Welcome to Clear Water Kiwanis Club

 
Clear Water Kiwanis is an active, service-minded organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in our community. We accept women and men of all ages and talents, with a common mission to improve the world by making a lasting difference in the lives of children.
 
Our vision is that 'Kiwanis will be a positive influence in communities worldwide, so that one day, all children will wake up in communities that believe in them, nurture them, and provide the support they need to thrive.'
Club Information
Clear Water Kiwanis Club

Serving the Children of the World

We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 12:00 PM
Eau Claire Golf & Country Club
828 Clubview Lane
Altoona, WI 54720
United States of America
Phone:
(715) 829-0562
Email:
ClearwaterKiwanisinfo@gmail.com
Venue Map
What is Clear Water Kiwanis Up to this Month?
 
Clear Water is gearing up for our main fundraiser of the year, the Fore the Kids Golf Event! Money raised in this event goes directly to over 20+ organizations that improve the lives of children in our community! 
 
Fore the Kids Golf Event is being held on Monday, July 28 at the Eau Claire Golf and Country Club. Click here for more information and to sign up as a golfer. Help Clear Water make an impact in our community!!
 
 
Club Executives & Directors
President
Dani Graham
President-elect
TJ Atkins
Past President
Melissa Peterson
Secretary
Kelley Hammann
Treasurer
Sue Tietz
Director-2026
Janet Plourde
Director-2026
Sandi Stanton
Director-2026
Brenda Trump
Director-2025
Kelly Christianson
Director-2025
Sherri Olson
Director-2025
Toni Janssen

July 2025

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Upcoming Events
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Home Page News
Doll and Pet Parade Next Week!
 
The 78th Annual Kid's Doll & Pet Parade is on Saturday, May 31 in Owen Park! Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. at the tennis courts and the parade begins at 11:00. This is a FREE event for children 12 and under, and the costume theme for this year is "Under the Big Top (Circus)". The Eau Claire Municipal Band will be playing after the parade, and there will be prizes and goody bags for all. Check out our website for more information or to pre-register, or register the day of the event. It will be a beautiful day to parade in the park. We hope you can join us! 2025 Kid's Doll and Pet Parade | Clear Water Kiwanis Club
Author Nikolas Butler
 
At Wednesday's meeting, local author Nikolas Butler talked about his journey as a writer. Nikolas has written 5 books, his first being Shotgun Lovesongs which has been translated into 12 languages! His newest book, The Forty Year Kiss was inspired by a brief interaction he witnessed in a tavern in Chippewa Falls. It follows the story of two people who were in a relationship and for various reasons parted, only to be reunited 40 years later. It was interesting to hear that the book is being reviewed in Hollywood for a possible movie! Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Steven Spielberg's "people" loved it. Pretty awesome acclaim for a member our community! 
 
During Nikolas's talk, he also mentioned that others were reviewing it for a screenplay, namely the writers of a tv series called Somebody Somewhere on HBO. He highly suggested the series, as the writers are from the Midwest, and pretty accurately represent the culture and community in our area. Since Nikolas's books are all set in the Midwest, he has hopes that maybe one of the writers would be interested in his work. 
 
Thank you to Pat French, for inviting Nikolas to speak to our club! It was very interesting to hear about the behind the scenes world of publishing.   
 
 
Par-Te-Rec Stuffing
 
Par-Te-Rec is a program through the recreation department of the City of Eau Claire that provides specialized recreation for adults with disabilities. Each February Par-Te-Rec hosts a Valentines Day party, with games, music, and candy. Clear Water supports Par-Te-Rec by donating candy and sorting them into cups for the party. Club members worked to fill the candy cups after our Wednesday meeting. Thank you to Becky Noland, who organizes this opportunity each year, and we hope that the party was a success!  
Give a Kid a Book Collection Successful!
 
 
The Give a Kid a Book program campaign is in full swing. Give a Kid a Book is a program through the library that gifts books to children and organizations that work with children. Clear Water Kiwanis donated $250 to the program, but individual club members raised $664. Wow! Thank you to Mary Mihajlov for organizing our involvement!
Blanket Tying for the Community Table
At Wednesday's meeting, club members tied flannel blankets, to be donated to the Community Table. The club donated about 8 blankets. This program was organized by Susan Peterson. Thank you, Susan!
The French Press Supports Clear Water in December
The French Press Cafe and Bakery in Eau Claire will be supporting Clear Water Kiwanis in the month of December by donating the proceeds of their December signature dish to the club. The dish is a salad that contains wild rice, sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, chickpeas, sprinkled with a maple balsamic dressing.  Clear Water will also be featured in their podcast this December. You can listen to Kelley Hammann promote Clear Water, and learn what her favorite Christmas movie is (spoiler: its The Muppet Christmas Carol). Check out Dining and Dishing Podcast, episode #4.  So support the French Press and Clear Water in December. Thank you to Pat French, who organized this opportunity for our club. 
Eau Claire Memorial Madrigals
 
Posted by Sandi Stanton
 
The Eau Claire Memorial Madrigals under the direction of Aurora Kranjnikconde brought us into the Holidays with their acapella Christmas music at our Dec 4 meeting. This was their 16th year entertaining groups at Christmas.
 
