Community: Kiwanis sponsors college group

The Burbank Noon Kiwanis Club has partnered with students at Woodbury University to create a Circle K service group.

This experience will allow the students to network, be mentored and create relationships, said Circle K President Cassandra Perez, 20, a communications major.

She attended Bishop Alemany, a private high school in Mission Hills, and that is where she began her involvement with the Key Club, the high school club sponsored by Kiwanis.

Perez was inspired by those she and her fellow students helped during that time. One of the teachers from her high school conducted a project where students would cook meals for the Sylmar Homeless Shelter.

“It was very empowering for me to experience these feelings of being able to make the lives of others better with a few simple meals,” she said. “It’s moments like these that make me realize that the littlest things can make a huge difference — and that is why I like to serve.”

The first project the Circle K did was host a Halloween dance for children with special needs in the Burbank community.

“We wanted to host an event where kids and our peers could create a night of acceptance and fun,” she said. “Our vision for this club is to introduce the Woodbury-and-Burbank community to the opportunities and ideals Circle K has to offer. We want to make the community better and live by Gandhi’s words, ‘Be the change we want to see in the world.’”

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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be contacted at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.