April Is Civitan Awareness Month

           The Hope Civitan Club is quietly celebrating Civitan Awareness Month, an annual observation of Civitan International, held each April.  For the past few years, the Hope Civitan Club has sponsored a “business after hours” at the Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce during the month of April.  This year’s event was scheduled for April 16, but – like most other community events – had to be cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

            The Hope Civitan Club had also planned to celebrate 10 years of service to the local community as they celebrated Civitan Awareness Month.  However, on March 20, leaders at Civitan International World Headquarters in Birmingham, AL, encouraged all members not to hold in-person meetings or large gatherings until April 3 and then extended that timeline until May 1.

            Hope Civitans work on a project for each month of their fiscal year, which begins in October.  Service projects this year included participation in the Downtown Fall Festival by supplying pumpkins for youngsters to decorate and free face-painting; decorating the historic Purdom House at Historic Washington State Park for Christmas and Candlelight; providing Christmas gifts for several children whose families were served by the local office of Domestic Violence Prevention; providing gift bags for Special Education professionals in area schools; an annual Clergy Appreciation Banquet; and donations of blankets to Hope in Action and dog food  to Hope for Paws.  Projects for the near future include Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts for nursing home residents, and — as pandemic precautions allow – an annual garage sale to fund the club’s local scholarship.

            Hope Civitans also present the classic car show at the Hope Watermelon Festival each year and hope to have the opportunity to do so again in August.  The car show is the club’s largest project and requires much planning.

            Civitans conduct fundraising projects in order to support local projects as well as the Civitan International Research Center in Birmingham.  The CIRC is the flagship program of Civitan International, whose worldwide mission is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs, with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.  The CIRC conducts cutting edge research in brain-related issues such as Autism, Rett Syndrome, Down Syndrome and many others.  Civitan International is the only service organization dedicated to these issues, according to the Civitan International website.

            The Hope Civitan Club, chartered in December 2009, is part of the Heartland District of Civitan International.  The District includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.  Hope Civitan Patti Manus is the 2019-20 Governor of the Heartland District.  The Hope Civitan Club has won a number of District awards over the years, has received the designation of Honor Club for several years, and was named Club of the Year by the District for 2017-18.

            Hope Civitans meet twice monthly on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.  Persons interested in joining the club should contact President Eva Morehead, Twyla Pruden or any Hope Civitan member.