Kiwanis Club’s story ‘becomes a story of Bradenton and Manatee County’ since 1922
The Bradenton Kiwanis Club recently celebrated the service of 23 public safety agencies from around Manatee County, saluting their dangerous, often life-saving work.
Five of the agencies — Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue, West Manatee Fire Rescue, the Bradenton Police Department, the Bradenton Fire Department and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office — each received $2,000 checks to benefit a charity of their choice.
The five were chosen based on letters of recommendation submitted to the club spotlighting heroic actions.
Although this was the first year for the Bradenton Kiwanis Club’s public safety recognition, it was in keeping with the club’s 100 years of service to the community.
The scope of community service provided by the Bradenton Kiwanis Club since its chartering on Aug. 22, 1922, is impressive.
Where do you start? Consider that the club has provided over $9 million to support the community since 1998. That’s the year the club formed a foundation following the sale of the Bradenton Trailer Park, 2310 14th St. W.
The club’s initial $17,000 investment in 1936 into what became one of the largest trailer parks in the state paid off handsomely over the years. Although lot rent at Bradenton Tropical Palms Trailer Park was initially only $1.05 a week, park profits helped the Bradenton Kiwanis Club invest millions of dollars over the years into the community to help children and youth.
The club was instrumental in founding the Bradenton Boys Club and purchasing or donating land for the West Bradenton Girls Club, the Manatee Family YMCA, the American Red Cross Manatee County Chapter buildings and the United Way building.
Bradenton Kiwanis also had a hand in founding the Bradenton Area Convention and Civic Center in Palmetto. In 1977, the club pledged $500,000 in seed money as a challenge to the Manatee County Commission to build an exhibition hall large enough for local high schools to have their graduation ceremonies.
These days, the club recognizes veterans, hosts a Farm City Week luncheon and provides scholarships to Key Club members, Take Stock in Children and 4-H members.
Bradenton Kiwanis also sponsors more than 10 K-Kids clubs, Builders Clubs, and Key Clubs and is re-instating an Aktion Club for young adults with disabilities.
Bradenton Kiwanis supports a Boys & Girls Club program at Manatee Elementary, Bringing Up Grades (BUGS) programs in various schools in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee, and participates in the ‘Every Child a Reader’ program in conjunction with the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee.
The club participates in projects throughout the year helping agencies such as The Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, Kids Against Hunger (a food packaging event hosted by the Manatee Sunrise Kiwanis Club), and the Jerry Hill Memorial Fishing Tournament.
Recent Kiwanis grants went to HOPE Family Services for a Children’s Counseling Center, to the Boy Scouts for renovations to Camp Flying Eagle, to Strength in Action (Mount Carmel Resource Center) for a van, and the City of Bradenton Police Department for renovations for a community center at the former Little Girl Scout House in Bradenton.
Club president Gilbert Smith, a Manatee County circuit judge, is writing a history of the club, and calls it a “book of admiration” of the club and its members over the years.
“It becomes a story of Bradenton and Manatee County,” Smith said of the book, that should be available this fall.
In 1993, the club opened its membership to women. The first woman to join, Dr. Gladys Branic, director of Manatee County Health Department, also was the first Black person to join.
“I felt very welcome from day one. Everyone was very friendly and supportive. If there was any hesitation about my membership, it didn’t show,” Branic told the Bradenton Herald in 2002.
“This is a working club and I get quite a bit of gratification when I work in concert with others. I really enjoy meeting folks from different areas who want to reach out to those in need. We are all like-minded people,” Branic said.
The Bradenton Kiwanis Club kicked off its 100th year with an anniversary exhibit at the Manatee County Fair in January. The exhibit will be on display through October in the lobby of the Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W.
The club’s planned 100th anniversary gala on Oct. 1 at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, was postponed by Hurricane Ian.
Innovative Dining and Bradenton Kiwanis donated the food that had to be prepared for the gala to first responders during the hurricane. Rich Knowles delivered steak, potatoes, salad, asparagus, and cookies to the Operations Center at Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for deputies on round-the-clock duty.
The gala will be rescheduled.
Meetings are 12:15 p.m. Tuesdays on the second floor of the Manatee Performing Arts Center.
The club’s motto is “A better way of life ... a better Bradenton.”
For more information about the club, visit bradentonkiwanis.org or the club’s Facebook page.
About Kiwanis International
Founded in 1915, Kiwanis International is a global organization of clubs and members dedicated to serving the children of the world.
Kiwanis and its family of clubs, including Circle K International for university students, Key Club for students age 14–18, Builders Club for students age 11–14, K-Kids for students age 6–12 and Aktion Club for adults living with disabilities, annually dedicate more than 18.5 million service hours to strengthen communities and serve children. The Kiwanis International family comprises nearly 558,000 adult and youth members, and 82 nations and geographic areas.
