkey-Wanis ladies checking us in were welcoming, friendly and helpful,” said Mari, who is a remote-working Professional Development Insurance Trainer for a company based in North Carolina. Steve, a physical therapist with Mt. Carmel Hospital in Columbus, added, “Even one of the guys who manned the water station cheered us on, knowing that we were late starters.”
Despite lateness, Steve finished first in the 50-to-59 age category.
Mari and Steve are on a mission to run 5Ks in all 88 counties of Ohio. Lorain County is their 11th thus far. Physical activity has always been a priority for them, with long-distance runs, cycling and hiking. Mari, however, suffered physical injuries a few years back, so she and her husband re-examined their running plans.
“We now have parameters,” said Mari. “We want to race in small towns, we want the race to benefit charities, and we want to pay $25 per person or less. We learned that 75 percent of local races don’t support charities and can charge up to $40 per person. So many people do races if there’s a lot of ‘bling’ and media exposure,” the good-hearted runner added.
“We were also impressed by Terry (Mazzone), president of the Wellington Kiwanis, the number of kids attending, the signs at every 5K turn, a bathroom! and the fact that the race finished at the Wellington High School Football Stadium track. We also loved the beanies. We have enough t-shirts from 5Ks and they’re a pain,” said Mari.
Where are the Fridenmakers heading next on their Ohio mission? Want to give them race ideas from your home town? Message them on our Facebook post!
Submitted by Margaret Swenseid, our marketing consultant for the Turkey-Wanis . Thanks Margaret. Your promotions helped make our inaugural race so successful. ... See MoreSee Less
Community Service
We support Well-Help, our local food pantry, and are the chartering organization for Troop 414, the local Boy Scouts troop, as well as the local Cub Scout den.
Kiwanis helps with the annual Duke Pride Carnival by sponsoring a bounce house for students to enjoy. The proceeds from the carnival benefit Well-Help.
We help sponsor Wellington High’s community day where students spend a day providing community service work throughout the community. In 2025, we helped sponsor the first Dynamic Duke Shake program (above), in which 6th graders were treated to lunch with community leaders, learning how to interact with a handshake, eye contact, and a confident voice. The Dynamic Duke Shake is also a competition, in which each community leader selected one student from their lunch table to participate until one student came away with the “best in class” title.
Wellington Kiwanis is co-sponsoring a Bed Build event and fundraiser for the benefit of Good Knights, a county program that provides beds to children who do not have one. Together with the Wellington Masonic Lodge and the Wellington Eagles, there is a fundraiser on October 4, 2025, and an opportunity to build beds in front of the town hall on October 25, 2025.
This summer, as part of the Kiwanis’ statewide Governor’s Project to “Bee a Hero” by planting pollinator gardens, Kiwanis teamed with the Cemetery Board and Hook’s Greenhouse to create a 1600 square foot pollinator garden in a difficult-to-mow area along Cemetery Road. Also, Kiwanis members and Scouts cleaned up the greenery under the three “Welcome to Wellington” signs at the south, east, and west entrances to the village, and followed up by planting petunias and pollinator plant seeds to give the signs a bit of color.
In addition, Kiwanis works with Oberlin Community Services each month and delivers food packages to income-eligible Wellington residents. As Kiwanians, we also assist other local civic organizations by providing volunteer manpower with their main civic events, including bell ringing for the Salvation Army Wellington Service Unit and Main Street Wellington.
Wellington Kiwanis presented with Key to the Village of Wellington (2024)
Although receiving awards is not the reason Wellington Kiwanis serves the community, the club’s service over the past 100 years has not gone unnoticed. At the 2024 State of Wellington breakfast as Village Council president Gene Hartman (left) looks on, Mayor Hans Schneider presented Kiwanis with a Key to the Village of Wellington in recognition of a century of community service. President Carol Burke received the honor on behalf of all Kiwanians – past, present, and future.
RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS
Toys and beans were the main themes this week for the Wellington High School Key Club, working with Well-Help. On Monday, members of the club sorted toys. On Friday, the Key Club and the Student Council, with some assistance from the Wellington Kiwanis Club, teamed up to package 130 green bean casserole kits and had them delivered to Well-Help's food pantry at the First United Methodist Church. The Key Club is one of three service leadership programs sponsored by Kiwanis, with the others being the Westwood Elementary K-Kids and the McCormick Middle School Builders Club. ... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Meet the Fridenmakers
They wore bib numbers 62 and 63, and joined the Turkey-Wanis 5K late Thanksgiving morning. Mari and husband Steve Fridenmaker (their last name means “peace maker” in German) from Columbus were on their way to visit family in Avon Lake for the holiday.
“Despite the fact that we were late, the Turkey-Wanis ladies checking us in were welcoming, friendly and helpful,” said Mari, who is a remote-working Professional Development Insurance Trainer for a company based in North Carolina. Steve, a physical therapist with Mt. Carmel Hospital in Columbus, added, “Even one of the guys who manned the water station cheered us on, knowing that we were late starters.”
Despite lateness, Steve finished first in the 50-to-59 age category.
Mari and Steve are on a mission to run 5Ks in all 88 counties of Ohio. Lorain County is their 11th thus far. Physical activity has always been a priority for them, with long-distance runs, cycling and hiking. Mari, however, suffered physical injuries a few years back, so she and her husband re-examined their running plans.
“We now have parameters,” said Mari. “We want to race in small towns, we want the race to benefit charities, and we want to pay $25 per person or less. We learned that 75 percent of local races don’t support charities and can charge up to $40 per person. So many people do races if there’s a lot of ‘bling’ and media exposure,” the good-hearted runner added.
“We were also impressed by Terry (Mazzone), president of the Wellington Kiwanis, the number of kids attending, the signs at every 5K turn, a bathroom! and the fact that the race finished at the Wellington High School Football Stadium track. We also loved the beanies. We have enough t-shirts from 5Ks and they’re a pain,” said Mari.
Where are the Fridenmakers heading next on their Ohio mission? Want to give them race ideas from your home town? Message them on our Facebook post!
Submitted by Margaret Swenseid, our marketing consultant for the Turkey-Wanis . Thanks Margaret. Your promotions helped make our inaugural race so successful. ... See MoreSee Less
2 CommentsComment on Facebook
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sorry, nothing found.