Lehi City News
New Kiwanis club launches in Lehi with focus on youth service
April Slaughter | Lehi Free Press
A new Kiwanis club serving the Point of the Mountain area officially launched June 8 during a community gathering at Wines Park in Lehi, where members, local leaders and youth service advocates came together to celebrate the club’s charter and invite residents to get involved.
The Kiwanis Club of Point of the Mountain began with about 17 members and a mission centered on supporting children, youth leadership, and community-based service projects. The club will work with existing Key Clubs at Lehi and Skyridge high schools while also seeking opportunities to expand service leadership programs to additional schools.
Crystal Smith, chapter president of the new club, said the group’s purpose is to support local youth and respond to the community’s priorities.
“We’re here to help,” Smith said. “For those who are part of the community and know what you need, please feel free to reach out to any of us. We are more than happy to know what’s going on and what we can do.”
Club leadership includes Smith as chapter president and Peter Maybe as vice president.
The event included representatives from the Utah-Idaho District of Kiwanis, including District Governor Blair Hope and Vice Governor Mandy Garcia, who helped support the local club as it moved toward chartering. Smith said building the club took several months of work, outreach and persistence from district leaders and local members.
Garcia, who helps oversee roughly 50 clubs across Utah, Idaho and a few nearby areas, said Kiwanis clubs are intentionally local in their service.
“Each community has its own niche that it’s filling in that area,” Garcia said. “It’s nice to see how creative Kiwanians can be. We come up with some great projects and great ways to give back to the community.”
Garcia said local members decide what matters most in their own area, then bring ideas to the club for discussion and support. Projects may include youth programs, scholarships, food drives, basic-needs support, or other efforts that respond to specific community needs.
The Point of the Mountain club’s early focus includes working with Key Clubs, the Kiwanis-sponsored service leadership program for high school students. Kiwanis also supports K-Kids for elementary students, Builders Club for junior high students, and Circle K for college students.
Hope told attendees that youth service programs can be life-changing, not only for the children and teens being served, but also for the adults who choose to invest in them. He shared his own story of growing up in difficult circumstances and being helped by adults who refused to give up on him.
“I was the kid you judged,” Hope said. “I was an outcast.”
Hope said that a Scout leader who insisted he attend camp when he was 12 and a teacher who continued to check on him throughout high school helped change the direction of his life. He went on to serve in the military, build a career with Procter & Gamble, and raise a family.
“I’m here because of people like you,” Hope told attendees. “That’s what Kiwanis is about. We want to train and give confidence, enable and empower our youth.”
Hope emphasized that Kiwanis membership does not require a rigid time commitment. Members can attend meetings regularly, help with one favorite service project or contribute in whatever way fits their schedule and abilities.
“If you have a passion for why you’re here, what you want to do, then show up for that reason,” Hope said. “You don’t have to show every meeting. If you can show up just for your favorite service project, so be it.”
The evening also included remarks from Sarah Hansen, the faculty adviser for Skyridge High School’s Key Club. She said she has been advising the club for nearly 10 years and has seen students gain meaningful experiences through service.
The Skyridge Key Club serves monthly at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo, where students help feed people experiencing homelessness and assist with cleanup and other needs. The club also participates in the Souper Bowl of Caring, a national initiative organized locally to collect food and funds for schools and communities in need.
Hansen recalled helping organize a food pantry at Orem Junior High when a student asked whether he could take two cans of SpaghettiOs home for the weekend.
“I just felt it,” she said. “Where I live and where I teach, Skyridge happens to be a really affluent area. These kids get to do and see things with me that they would never otherwise do.”
Smith said the new club is excited to support the Skyridge Key Club and help expand service opportunities for youth across the area.
The Kiwanis Club of Point of the Mountain will hold meetings on the second and fourth Monday of each month from 6 to 7 p.m. at Zions Bank, 1432 E. 3500 N. in Lehi. Organizers said community members may join the club, support individual projects or participate through employer-sponsored memberships. More information is available at kiwanispoint.org.
The club’s first major fundraiser will be during Lehi Round-Up Rodeo Days. Kiwanis members will host a booth at Wines Park on Friday, June 26, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The club will also host the Lehi Round-Up breakfast from 7 to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Organizers said proceeds from the breakfast will support Kiwanis youth programs, including Key Clubs and other local service efforts.
“We look forward to being part of the community and serving everyone,” Smith said.
