In Mankato, Minnesota, the Kiwanis Thunder of Drums draws up to 2,500 people each year.

By Julie Saetre

July evenings are generally quiet in Mankato, Minnesota, U.S., a riverside city in the southern part of the state. But for the last three-plus decades, one night has brought the noise: Kiwanis Thunder of Drums. Sponsored by the Mankato Kiwanis Club, the event is one in a series of competitions held by the nonprofit Drum Corps International (DCI).

Drum corps are marching bands that include only brass instrumentation ― you won’t see anyone playing flutes, clarinets, saxophones or other woodwinds. They’re also independent organizations, each with a limit of 150 members.  (Marching bands sponsored by schools and universities include woodwinds and often are open to anyone who wants to play.)

For Mankato Kiwanians, it all started in the early 1990s. A club member’s son played in the Madison Scouts, which is a DCI founding member and two-time DCI World Champion title holder. So, the Kiwanians thought: Why not bring a drum corps competition to Mankato so the Madison Scouts can participate?

It was also an opportunity for the club, says Doug Foust, a member and head of the Thunder of Drums organizing committee.

“A part of it is that any proceeds above and beyond what it costs us to put on this show would support our various Kiwanis projects,” he says. “It seemed like a natural fit.”

The Mankato 77 Lancers, a music and marching program for Mankato Area Public Schools students, joined in as a partner and also benefits from event proceeds.

After a two-year interruption because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thunder triumphantly returned in 2022 and will take place for the 31st time this July 11. Around 2,500 guests attend each year.

Community support and partnership has been a key to Thunder’s longevity. The University of Minnesota provides use of its Blakeslee Stadium. Area high schools open cafeterias, gyms and football fields for participants to eat, sleep and practice. Others volunteer their services, from graphic design students who design and print marketing materials to a certified athletic trainer/emergency medical technician who is on hand in case of an injury or illness.

A local television station even supplies thousands of dollars’ worth of free advertising.

“It takes all of these folks in the community to really make this a success,” Foust says. “We’ve built up some really good partnerships. It makes putting on the show relatively easy year after year.”

A St. Lucia hospital recovers after devastating fire.

By Julie Saetre 

In the early morning hours of September 9, 2009, a fire broke out at St. Jude Hospital, the second-largest hospital on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Three of the hospital’s 47 patients died, the surgical ward was destroyed, and the lab, pediatric ward, laundry and supply area suffered water damage.

In the aftermath, the hospital relocated to a local stadium, where a makeshift operating room and emergency room were created. At the original hospital site, recovery was slow. The St. Lucia government decided to completely renovate the structure, a daunting task within the infrastructure of an island.

In 2021, Bernard Lavater, a cardiologist and member of the Kiwanis Club of Fort-de-France, Martinique, an island just north of St. Lucia, told his fellow members about the lingering challenges faced by St. Jude. And, as Kiwanians do, the club members jumped into action.

The Fort de France club sought partnerships with four area businesses ― medical and surgical service provider TMS, freight company Somotrans, the Marin Marina, and ferry service Capo Rosso ― to collect much-needed medical equipment for the hospital. And in November 2022, a delegation of Fort-de-France Kiwanis members, led by Steeve Tailame, club president, met with St. Jude Hospital Director Liz Altifois to make a special donation.

Thanks to the Kiwanians and their partners, the hospital received an ultrasound machine with accompanying laser printer, an electrocardiograph machine, a stethoscope, a blood pressure monitor, commode chairs, a walker and a reprographics machine.

“Our hospital was destroyed 13 years ago, and we have encountered many difficulties in its reconstruction,” says Altifois. “It is with pleasure that we receive this equipment. We thank all of those who have contributed to this action.”

While leading a relief effort for Ukraine, Bernard Altmann has been inspired by Kiwanians’ unity.

By Bernard Altmann
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Ambassador, Europe 1 Region 

Right at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we Kiwanians in Europe concluded that we had a duty to help — because this immeasurable suffering was taking place “on our doorstep.”

For example, our Romanian clubs had taken immediate measures to provide accommodations and food to refugees. But most local clubs lacked the necessary financial resources for direct support to people inside Ukraine, so the Kiwanis Children’s Fund-Europe has helped financially. We have also bought blankets, food and other necessary materials, including new shoes and diapers for the refugee children.

But I want to be clear: Our support for Ukraine is a success for all the Kiwanis clubs in Europe and beyond — not just for a single district or group of people.

An inspiring sign
At the beginning of our relief effort, we made an appeal for financial support to European districts. They were immediately willing to participate, and other districts and their clubs in all parts of the world joined the action.

Isn’t this a clear, inspiring sign of the unity of all Kiwanians?

Most of ourdonations have been food and ingredients for meals: flour, oil, soup powder, rice, milk and water. But we have also been able to provide shawls, laundry powder, hygiene products and more. And because the needs are so great, we have made recent donations of heaters and large generators.

In cooperation with the governor of Austria and with a financial contribution from Kiwanis Children’s Fund-Europe, seven fully loaded trucks with relief supplies drove from Austria via Slovakia to Ukraine. Another 13 have left from Luxembourg so far — three of them directly to Kiev and two to Slovakia for further distribution in Ukraine. The other eight have transported goods to our interim storage facility at a shoe factory in Vicovu de Sus, Romania. From there, volunteers drive smaller trucks or private cars into the interior of Ukraine and also to the front.

I estimate the total value of these delivered relief supplies at over €1 million!

More to do
At this point, we will analyze the situation and discuss our course of action. For example, we should think of the many refugee children in Romania and try to support their social integration and their education.

We still have a great deal of work ahead of us. But we are Kiwanians. We will not give up as long as our help is needed in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

Bernard Altmann has been a member of the Mersch Uelzechtdall Kiwanis Club in Luxembourg for nearly 30 years. He is currently also president of the social commission of the Belgium-Luxembourg District.