Community & Clubs -- Jim de Boom

CATCH THE SERVICE CLUBS AT THE ROSE PARADE: There are not a lot of

service club meetings this week. Dozens of members of the local service

clubs are, instead, spending many hours in Pasadena this weekend

decorating their floats that an estimated 400 million people from around

the world will see on TV.

When you watch the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, take a look at the

floats entered by Soroptimist International, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions and

the Exchange Club of America and know that some of your neighbors put the

finishing touches on some very beautiful and award-winning floats. These

floats will not only express the 2002 Rose Parade theme, but also

showcase the major emphasis of the service clubs.

Then, as you make your New Year’s resolutions, add one to visit a

service club and check it out for possible membership. What, you say

you’re too busy to be a service club member? For most clubs, it’s an

extra 30 minutes a week on a breakfast, lunch or dinner hour for a club

meeting filled with fun, friends and service. What a way to start a day,

inspired. What a way to end a day, with friends.

It costs too much to be a service club member, you say? Not really.

Dues are $100 or $200 a year, depending on the club. You already eat out

once or twice a week, and service club meals -- while at Five Crowns, the

Center Club, the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club, Mimi’s, the Marriott or the

Costa Mesa Country Club -- are not any more expensive than what you would

pay for a great meal anyway.

What’s in it for me, you say? For those who want to feel connected,

service clubs give a sense of community. For those wishing to expand

their business contacts, service clubs offer unbeatable networking. For

those who are lonely, clubs are a wellspring of friendship and support.

For those on the fast track at work, it provides tools and opportunities

to help you become a better leader. And for those who love to travel,

service club membership is like pulling into a strange town in the United

States or around the world and finding the front porch light on welcoming

you.

Next week, we are back to a full meeting schedule for the 14 service

clubs in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. I hope your New Year’s resolutions

will include visiting one of them.

READING BY 9: Make a second New Year’s resolution to become a mentor

to a child who needs you to help them learn to read by the age of 9 by

donating one hour a week between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. We

have some 2,000 children in first, second and third grades in three

Westside schools who need mentors.

To volunteer at Pomona Elementary School, call Jill McWhertor at (949)

515-6980; at Whittier Elementary School, call Sarah Markel at (949)

515-6898; and at Wilson Elementary School, call Diane Clemensen at (949)

515-6995, Ext. 3209. To volunteer at the Shalimar Learning Center

after-school program, call Laura Johnson at (949) 646-5797.

More than $1,650 has been contributed by Daily Pilot readers toward

the $5,000 challenge donated by the Rotary Clubs of Newport-Balboa,

Newport-Irvine and Newport Beach Sunrise. Your $10 donation will be

matched by the Rotary clubs to buy 11 reading books. A $25 donation will

be matched to buy 30 books, a $50 donation will be matched to buy 58

books, and so on.

Your tax-deductible donation to buy Reading by 9 books can be made

payable and mailed to Rotary District 5320 Foundation, c/o Daily Pilot,

330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.

Make your investment and then watch the dividends grow. Make a

difference in the life of a child who really needs you. Volunteer today.

WORTH REPEATING: From “Coastal Currents,” the newsletter of the

Exchange Club of the Orange Coast: “Free gifts you can give away! Smiles,

hugs, compliments, helping hand, phone call, handwritten note, a flower

from your garden, a handshake and positive words (Have a great day)!

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK: Do you want to get more involved in

your community, make new friends, network or give something back to your

community? Try a service club. You are invited to attend a club meeting

this week. Many clubs will buy your first guest meal.

WEDNESDAY

7:15 a.m.: The South Coast Metro Rotary Club will meet at the Center

Club to hear Costa Mesa Fire Chief Jim Ellis

(www.southcoastmetrorotary.org).

Noon: The Exchange Club of the Orange Coast will meet at the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club for a business meeting.

THURSDAY

Noon: The Exchange Club of Newport Harbor will meet at the Newport

Harbor Nautical Museum for a business meeting (www.nhexchangeclub.com),

the Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club will meet at the Holiday Inn, and the

Newport-Irvine Rotary Club will meet at the Irvine Marriott for a club

assembly (www.nirotary.org).

* COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Saturdays in the Daily Pilot. Send

your service club’s meeting information by fax to (949) 660-8667; e-mail

to jdeboom@aol.com or by mail to 2082 S.E. Bristol St., Suite 201,

Newport Beach, CA 92660-1740.