PARSIPPANY — Kiwanis Club Lt. Governor Division 9 Frank Cahill is pleased to announce that Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany is now the largest club in New Jersey.
The New Jersey District of Kiwanis International currently has 79 active Kiwanis Clubs, with a total of 1476 members. Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany has a total of 76 active members as of Thursday, August 26.
“I recently conducted a membership drive and recruited six new members into our great organization,” said Frank Cahill. Our volunteers have been active in collecting food at various supermarkets to donate to Parsippany Human Services, been helping distribute food during our ‘Operation Feeding Morris County’, cooking at Homeless Solutions, purchasing school supplies for students in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School district, and buying ShopRite Gift Cards during the pandemic to help families purchase food. We also distribute hot meals to residents that were donated from Calabria Restaurant & Pizzeria. Our volunteers have been tremendous during the pandemic. When other people hear about the Kiwanis initiatives, they want to be part of our organization.”
During the recent membership drive in Parsippany, Cahill was able to sign up six new members, Justin Carifi, Laura Marie Ali, Kent Mancini, Tom Toomey, Jimmy Parikh, and Darshan Parikh. Laura Marie Ali was sponsored by Justin Musella.
Kiwanis Operation Feeding Morris County has distributed over 189,000 pounds of food, to 4,755 families, over 8,000 children with a retail value of over $475,000.
“Kiwanis Operation Feeding Morris County” was started in December by Kiwanis Club of Greater Roxbury President Cain Pope and has spread to many Morris County Kiwanis Club and other clubs in New Jersey as far away as Asbury Park, South Orange, Maplewood, Clifton, and Bridgewater.
Kiwanis does not ask for proof of income. The only thing we ask for is name, email address, the town of residence, and the number of children. The information is 100% confidential and is used to make sure we have a sufficient supply of food at each location and for informing the public of future food distributions.
Justin Carifi is a graduate of Parsippany Hills High School and was a former Key Club member. In addition, Tyler Lee, a Parsippany Hills High school graduate, and former Key Club member joined our club in July.
“I am so excited to be part of the greatest and largest Kiwanis chapter in the state! I was a member of the Key Club at Parsippany Hills High School and I look forward to continuing to create ways to better the children of our communities,” said Justin Carifi.
Key Club, part of the Kiwanis family, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club’s goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. In 2020 there were 229,652 members.
“Kiwanis club members believe in service,” said Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany President Laura Wohland. “They care about children. They’re interested in the community around them because the community matters to them. They’re people like you. Friends. Neighbors. Volunteers who want to make a difference.”
“As a long-term Parsippany resident, I am excited to have the opportunity to join Kiwanis. Moving through the public school system in Parsippany, to now being a young professional, I have formed a genuine understanding and appreciation of the local community and its progressive resources. Kiwanis is an incredible, national and forward-looking, organization with a mission statement that I truly standby. Being a new member of the Parsippany Kiwanis, I look forward to working with the rest of the Kiwanis family to continue to improve and give back to this community, and beyond,” said Jimmy Parikh.
Tom Toomey said, “I’m excited and honored to join the Kiwanis Club today – they do incredible work for people that need help in our community and I look forward to doing my part.”
Laura Marie Ali couldn’t make the group swearing-in but will be sworn in at a later date by club President Laura Wohland.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. It is not religious-based or partisan in any way.
Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany supports ten K-Kids clubs, Lake Parsippany Elementary School, Eastlake Elementary School, Intervale School, Mt. Tabor Elementary School, Littleton Elementary School, Lake Hiawatha Elementary School, Troy Hills Elementary School, Northvail Elementary School, Knollwood School, and Rockaway Meadow Elementary School, two builders clubs, Central Middle School and Brooklawn Middle School; two Key Clubs, Parsippany Hills High School and Parsippany High School and one Aktion Club.
Interested in learning more about the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, contact President Laura Wohland, by emailing law4pres@gmail.com. Click here to view the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany website.