The 13 singers sporting period costumes with women in bonnets, muffs and long dresses and men wearing tails and top hats from the period sang a variety of original and new arrangements of Christmas songs including:
  • “We’ve Been Awhile Awandering”
  • “Winter Wonderland”,
  • “I’ll be Home for Christmas” (sung by Bing Crosby to encourage families missing their soldiers during World War II)
  • An updated arrangement of “Deck the Hall”
  • A Ukranian carol called “Carol of the Bells”
  • “The Holly and the Ivy” from the1700’s
  • A humorous medley of the “12 Days of Christmas”
  • “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”-complete with traditional English Figgy Pudding,
  • And both “Silent Night” and “Stille Nacht”, the popular German carol.
Service Awards Luncheon on Nov 20
At the November 20th meeting, Clear Water welcomed 5 organizations that are receiving funding from our club in the 2024-2025 season. Each organization gave a brief overview of themselves, and how they are using Clear Water's funds to improve the lives of children in our community.
 
 
 
Hmong New Year (Nominated by: Ann Kaiser and Dianne Hughes)
True Vue, Executive Director of the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association
The Hmong Mutual Assistance Association is an organization that supports the Hmong community by providing programs for youth, the elderly, domestic violence prevention, and promotion of the Hmong culture. This October they put on the Hmong New Year, a two-day event that hosted over $3,000 people. The event celebrated the harvest and the Hmong culture with cultural dancers, singers, Hmong food and crafts. Clear Water's donation will go to next year's event. 
 
 
 
Drug Endangered Children (Nominated by Dianne Hughes)
Dave Riewestahl (EC County Sheriff) and Katrina Ranallo, Administrative Services Division Director)
The Drug Endangered Children program provides supplies to children that have to be removed from unsafe environments. The program provides clothes, hygiene products, school supplies, etc. Clear Water's donation this year will be going to their Kids n' Cops shopping event on December 8. This year, 114 children will shop with police officers at Target for toys, clothes, and anything else they need. The entire event is supported by donations, and Clear Water is happy to be a part of a program that is celebrating its 33rd year!
 
 
 
Eau Claire Children's Museum (Nominated by Dianne Hughes)
Mike Lee, CEO
The Eau Claire Children's Museum had 100,000 visitors to the many wonderful exhibits in 2024. Two exciting additions to the museum are an electric vehicle and hiring a full-time educator. Clear Water's donation will be used towards the Play for All program. This program is a scholarship fund for low-income families to enjoy a yearly subscription to the museum for a reduced rate. In 2024, 34% of all memberships were funded through this program.  
 
 
 
Power of Perception (Nominated by Kelley Hammann)
Dennis Beale, Executive Director and Patricia Cummins, Power of Perception Board President
Power of Perception is a program that supports students of color in grades 6-12 by providing tutoring, mentoring, and educational field trips. POP now has a presence in every middle and high school in Eau Claire, and they visit the juvenile detention center once a month. Considering that Wisconsin is in the top 2-3 states in the country that has the biggest achievement gap between African American students and Caucasian students, the importance of positive support is crucial. Clear Water's donation will go towards supporting this program. 
 
 
 
Eau Claire Municipal Band (Nominated by Kelley Hammann)
Bob Baldwin, Director of the Eau Claire Municipal Band
The Eau Claire Municipal Band has been playing in the Owen Park Bandshell for over 100 years. They band plays concerts every Monday night in June and July, and is fun, free entertainment for families in the Chippewa Valley. The Band also plays prelude music at the Doll and Pet Parade each spring, with is very appreciated. Clear Water's donation to the band will go towards helping them purchase music, pay for rental of the band shell, and help Clear Water promote Kiwanis at its concerts. 
Service Awards Luncheon on Oct 30
At the October 30th meeting, Clear Water welcomed 5 organizations that are receiving funding from our club in the 2024-2025 season. Each organization gave a brief overview of themselves, and how they are using Clear Water's funds to improve the lives of children in our community.
 
 
Law Enforcement Mental Health Fund (Nominated by Mary Edna Hagen and Ann Kaiser)
Matt Rokus, Chief of Police of the Eau Claire Police Department, spoke about the ongoing efforts of the Law Enforcement Mental Health Fund. Funding from Clear Water helped allow ECPD admin professionals to utilize the fund for mental health services. Our current donation will go towards the Developing Resiliency Program, assisting the staff with the tools to deal with the strain of the job. Clear Water is happy to offer our financial support for this worthy cause. 
 
