RESEDA : Kiwanis Club Adopts Needy Public Schools

This year, the Kiwanis Club of Reseda will reach out to a new group of needy--public schools.

The service club, which is part of an international organization serving the poor, the disabled and the victims of disaster, has added two local schools to its list of downtrodden.

The club has “adopted” Reseda Elementary School and Shirley Avenue Elementary School. The two will be singled out for special attention by the club, including donations and volunteer work.

Paul Trietsch, secretary-treasurer of the chapter, said that in view of state budget cuts, the Reseda chapter decided to make schools a priority, and become involved in their day-to-day activities.

“If you are familiar at all with the educational system in the state, you know the schools are very needy,” said Trietsch.

The Kiwanis has begun its efforts by providing pencils and scrap paper and volunteer guest speakers to the schools. The group also secured a donation of a copy machine for Reseda Elementary, which was burglarized last summer, and is gathering donations to replace the school’s stolen fax machine.

Janie Taylor, principal of Reseda Elementary, said she was taken by surprise when Kiwanis members proposed the plan. But with her school’s resources depleted by cutbacks and by the burglar who broke into the office the first weekend in July, Taylor was quick to accept.

“They called and said ‘do you want to be adopted?’ ” she said, laughing. “I said ‘yes, I want to be adopted!’ ”