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The St. Charles Kiwanis Club has announced a major commitment to the children of St. Charles with their pledge to fund and construct a significant component of the proposed Active River Development.

"In 54 years, our club has contributed over two million dollars to a variety of children-focused charities and programs within the community, yet has always operated somewhat behind the scenes," said John Radman, co-chair of the St. Charles Kiwanis Signature Project Committee. "We decided that we need to create an identifiable tribute to the work we have done, while still adhering to our mission of helping the children of the world--one child and one community at a time." 

During the past two years, the St. Charles Kiwanis Club has solicited ideas and suggestions for a signature project from a broad spectrum of governmental and civic groups. These ideas were then analyzed and evaluated for their adherence to the Kiwanis mission and their potential impact on the children of St. Charles.    

"The types of projects that stood out to our committee were those that created new play and educational areas, and that could be centrally located within the city. Our list narrowed down to a handful of ideas that included a children's water park, an accessible tree house, a tadpole wading pond, and sensory rooms or gardens," said Denis Haggerty, the other co-chair of the Signature Project Committee.  "We also realized that the ideal location for promoting the visibility of Kiwanis would be along the Fox River, and preferably in the central downtown area. That's when we decided that we wanted to be part of the Active River Development."

Recognizing that the actual design and engineering for the Active River Development is just getting under way, St. Charles Kiwanis has informed the City of St. Charles, the St. Charles Park District, the River Corridor Foundation, and the Active River Task Force of their desire to adopt and fund a children-focused component of this project. "Our sister Kiwanis club in Columbus, Ohio, recently helped fund the construction of a children's water play area in their downtown, which has been a huge success.  Although we began setting aside funds two years ago, we realize this is a multi-year effort."  said Radman.

"We also hope that this early commitment by the St. Charles Kiwanis Club will inspire other civic groups and philanthropically-inclined individuals to make similar pledges to the Active River Development.  Then, as the project is constructed, the enhancement components can be installed with minimal delay," said Haggerty.

In 2017, the St. Charles Kiwanis Club awarded over $52,000 in monetary grants to 36 local agencies such as CASA Kane County, Lazarus House, Living Well Cancer Center, and TriCity Family Services. Individuals who want to learn more about the St. Charles Kiwanis Club or have questions about their signature project, are encouraged to contact John Radman at johnmradman@aol.com, Denis Haggerty at dhagg6483@sbcglobal.net, or www.kiwanisofstcharles.org.