The Kinette Club of Lake Cowichan has officially been installed following its charter dinner on Saturday.
Kinette Clubs exist across Canada and are all-women versions of the Kinsmen clubs, which aspire to serve a community’s greatest needs through volunteerism and fundraising.
“There was a bunch of us women who wanted to be able to get together socially and decided it would be an excellent idea to give back to the community at the same time. So we meet once a month and we agreed that Kinettes was perfect for what we were looking to do,” said club president Kristal Mayo.
The Kinette Club of Lake Cowichan currently has eight members most of whom were born and raised in the area.
This is not the first Kinette Club in the lake district, but the previous one dissolved in the 1980s.
“We just wanted to re-charter the club back into the community again,” said Mayo.
The group’s charter plans began last summer. Like the Kinsmen, they will work to support the community in a variety of ways whether fundraising for larger projects (similar to the Kinsmen’s current initiative to raise money for the playground at the Duck Pond) or simply providing an extra set of hands for a local charity or non-profit organization.
A number of dignitaries from Kin Canada were present at the dinner including national director Andy Leitch, lower island deputy governor Steve Nahirnick and Lake Cowichan Kinsmen president Troy Douglas.
“The Kinettes is new to us too,” said club secretary Sarah DeBodt. “We’re all still in the learning process of what it means to be part of the Kin Canada organization and be a Kinette.”
DeBodt encouraged community members with questions to reach out to the group, which has a Facebook page.
“If they see us out in town and they’re curious, don’t be afraid to ask,” she said.
