"My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income." - Errol Flynn

Let’s face it, most of our club members are children of the 80s. OK, we have a few kids from the 70s (self included), but for the most part, we’re a group of folks that have experienced all life’s offerings in the last 30 years! So let’s take a look back, shall we?

In 1980 a new house cost $68,714.00, the average income per year was $19,170.00, a gallon of gas was $1.19, the average cost of new car was $7,210.00 and milk was 85 cents for 1/2 gallon. Best of all, you could get a hands free car phone for only $788 – note, that’s just the phone, not the “service”! (http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1980s.html)

So, what’s the value of the buck these days? I’ve always been a thrifty shopper and likened the experience of buying my first car to a root canal, but generally I can say I’ve been fairly happy with the money I’ve earned, saved and ultimately spent on mostly fun things, minus a car accident here or a roof leak there. But with 2010 in full swing (um - where did January go?), I am once again being pegged to “renew” things - my car registration, dog registration, homeowner’s dues, alumni dues, automatic bill payments, and, yes, Kiwanis Uptown dues are all up for renewal this month. Did I mention I’m still paying off Christmas bills, trying to make upgrades on my house, and oh yeah, have 4 “destination” weddings this year, with the pleasure of being a bridesmaid in at least one of them (read: $250 for a dress I’ll never wear again). What’s a gal to do?

And then I heard the deep voice of fatherly wisdom – perhaps my dad, perhaps Al Bundy or Bill Cosby – regardless, James Frick said it best, "Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are." So, let’s see, according to my last Visa bill, my priorities are Banana Republic, Zappos.com, Target/WalMart and a host of other bars/restaurants in Charlotte. Ugh, am I that shallow?

And then I remembered – I paid my Kiwanis Uptown dues by check, not on my Visa. My Facebook status updates and pictures from 2009 will tell you my priorities were very different – spent with family, friends and Kiwanis Uptowners doing great things for the Charlotte community with Byers Elementary, The Boys and Girls Club,


Key Leader,


and Trips for Kids,


and also raising $3K for Ace and TJ's Grin Kids at our Southern Summer event.


Hooray! I am not shallow! Time to get out my checkbook and make Kiwanis Uptown a priority by paying my $120 annual dues for 2010. And before you say “I don’t have $120” or “I can’t afford $120” for your own Kiwanis Uptown dues this year, think about it.

Annual dues boil down to $10 a month. I buy two (OK, maybe more than two) cocktails a month at an Uptown bar. I have at least one, if not more, Grande Skinny Vanilla Lattes a month. I enjoy dinners out, movie nights, new clothes, and other random adventures and I bet you do too. So, "don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are."

Here's hoping you’ll join me by making Kiwanis Uptown one of the things you “renew” in 2010, not just as a dues paying member, but also as someone who makes doing great things for the Charlotte community a priority!

Cheers!

Piggybacking off our President’s last post, I’ll admit I had a pretty charmed childhood. I always had the staples (food/water, clothes, shelter) and I was very lucky to live in a two parent family with a stay at home mom, a dad with a stable, well-paid job, and a sister who is now my best friend. We took regular family vacations and had lots of friends and extended family to keep us company along the way. Hey, it takes a village, right? I was loved, supported, and aside from the normal teen year dramas, growing up for me was a pretty fun experience.

I had a life changing experience in the fall of 2008, when I was suckered into chaperoning my first Kiwanis International Key Leader weekend at Camp Weaver. Since then, I’ve participated in Key Leader weekends at Camp Wiley and at Camp Caraway – and enjoyed suckering others to come along for the ride. For those that don’t know, Key Leader is a student/facilitator led weekend retreat that inspires young people to achieve great things through service leadership. The retreat centers on the core values of integrity, growth, respect, building community and the pursuit of excellence.

I’m continually humbled and inspired meeting the teens during these weekends. Teens like Dana, valedictorian of her class, unsure if she would apply for college until we talked to her about scholarships and ways to overcome financial obstacles (and I may be guilty of confirming her belief that App State is the best college ever). Teens like Steve, so scared of failing that he wouldn’t even try some if the icebreaker challenges – that is until I jumped in like an idiot and tried - and failed, three times, mind you - before accomplishing the task myself. I’ve met “privileged” teens, “at risk” teens, teens that had babies of their own – and despite all their differences, I’ve watched as each one has grown and walked away with a common set of leadership skills and core values that benefit them for years to come. You simply cannot walk out of a weekend like that unchanged!

OK, I’m known to be long winded when I am passionate about something (obviously, see above), but I’ve never been one to text my vote (sorry, Seacrest), forward the chain emails (you can blame me if your wish didn’t come true), or enlist every soul I know to “get out the vote” – until now.

Since its inception in 2005, Kiwanis International’s Key Leader has held 226 Key Leader weekends, impacting 11,000 teens in 38 US states, 4 Canadian provinces and 4 other countries. And it’s time to make a bigger impact! Chase is giving away $5 million to various charities and all you have to do is simply vote for your favorite nonprofit and then get friends and others on Facebook to do the same.

The Kiwanis International Foundation already earned $25K and became a finalist in the campaign and starting Friday, January 15th through Friday January 22nd, YOU can help the Foundation win $1M just by voting! Think about it - $1M in grant money will allow the program’s impact to at double over the next three years, allowing 11,500 more Key Leaders to Take the Lead and impact their communities.

Please vote (http://facebook.com/kiwanis) and encourage others to do the same. As you know, if you don't forward this to 50 people within the next 5 minutes, our wish won’t come true!

Hello Internet. I’m pleased to present the first blog post from Kiwanis Uptown, a great group of young people that helps children. They like to refer to me as "president."



The photo above is me. I was six, and one heckuva tap dancer. Check out those kicks. No, those aren’t my tap shoes. You can’t walk outside in tap shoes. Ladies, I’m sure you already know that they will scratch. Men, pay attention because you might have a little girl one day.

And, hello, way to accessorize! Did you notice the hair band? Lady Gaga would kill for one of those.

Anyway, there’s a point to this post. I’m getting there. You see the picture means a lot to me. I had a healthy mom and dad that took the picture. They owned a camera. There’s a roof over my head. As you can see, I was well fed. And best of all, I’m heading to my first dance recital. It makes me happy. Little did my parents know that I would be the one lagging on the dance moves and left on stage when all the other dancers departed. So I lied. Tap dancing wasn’t my forte.

The point: There are many children without homes, without roofs over their heads, without the luxuries that we take for granted all too often. I’m proud to be a part of Kiwanis Uptown that supports such organizations like Family Promise. We’re sweating it out on a Sunday at 7:45 am (mind you) and helping provide a home for families without one. On Sunday, January 17, we will move families into a temporary home to help get them back on their feet. I hope these kids get to attend their first dance recital, soccer scrimmage, Boy Scout Camp, etc. one day, and I hope to be a part of making it happen. Most of all, I hope they have a place called home. Will you join me?