Kiwanis Pancake Day raises money for local charities

Published 11:45 am Thursday, October 13, 2022

Eat pancakes. Support the community.

Dalton residents will have an opportunity to do both on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 7 to 11 a.m. at the Creative Arts Guild, 520 W. Waugh St. in Dalton. The Kiwanis Club of Dalton sponsors its annual Pancake Day event that day.

Since 1953, the Kiwanis Club of Dalton’s annual Pancake Day has been the chief fundraiser for the charities the club supports.

Kiwanis International was founded in 1915 by a group of businessmen in Detroit, Michigan.

“Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time,” according to its website (kiwanis.org).

Pancake Day was held for many years at Dalton Green. Last year the Kiwanis Club moved it to underneath the parking deck next to the Burr Performing Arts Park because the club had trouble locating a large tent and handling drive-thru traffic. The city demolished the parking deck this summer because of structural problems so the event has been moved to the Creative Arts Guild this year.

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 on the morning of the breakfast. Each ticket gets you one take-out order or one adult all-you-can-eat breakfast or two in-person meals for children under 12.

The meals come with hot pancakes and sausage along with coffee, milk and orange juice prepared and served by Kiwanians and other volunteers.

“All of the money raised by our club stays in our community,” said Kiwanis President Karey Williams.

All proceeds will be donated to local community organizations with emphasis given to projects and activities benefiting local children.

According to Williams, the local organizations the Kiwanis Club of Dalton helps include Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Boy Scouts of America, the Conasauga Drug Court, the Creative Arts Guild, the Dalton Little Theatre, the Dalton-Whitfield County Public Library, D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center, Family Frameworks, the GreenHouse Child Advocacy and Sexual Assault Center, Key Clubs, local high schools, Dalton High School JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps), the Salvation Army and the Whitfield County-Dalton Day Care Center.

“Kiwanis also sponsors STAR student and STAR teacher programs and provides scholarships to several deserving young people each year,” said Williams.

The STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) student program recognizes the student in each high school with the highest SAT score on any single test and who is in the top 10% of their class in grade point average. The STAR teacher program recognizes the teachers selected by those students as having the biggest impact on them.

People can volunteer to help with Pancake Day by going to the Kiwanis Club of Dalton Facebook page and messaging the club. To buy tickets in advance, go to https://www.kiwanisofdalton.org/pancakes.