Each year, thousands of Collinsville residents stop at an intersection and give a donation to a man in red smock. In return for the donation, the person offers peanuts in the fall or an orange in the spring. But, how many of the donors know for what their money is used?
Collinsville City Manager Scott Williams takes donations in exchange for peanuts during the Collinsville Sunrise Kiwanis 2014 peanut days / Photo by Roger Starkey
The Collinsville Sunrise Kiwanis are the peanut and orange providers. The group also staffs a booth at the Italian Fest each year, selling bagna cauda to those with an adventurous palate.
Money raised by the Collinsville early morning branch of the 99-year-old Kiwanis International is primarily used to make Christmas better for 50 students from low-income families in the Collinsville Unit 10 School District, Kiwanis member Vic Betta said.
Each year, the group receives the names of 50 needy children from the Unit 10 administration. The children are taken to a store, where they are allowed to buy clothes worth about $100-150. From there, the group goes to Camelot Bowl, where Santa Claus pays a visit.
Camelot Bowl owner Diane Hartman coordinates donations from members of leagues that bowl at her establishment, Betta said. The money is used to buy the toys Santa gives to the children during the Sunrise Kiwanis Christmas Party at the bowling alley.
Imo’s Pizza provides food for the party and the Collinsville Police Department and the Collinsville Fire Department buy groceries for the children.
The 38 active members of the Collinsville Sunrise Kiwanis make Christmas better for about 50 children and their families each year thanks to those who roll down their windows at Collinsville intersections to donate in exchange for an orange or peanuts.
The other major source of funding for the group is Italian Fest revelers who bravely try bagna cauda, which is made of garlic, anchovies, butter and olive oil cooked together to make a dip. For those buying their bagna cauda at the Italian Fest, bread and celery are used to convey the dip to the mouth.
“If you’re Italian, you like it,” Betta said. “If you’re not, you don’t.”
The group also contributes to Kiwanis International, a service organization with members in more than 80 countries. One of the group’s major current initiatives is partnering with UNICEF in an effort to eliminate maternal/neonatal tetanus, Betta said. The project began in 2010 with a goal of saving 129 million mothers and children from the disease by 2015.
Donations to the Collinsville Sunrise Club can be sent to Barry Wilson, at the Barry Wilson Funeral Home, 2800 N. Center St., Maryville, IL., 62062
