The Wabash Kiwanis Club is excited to announce that, after a year off due to the
COVID pandemic, it will resume its rich tradition of supporting Riley Hospital for
Children with its 24 th annual Bucket Brigade fundraiser.
The event will take place from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at local
businesses. Members of the local Kiwanis Club will stand outside of five area
storefronts with buckets in hand for customers to drop in change or cash donations.
One-hundred percent of donations collected on this day will go directly to Riley
Hospital. The local Club raised an even $1,600 in 2019, which brought the all-time
Bucket Brigade total for the Club to $39,974.73.
The local businesses that will allow the Club to participate at their storefronts
include Walmart of Wabash, 1601 N. Cass St., from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Wabash
Hardware & Rental, 1351 N. Cass St., from 10-2; Bechtol Grocery, 120 Hale Dr., from
10-2; The Fried Egg, 1319 N. Cass St., from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.; and Modoc’s Market, 205
S. Miami St., from 7-10 a.m.
“Wabash Kiwanis is knocking on the door for the $40,000 th dollar raised for Riley
Hospital for Children,” Mike Keaffaber, Wabash Kiwanis Board president and Bucket
Brigade chairperson, said. “This is one of the most fun things that we get to do in a
Kiwanis capacity.
“Our members who volunteer for this always love speaking with locals who have
had a niece, son, grandchild or whoever who’s benefited from Riley Hospital. We
especially love it when parents hand their children some spare change or a dollar bill
and have the youngsters themselves put the money in our Brigade buckets.”
For more than 100 years, there’s been a deep relationship between the Kiwanis
Indiana District and Riley Children’s Hospital, dating back to before the hospital’s doors
were even open to Hoosier children.
The state district has pledged to raise $1 million to support Riley’s
neurodevelopmental and behaviors centers initiative, which focuses on providing local
community-based screening, diagnosing and treatment for young children with autism
and related disorders.
Once again, the Club invites the community to come out on Saturday, July 31, in
order to support this vital asset to the youth of Indiana. While out shopping this
upcoming weekend, the Club hopes locals will plan to visit the aforementioned locations
and bring change with them so that they donate to this worthy cause.
And for those who can’t make it to the fundraiser at the above businesses that
day, but still want to support the local Club’s commitment to benefit Riley Children’s
Hospital, they can send a check to the Wabash Kiwanis Club at P.O. Box 699, Wabash,
IN 46992, with “Bucket Brigade” listed in the memo line.