Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 23/02) - Kiwanis International has becomes the latest addition on a list of international social service organizations hanging their local shingles in Yellowknife.

Allen Mueller is the provisional president of the new Kiwanis Club. He says the Yellowknife chapter should find its own fundraising niche in town. - Nathan VanderKlippe/NNSL photo

Promising to help out Yellowknife's youth, Kiwanis organizers met Sept. 20 at a kick-off dinner at the Yellowknife Inn.

"Some of the government's programs and or organizations have things missing and the needs of the community need to be met," said Allen Mueller, who was inducted as temporary president of the group during the dinner.

Kiwanis International president Brian Kunat attended the $30-a-plate dinner, as well as Colin Riechle, Lt-Gov. for Kiwanis Western Canada.

Over the next few months Kiwanis will elect a permanent membership and select a project to pursue. For now, group founders are considering their options, which include supporting the Side Door, working on new literacy initiatives or raising money for disadvantaged kids to buy sports equipment.

Fundraising planned

Kiwanis plans to fundraise using typical methods, such as raffles or bingos.

Unlike some of the male-dominated clubs in town, about a third of those who have expressed interest are women. Members' ranks will be drawn from various sectors of Yellowknife: nurses, RCMP counsellors, CEOs and stay-at-home moms.

"A lot of people are really keen on it because it's basically youth-oriented," said Norm Fillion, who is helping to organize the group.

Kevin Laframboise, director of the Side Door, was cautiously optimistic about the announcement.

"I don't believe it could hurt. I'm sure there's enough need to go around that Kiwanis could fit in nicely here," he said.

The new Kiwanis local gets its start just before the new United Way chapter, which has planned a kickoff dinner for Oct. 16. The two new kids on the block will join other major groups in town, like the Elks Lodge, Royal Canadian Legion and Rotary Club, who are already part of the city's social fabric.

Church groups and sports organizations round out the list of non-profit volunteer groups dedicated to raising funds and helping out the community.

A question of cash

The presence of new organizations brings a dicey question. Will the new guys erode the fundraising base for other organizations?

No one wants to appear ungrateful or unwelcoming, and leaders of those other groups were, to a person, quick to wish the club luck and success.

"You've got a lot of people looking for (donations of) money out there, and if that's their (Kiwanis') goal I'm all for it," said Lloyd Lush, first vice-president of the Legion.

But some also warned that a small community like Yellowknife has a small pool of volunteers and donated money.

"We're all service organizations and we're all chasing the same dollars and we're all chasing the same people," said Lions Club president Mike Oram.

"I definitely think that there is a limited amount of money," said Darrell Portz, president of the Rotary Club. But, he said, people give to causes which are close to home. A person who knows someone sick with cancer is more likely to give to the Canadian Cancer Society, for example.

More creative

That means groups have to be more creative and work harder to find a niche -- a particular campaign which resonates with a specific segment of the population.

And that type of market-sharing is already happening between Yellowknife groups, said Portz.

"We all have different directions and I don't see that we're robbing from each other," he said.

In part, the answer to the question resides in whether another group is considered competition.

Kiwanis backers were careful to emphasize their willingness to partner with existing groups, some of whom have already demonstrated success in linking arms.

For example, the Lions Club and Rotary Club teamed up to run the successful Fair in the Square this spring, which raised money for the Stanton Hospital Foundation.

"I don't think we should call them competition," said Rotary past president Austin Marshall. "We would look at it as another organization that has similar interests as ours. We could work together with them."