Umbrellas, rain ponchos, corn, and good conversations are some of the things that one may have found at the Valpo Kiwanis Corn Roast Fest. Despite a very rainy evening, countless volunteers and community members came together to support children in need.
“It's great to see the community come out and support our club and help us raise funds,” Event Chairman Steve Bobinski said. “It's great today when it's wet and rainy and the weather's not complying. It's great to see all the people still show up and have a good time even in the rain.”
This event is held to support the large list of non-profits, scholarships, and other notable causes Valpo Kiwanis supports. Many businesses and organizations from the area come together to sponsor this event and support those causes.
Tim Bucher is very passionate about supporting these causes. He is the president of the Valpo Kiwanis Club as well as the president of one of the sponsors of this event, Bucher Technologies. He explained it is a great joy to be able to support Kiwanis through Bucher Tech, and he plans to continue doing so even after his presidency concludes.
“The more you get involved, and the more you do, the more you get back,” Bucher said. “They say, if you're feeling down and you're struggling emotionally or mentally, the best thing to do is to help somebody else.”
There are many different ways to help someone else. The Valpo Kiwanis Club is one of the largest branches of Kiwanis. Within the club, people are able to raise money as well as volunteer their time in order to support the causes.
“I'm a member of the club and all the Kiwanians are a member of the club because we enjoy giving back to the community,” Bobinski said. “Whether that's raising money and giving it back to those that need it or volunteering our time to do things in the community. Everybody has their way of giving back.”
Kiwanis is a service organization designed to help support and help the community. This means instead of simply raising money, the members get out into the community and volunteer their time at events like the corn roast while getting to interact with fellow Kiwanians.
“We have great camaraderie behind the counter or working the tables," Bucher said. "Some of the best conversations Kiwanians have are that events like this. That's what's neat about this. That's why I like about us doing this and being a hands-on club.”
Many meaningful connections are made through the Kiwanis Club. Volunteers can come together and bond over the work they are doing, and many people within the Valparaiso community are being supported through that selfless work.
“Kiwanis is a fantastic group of people. Everything that we do is volunteer work,” Kiwanian Justin Osburn said.
“All the people that are here dedicating their time. Our volunteers dedicate their own time to make sure that we raise money for kids and families that are in need. Rain or shine, we're still doing a great thing. I love the impact that Kiwanis has on the community.”
For more information regarding Valparaiso Kiwanis, please visit valpokiwanis.org.
For more information regarding Bucher Tech, please visit buchertech.com.
