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“Getting our kids involved was something of a
necessity,” said Mark Meyerowitz, 57, explaining
that he and his wife, Karen, thought it best to
include their children in their community activities
and charitable causes rather than leave them with
babysitters.
Giving back is a way of life for the couple, and
they just naturally passed on that commitment to
service to their children.
“The joy of being a parent and having your children
with you is probably the best giveback you can get,”
said Mark. “I think our family has done more
together than most families.”
Now a Merrick resident, Mark Meyerowitz grew up in
Bellmore. He is one of Kennedy High School's first
full graduating class alumni, since inducted into
the school's prestigious Wall of Fame, honored for
staying in the area and giving back to the
community. He and his wife ran an accounting
business together in Bellmore for many years, and
joined the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores
before they had children. They continue to be active
Chamber members today, as well as involved in the
Bellmore Lions Club, and with their local temple.
Still, the Bellmore Kiwanis was and remains the
focus of their community service. “You become almost
like a cheerleader; you try to get everyone
involved,” Mark said. “The more people you can get
involved, that have a proprietary interest, the
better.”
The couple always brought in others to help with
Kiwanis events—extended family, including parents,
sisters and brothers, as well as friends,
colleagues, even employees.
Mark recounted, for example, that it was a woman who
worked in their accounting office who first taught
them how to hand-dip strawberries for the annual
Nassau County Strawberry Festival, which is
co-sponsored annually by the Kiwanis and the
Bellmore Lions Club.
Family at the festival
For several years, Mark was in charge of organizing
the Strawberry Festival. “I put my heart into that,”
he said. “We literally planned our lives around it.”
Nodding at the comment, his children Seth and Rachel
said they always scheduled family vacations around
the festival dates. They themselves continued do
that when they were in college and, as they move
into increasingly active roles with the club, still
do so.
“My friends kid me about it,” Seth said. “It's very
difficult to express to them, my involvement. It's
second nature to me, part of my life since forever.”
“It's hard to explain what this is about,” Rachel, a
third-grade teacher concurred. “I know the value of
community service. These are values that some people
don't learn, don't grow up with.” It's a matter of
wanting to help, not having to help, she said. It's
about doing what needs to be done, and not asking
how long it will take or even consider asking to be
paid, she explained.
As children, when people would thank them for
helping at the Strawberry Festival, for example,
Rachel said, they never really expected that. “We
wanted to get up early,” she said. “We wanted to be
there all day.”
Seth and Rachel, and their older brother, Andrew,
remember helping with all types of different
activities at the festival. They stood on boxes to
help at various booths. They sold refreshments, and
blended strawberry drinks. The boys got soaked in
the dunk tank, and helped direct traffic in the
parking lot. They did whatever was needed, they
said, learning by the example their parents set.
“Teaching your kids not to look for something in
return, to try to help others,” said Mark, “that is
one of the most important things you could ever do.”
Next generation's turn
“Now we turn this [organization] over to the next
generation,” Mark said.
The new Meyerowitz generation have big plans for the
local Kiwanis. For starters, as secretary, Seth has
revamped the group's Web site, and has taken a lead
role in publicizing the club's activities and
reaching out to the community to increase
membership. He has worked with the local Key Clubs
to add blogs about Kiwanis activities to
Bellmore-Merrick district high school Web sites. Key
Club is the Kiwanis' service program for high school
students.
Seth and his siblings are particularly interested in
bringing in younger members. They've already seen a
bit of an influx of younger people. Kiwanis
president John Monks sometimes brings his son,
Brian, a sophomore and member of the Key Club at
W.C. Mepham High School, to Kiwanis meetings. Also,
former Home and Careers teacher and past Kennedy
High School Key Club advisor Judy Mankita attends
meetings with her daughter, Melanie.
Another example, Kyle Strober, 26, a childhood
friend of Andrew Meyerowitz, joined recently. “My
age is the Internet age, and we sometimes have the
sense that we can reach everyone through the
Internet,” Strober said, “but I think it's good to
get out of the house and do something.”
“It's a different experience when you actually help
in the real world. You're interacting. You meet
interesting people that are part of your community
that you would never meet sitting behind a
computer,” he said. “You find out there's a lot
going on in the community you live in that you
wouldn't know about otherwise.”
Strober said he enjoys working on events such as the
Bellmore Street Festival and the Strawberry
Festival, and feels a sense of accomplishment
particularly when he sees the faces of children less
fortunate than he and his friends were growing up,
the children that the group's fund-raising dollars
send to Kamp Kiwanis.
The wilderness camp is operated by the New York
District Kiwanis Foundation for the benefit of youth
who are physically or mentally challenged. Seth
hopes to increase the number of children the group
sends to camp from Bellmore each year. He also asks
that parents in the community contact him through
the club's Web site if they feel their children may
qualify to go.
“Green” and craft areas
Andrew Meyerowitz spearheaded the idea of the group
going “green” this year. For the annual Pancake
Breakfast, for example, the Kiwanis chose tableware
that is biodegradable and invited “green” businesses
to support the event.
Also, the “couple of dumpsters' worth” of refuse
created at the Strawberry Festival this year will be
composted. Local “green” businesses, including home
energy efficiency maven Alure Home Improvement and
solar energy provider Built Well Solar Corp. are
festival sponsors featured at a new “Green Expo”
area. Also, the Bellmore Kiwanis and Lions clubs are
raffling off a Smart Car, the fuel efficient, energy
miser “microcar.”
Another idea the younger members came up with this
year is a new “Craft/General Vendor” area for Long
Island hobbyists and businesses. In addition to the
food, the strawberry concoctions, the rides and
games, and the fun-filled atmosphere, this new area
offers fairgoers another reason to linger at the
Strawberry Festival, and hopefully enhance the
Kiwanis and Lions clubs' fund-raising till in the
process.
“We're doing a lot of great things, and we want to
do more,” Seth said. |