Kiwanis Club of Morgan Hill
Living Large through Community Service
J
uan Lorenzo struggled to adapt
to his new environment. He was
eleven-years-old and enrolled in
Fifth Grade. He couldn’t speak Eng-
lish. Living in Morgan Hill, he was a
stranger in a strange land.
Several years earlier, his mother
had moved to America and settled
in Morgan Hill from her native
Columbia, leaving Juan behind. She
earned her permanent residence
status and worked until she was able
to bring Juan to America for a better
opportunity to succeed in life. Early
on, Juan realized that in order to be
successful he needed to learn English
and help himself by working hard.
So he did.
Juan graduated from Sobrato
High School in 2016. With his sights
set on college, he applied for and
received a Turnaround Scholarship
provided by the Morgan Hill
Kiwanis. Turnaround Scholarships
are awarded to high school students
who have overcome challenges and
roadblocks.
“What’s great about the
88
Turnaround Scholarships is that if
students maintain a minimum C average
or better, they can renew the scholarship
through all four years of college,” said
Tony Eulo, Vice President of Morgan Hill
Kiwanis.
When you see people
doing good work, it
becomes contagious.
The Kiwanis are an international
organization founded by a group of
businessmen in Detroit, Michigan in
1915. Originally formed as a business
networking organization, the Kiwanis
changed their mission in 1919 to one
that focuses on service to children. Their
motto, confirmed in 2005, is “Serving
the Children of the World.” The term
Kiwanis comes from a Native American
Indian language of tribal peoples whose
history is based in the Detroit area, “Nunc
Kee-wanis,” which means, “we trade.”
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
The Morgan Hill Kiwanis chapter was
chartered in 1952 and is one of 7,700
affiliate clubs in 80 countries. It has a
membership of 48 dedicated people.
They put on the annual downtown
Holiday Lights parade, hang the flags
and banners downtown, maintain and
install the holiday snowflakes, conduct
an annual senior breakfast, support
Cecelia’s Closet, act as Election-day ballot
couriers, sponsor and participate in Key
Clubs at Live Oak and Ann Sobrato, and
provide contributions to local groups like
Brittion’s Robotic Club and their Science
Trip, Spirit of Morgan Hill Girls Softball
League, Morgan Hill Pony Baseball,
Troop 799 Campership, Backpacks for
students, and the Edward “Boss” Prado
foundation, among others.
It seems like an awful lot of work for
only forty-eight people to undertake.
“Yes. Well, we have a lot of really
dedicated people,” chuckled Kim
Wittman, President of the club. “Our
membership is growing, but we are
always looking to add new members.”
Juan will start his junior year this
August at Chico State. “Thanks to the
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018
gmhtoday.com
Kiwanis
Written By Craig Lore