GRAVETTE -- Members of the Gravette Kiwanis Club recently announced that they have raised $23,250 for the Eliminate Project, a Kiwanis International global campaign to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.
The goal for the Gravette club was to raise $750 per member. The local club is part of the Missouri-Arkansas District, which has 184 clubs, and Gravette was the third club to complete its commitment to raise this amount per member. The $23,250 is expected to save the lives of 1,291 mothers and their future babies.
The international campaign will raise $110 million for fighting maternal and neonatal tetanus. One baby dies every nine minutes from tetanus. $1.80 protects one woman and her future babies. Kiwanis has already eliminated tetanus in 36 countries, but there are still 23 countries which have cases of tetanus.
In addition to the Eliminate Project, the Gravette club sponsors four leadership clubs through the schools, Key Club at the high school, Builders Club at the middle school, K Kids at the upper elementary and Terrific Kids at Glenn Duffy Elementary.
"We are very proud of the club and the things that we do in our community and around the world," said Brenda Yates, local member. "We are dedicated to helping one child and one community at a time."
The Gravette Kiwanis Club meets at 7 a.m. Friday mornings in the cafeteria at the Ozarks Community Hospital.
Editorial on 07/08/2015