 
Junior Achievement (Nominated by Susan Peterson). 
Alisha Klemish from Junior Achievement spoke about the JA Titen Challenge, an entrepreneur program for students. Clear Water's support of this program assisted JA in awarding multiple scholarships. 
 
 
Trinity Equestrian Center (Nominated by Julie Eklund)
Toni Mattson, co-founder of Trinity Equestrian Center, spoke about the many youth and veterans therapy programs they offer. Clear Water's donation will assist them in offering over $16,000 in free equine therapy. Trinity Equestrian has been in operation for 22 years. Toni also spoke about their new Empowerment Center Garden, which produced an abundance of veggies and the opportunity to show children how to prep and cook meals using those veggies. 
 
 
Lutheran Social Services Operation Christmas (Nominated by Mary Spies)
Carla Spies spoke about the LSS Operation Christmas, a program that many Clear Water club members participate in each December and to which the club donates. LSS provides gifts to children who might not otherwise have a Christmas. 
 
Eau Claire Area Public Schools (Nominated by Dani Graham)
Clear Water has a strong relationship with the ECPS, and this year they are offering support for: ABC Food Program (formerly Weekend Kids Meals), Homeless Program, Foster Care Support, ECASD Closet, and numerous diverse student clubs. The majority of these programs are entirely supported by donations from the community. 
Service Awards Luncheon
At Wednesday's meeting, Clear Water welcomed 5 organizations that are receiving funding from our club in the 2024-2025 season. Each organization gave a brief overview of themselves, and how they are using Clear Water's funds to improve the lives of children in our community.
 
 
Fierce Freedom (nominated by Mary Edna Hagen)
Fierce Freedom was represented by Cat Morgan (Executive Director) and Debbie Hong (Volunteer Coordinator). Fierce Freedom's mission is to end human trafficking by providing services upstream to prevent trafficking in the first place. They do this by working with high-risk individuals, such as youth that either have had issues with the law, are in or were formerly in foster care, or come from high-risk situations. One program they have been developing is called "Power Youth." This program focuses on reminding youth of their worth and dignity and explores problem solving and decision-making skills. Recently they took this program into the ECC Juvenile Detention Center. With the funds received from Clear Water Kiwanis, Fierce Freedom will be expanding their Power Youth program to include videos. 
 
 
Chippewa Valley Museum/WI Logging Museum (nominated by Melissa Peterson)
The Chippewa Valley Museum/Logging Museum was represented by Carrie Ronnander (Executive Director). Last year's Clear Water funds were used for the children's exhibit in the logging museum called "Paul Bunyun's Boot." Fun fact: Ann Kaiser's husband helped renovate Paul Bunyon's boot last year. This year, Clear Water funding will assist with a children's exhibit in the Chippewa Valley Museum called "History Heroes." "History Heroes" is meant to encourage children to explore and save the past. The exhibit will include science elements, areas to dig up history, and make a game of doing it. 
 
 
Girls on the Run (nominated by Maureen Mack)
Girls on the Run was represented by Rose Dolan-Neill (Executive Director) and Shelly Reynolds (Board Member). Girls on the Run's mission is to give girls a joyful experience, while practicing healthy mental and physical health. Girls on the Run serves 6 counties, with girls being in the 3rd - 5th grades. The goal of each practice of Girls on the Run is to practice social and emotional learning, while also engaging in physical activity. Their moto is "moving forward in any way." Girls on the Run is always looking for coaches that work as mentors to the girls. Funds from Clear Water Kiwanis will be used to fund their scholarship program. 30% of all participants receive either a full or partial scholarship. 
 
 
The Community Table (nominated by TJ Atkins)
The Community Table was represented by Avery Judnic. The Community Table feeds 90-110 people every day, 365 days a year, for anyone that needs a hot meal. The Community Table is always looking for volunteers to prepare and serve the main meal, as well as donations for food and equipment. Funds from Clear Water Kiwanis will be used for those purposes.
 
 
Family Resource Center (nominated by Ann Kaiser)
The Family Resource Center was represented by Deneshia Honadel (Rural Parent Educator), and Mariam Nagi (Parent Advisory Council Member). The Family Resource Center is celebrating 25 years this year! The Family Resource Center provides a safe, supportive space for parents and their children to learn and thrive. Their newest initiative is a partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This program sends a book to a child every month from birth to the age of 5, free of charge. Their goal is to increase the number of children signed up for this program within the ECASD. Funds from Clear Water Kiwanis will go towards supporting this program. It costs about $2 per book, per child. Each child receives about 48 free books.