THE KIWANIS CLUB OF ARLINGTON
Founded In 1952
THE KIWANIS CLUB OF ARLINGTON’S ANNUAL PANCAKE DAY
WILL CELEBRATE ITS 64th ANNIVERSARY ON FEB. 25
AT FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF ARLINGTON
The Kiwanis Club of Arlington will hold its 64th Annual Pancake Day fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, from 8 a.m. to 12 Noon in the Great Hall of First United Methodist Church of Arlington at 313 N. Center Street, at the corner of Division Street. Tickets are $7.00 each and can be purchased at the door or in advance by contacting the Kiwanis office at 817-640-7111 and by email at txokdist@swbell.net.
Since the very first Pancake Day in February 1958, the event has grown to become a community institution, serving thousands of pancakes – all you can eat! – and raising close to $1,000,000 for myriad community, civic and charitable causes and organizations.
In fact, the event goes back so far that Dwight Eisenhower was President, the Texas Rangers were still playing baseball in Washington, D.C., as the Senators, and the Dallas Cowboys were yet to play a down in the National Football League.
“All of us at the Kiwanis Club of Arlington are enormously proud of Pancake Day’s long history, but even more so, of all the great things we have been able to accomplish for the community and its children through the funds we raise with pancakes,” said past Kiwanis Club President Bonnie Watkins.
Each year, Kiwanis volunteers flip and serve up well over two thousand pancakes – and sausages to go with them – in a festive atmosphere of civic pride. Making the event even more special is that Kiwanis volunteers are joined by members of the high school Key Clubs and Circle K, that Kiwanis sponsors. Anyone interested in becoming a Pancake Day sponsor can contact the Kiwanis office for information about the cost and benefits of various sponsorship levels.
“It’s important to know that anyone who purchases a Pancake Day ticket is really making a big difference in the community,” said Pancake Day Chairman Bob Landon. “Virtually all the money we raise goes right back into the community, most of it benefiting the children who are our most precious resource. So support for Pancake Day is really an investment in our community and our children.”
Pancake Day Co-Chairman Larry James noted that Pancake Day is the Kiwanis Club’s only major fund raiser and is now very close to exceeding $1,000,000 in the amount it has raised for community causes over its 63-year history. “It’s a goal we want to reach for the children of Arlington,” he said.
2019’s event attracted more than 1,000 guests and raised nearly $48,000, a record. Those funds were pumped back into the community in the form of scholarships for high school students, support for school community service clubs, and support for myriad programs and organizations, including Kiwanis’ Annual Teacher-Of-The-Year Awards for outstanding elementary, junior high school and high school teachers in the Arlington Independent School District.
The Kiwanis motto is: “Serving the children of the world.”
The Kiwanis Club sponsors Key Clubs at seven high schools – Arlington, Bowie, Lamar, Martin, Kennedale, and the Oak Ridge School – directly benefiting more than 1,500 students. The Club also supports a “Bringing Up Grades “ (BUGS) program at South Davis, Sherrod, Larson, and Lynn Hale Elementary Schools, and co-sponsors a Circle K Club at the University of Texas Arlington.
Among the many civic and charitable organizations Kiwanis assists with resources from Pancake Day are the Boys and Girls Club of Arlington, Arlington Safe Haven, Arlington Alliance for Youth, Arlington Life Shelter, Arlington Urban Ministries, Mission Arlington, Arlington Charities, and Arlington Salvation Army.