Kiwanis Club of Longmont has its own personal toy story

The Kiwanis International Convention is being held in Denver this year, and Longmont’s own Kiwanis club has a front-row seat.

Wednesday through Saturday, two delegates from the Kiwanis Club of Longmont will attend the convention to showcase the club’s “Toys for Kids” project, where members build wooden toys for children. The delegates will be set up in the main entrance to the convention, giving all attendees the chance to learn more about the club and its unique project.

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

Longmont Kiwanis Club President Emily Archuleta speaks during a meeting at the Senior Center. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

Every year, the Kiwanis International Convention is held in a different location around the world, with previous destinations including France and Japan. According to Hayes, Kiwanis members from 80 countries are expected to attend.

This year’s conference is being held at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center, and will be hosted by the Rocky Mountain District of Kiwanis. Hayes said the district asked the Longmont Kiwanis club directly to present their project at the convention.

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

At the convention, Hayes and club president Emily Archuleta will invited guests to put wheels on wooden cars crafted by the club. Hayes said they’re hoping to add wheels to around 500 cars; they will also bring some finished cars for guests to take home.

“Our goal is to spread what our project does as far as possible, even reaching other clubs in the United States as well as clubs abroad,” Hayes said. “We’ve made instructions (for members) on how to start making toys in their own clubs.”

Longmont Kiwanis Club members make about 10,000 wooden toys per year. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

The Longmont Kiwanis adopted the “Toys for Kids” project 13 years ago. Now, club members 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 at their woodshop, located 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 get people who are volunteering to do this who may have never made anything of their own,” Van Peursem said. “We’ve got about 300 different things we make.”

Van Peursem said he enjoys the chance to see the recipients of the toys get to play with the club’s creations.

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

Longmont Kiwanis Club members will take their wooden toys show on the road to a Denver meeting of Kiwanis members from around the world. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)