Service club for adults with disabilities launched in Poway
Chartering ceremonies were held Saturday night creating a new service club for adults with disabilities.
Twenty young adults were welcomed as the first members of the Abraxas Aktion Club of Poway during a dinner held at the Oaks North Community Center in Rancho Bernardo. Nearly 90 people attended the event.
The local Aktion Club, the second in North San Diego County, is sponsored by the Poway Kiwanis Club. It was organized at the urging of leaders in the Transitions program at Abraxas High School, a community-based program designed to enhance and promote greater independence of practical life skills for young adults, ages 18-22, with developmental disabilities.
Aktion Clubs are part of Kiwanis International’s Service Leadership Programs (SLP) that also include K-Kids Clubs in elementary schools, Builders Clubs in middle school, Key Clubs in high school and Circle K in colleges. The first Aktion club was formed in 1987 in Florida. Today there are an estimated 12,000 Aktion Club members in eight countries. The 65-member Poway Kiwanis Club now sponsors an SLP at every level.
The Abraxas club’s first president is Josue Casique, a 20-year-old Abraxas student who works part time and enjoys soccer. Serving with Casique will be Elliott Hodgson, vice-president; Austin Shaddox, treasurer; Alexandrea Brinneman, secretary; Molly Wilson, community service chairman, and Danika Barbosa, public relations chairman.
Members of the new club include: Alex Abalos, Brittini Bumpers, Courtney Cook, Brendan Edwards, Aaron Hindi, Sage Huda, Berni Kurtin, Joshua LeClair, Daniel Lee, Max Morpeth, Brandon Quy, Michael Sarmiento, Scott Shaver and Alex Wynhamer.
As the club president Casique received the club’s charter, gavel and bell from Carl Ames, lieutenant governor of Division 37 of the Calfiornia-Nevada-Hawaii Kiwanis District and Joyce Handa, president of the Poway Kiwanis Club. Entertainment was provided by the “Rhinestone Cowboys,” a group of developmentally disabled dancers.
The effort to organize the club was headed by Abraxas staff members Alice Abaolos and Christina Grant and by Kiwanis Club members Bob Beavers, Barb Van Heyningen, John Wismont, Dave Grosch and Fred Sampson.
The new club’s first meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. June 9 at Abraxas High School.
