Kiwanis have generous offer on the table

Cape Girardeau County is blessed with organizations that strive to make life better. Of all the service clubs -- and there are many -- the one that donates the most money for good causes is the Cape Girardeau Kiwanis Club. Just about every service club has some sort of fund-raising project. The Kiwanis have used weekly bingo nights to raise money for about 15 years. In recent years, the club has donated about $70,000 a year to community efforts of one kind or another.

Now the Kiwanis are considering an idea that would result in major improvements at one of Cape Girardeau's largest city parks: Cherokee Park. A club committee is exploring the idea of donating $70,000 to the city for park improvements, including a new pavilion and a skateboarding area. The club also would make additional donations of money and volunteer time for the next 10 years. In return, the club would like for the park to be renamed for the Kiwanis Club in recognition of its major support.

It is a generous idea, and it's one that is receiving serious consideration from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and other city officials. Along the way, there are some issues that need special attention:

The parks board already is considering a policy for naming parks in recognition of major donations. This should be a citywide process. The city needs a clear-cut policy for organizations, businesses and individuals who may want to make significant contributions and have some city facility named in their honor. Such naming recognition is a common way of encouraging sizable gifts.

If the city chooses to allow the renaming of a park under certain circumstances, naming a park for the Kiwanis would go a long way in recognizing the club's contributions of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

A brief review of how the Kiwanis have supported the community includes major contributions in 1949 that resulted in the development of the ballpark complex at Capaha Park, one of the finest such facilities in the Midwest. When the Salvation Army was raising funds for its new facilities on Sprigg Street several years ago, the Kiwanis made a $100,000 commitment to the project. The Kiwanis have sponsored a swimming program since 1957 that has taught an estimated 25,000 individuals to swim. Other major beneficiaries have been organizations like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the SADD program for 11 area high schools and Project Charlie. In addition, the Kiwanis Club each year help fund college educations through its ambitious scholarship program.

One of the issues raised by the Kiwanis' proposal is the significance of the names of Cape Girardeau's city parks, particularly those relating to native Americans.

Of Cape Girardeau's 23 parks (counting the Jaycee Municipal Golf Course), nine have names that are clearly identifiable as having Indian connections: Capaha, Casquin, Cherokee, Choctaw, Delaware, Indian, Missouri, Osage and Shawnee. The other parks are Arena, Cape Rock, City Hall, Dennis Scivally, Fort D, Golf Course, Groves, May Greene, Murtach, Ranney, Riverfront, Rockwood, Twin Trees and Washington.

If Cherokee Park were renamed Kiwanis Park, it still would have an Indian name. Kiwanis is an Indian word meaning "self-expression."

There are still many details to be worked out regarding the Kiwanis' proposal. But it's exciting to think that the club could have a significant impact on one park and make a skateboarding facility possible.