The Kiwanis Club of Longmont has its own personal toy story – Longmont Times-Call

From left, Longmont Kiwanis Club member Bill Titus, past president Larry Schluntz, president Emily Archuleta, secretary Marv Van Peursem and treasurer Ray Allison present the group’s wooden toy project during a meeting at the Senior Center, 910 Longs Peak Ave. in Longmont on Friday. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

The Kiwanis International Convention is taking place in Denver this year, and Longmont’s own Kiwanis Club has a front row seat.

From Wednesday through Saturday, two delegates from the Kiwanis Club of Longmont will attend the convention to present the club’s Toys for Kids project, in which members build wooden toys for children. The delegates will be stationed at the convention’s main entrance so that all attendees have the opportunity to learn more about the club and its unique project.

“It’s our flagship project,” said Candi Hayes, a Longmont Kiwanis board member and one of two delegates attending the convention this week. “When we all deliver the toys, people are so, so grateful. It just puts a smile on your face.”

Each year, the Kiwanis International Convention is held in a different location around the world. Previous destinations have included France and Japan. According to Hayes, Kiwanis members from 80 countries are expected to attend.

This year’s conference is being held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver and is being hosted by the Rocky Mountain District of Kiwanis. Hayes said the district has directly asked the Longmont Kiwanis Club to present its project at the meeting.

“It’s really a great thing they asked us to do,” Hayes said.

At the convention, Hayes and club president Emily Archuleta will invite guests to put wheels on wooden cars the club has made. Hayes said they hope to put wheels on about 500 cars; they will also bring some finished cars for guests to take home.

“Our goal is to spread the impact of our project as widely as possible, including reaching other clubs in the U.S. and abroad,” Hayes said. “We have created guides (for members) on how they can start making toys in their own clubs.”

The Longmont Kiwanis started the Toys for Kids project 13 years ago, and club members now regularly make over 10,000 wooden toys a year—some are donated to local organizations like OUR Center and Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley, while others are packaged and taken on trips with missionaries or Doctors Without Borders staff.

“Our toys have been all over the world,” Hayes said. “They’ve gone everywhere.”

Longmont Kiwanis volunteers meet five days a week in their wood shop above Mountain View Welding, 1240 Kimbark St. Marv Van Peursem, Toys For Kids project coordinator, said members try to build something different each day.

“We have people volunteering even though they may never have made anything themselves,” Van Peursem said. “We make about 300 different things.”

Van Peursem said he enjoyed watching the recipients of the toys play with the club’s creations.

“That’s the fun part,” he said. “You see the kids’ eyes light up.”