After a six-year hiatus, the Drayton Kinettes are back up and running in the community. The original club started in 1974 with 15 members. At that time, ladies had to be the wife of a Kinsman to become a member. The club ran until 2008 when a decline in membership caused it to fold.
In the fall of 2013 a group of ladies, with the support of the Kinsmen Club of Drayton, decided to start getting together and re-charter the Drayton Kinettes. The original stipulation of being a Kinsmen wife is no longer in place, although nearly half the 16 member club still fit the criteria.
Kin Canada, the parent organization of the Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs, has existed in Canada since 1920 when it was started in Hamilton. It is currently the largest Canadian service club with more than 500 clubs coast to coast and over 6,500 members.
Kinsmen, Kinette and Kin clubs exist in many communities to help raise funds and support community events in addition to contributing much-needed funds to their national charity, Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
In attendance at a charter night on May 23 were the original charter president, Mary Cherrey, vice-president, Barb Green, as well as past national presidents of Kin Canada, John Green and Bruce Lloyd.
Recognition of the new club and congratulations were sent from across Canada. The Kinettes would like to thank everyone who contributed to their charter night with donations and support.
“Mapleton is a great community to be coming into,” club officials state.
The Drayton Kinettes may only now be an official club, but they have been visible in the community since Christmas when they hosted an extremely successful toy drive for the Drayton Food Bank. Thanks to the community, the Kinettes were able to provide multiple toys to each child in need at Christmas. Another Kinette event took place on May 31, as they hosted a Mom2Mom sale at the old arena. Many treasures were bought and sold.
The Drayton Kinettes are always looking for members. Ladies should be interested in serving their community, having a night out every few weeks and socializing with like-minded individuals. Meetings are at 7pm the first and third Thursdays of the month at the Kin Room. For more information on Kinettes, future projects or joining, email draytonkinettes@gmail.com.
The Kinettes state they look forward to continuing to enhance the community and raising funds for Cystic Fibrosis.
