by Michelle Mullen

A century after nonprofit Kiwanis first established a foothold in the Bronx-Westchester area, the organization continues to bring people together to serve their communities and invest in the next generation.

Kiwanis’ Bronx-Westchester South Division, which includes the Riverdale club, is marking its 100th anniversary. The division’s first club launched in 1926, in Westchester’s Mount Vernon. In Riverdale, where the local Kiwanis branch was founded in 1953, that legacy has taken shape through youth leadership programs, community traditions, and support for children and families throughout the Bronx and southwest Yonkers.

“One of our primary missions is working with children and building student leaders,” said Nanda Chavez, lieutenant governor of the Kiwanis Bronx-Westchester South Division. “Everyone rolls up their sleeves and gets out there when we need to do ‘X’ mission, and that’s what we do.”

Kiwanis is an international service organization that brings together businesspeople, professionals and community members around philanthropy and volunteerism. Locally, clubs raise money for community organizations, create volunteer opportunities for young people and organize programs intended to strengthen connections among residents and businesses.

Chavez said that mission is particularly meaningful at a time when civic life can feel increasingly divided.

“The amazing thing about Kiwanis and our kids is that this is where everyone comes together and just does good and breaks bread together,” she said.

The Riverdale club was founded by David Stein, who, with his wife, Celia, also co-founded The Riverdale Press. For 73 years, the club has served Riverdale and surrounding communities.

Its work has included support for Montefiore’s children’s hospital, Operation Prom — a drive providing high schoolers with free dresses — the Friendly Fridge, Riverdale Senior Services, the Salvation Army, the Riverdale Y and more.

The Riverdale club also supports Key Clubs at David A. Stein Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy and the Bronx High School of Science, giving students opportunities to take part in volunteer projects while building leadership skills. Chavez said Bronx Science students have participated in food pantry work and neighborhood cleanups, while RKA students have volunteered at the local greenmarket and programs at the Riverdale Y.

Several Bronx Science students were also recognized by the mayor’s office this year for their service hours, Chavez said.

“We have things called service leadership programs, and we build little humans who do good things,” Chavez said. “It’s not politically based, and it’s not religiously based. It’s just where we all come together and do great things for our fellow man.”

Virginia Krompinger, vice president of the Riverdale club, became involved several years ago after learning more about the work members were doing locally. What stood out, she said, was how little attention the organization sought for itself.

“There’s a good feeling around it,” Krompinger said. “For me, it’s just nice to be involved in something that’s purely charitable.”

Working with students through the Key Clubs has become one of the most rewarding parts of that involvement, she said.

“Giving kids those opportunities to serve others early, I think sets the tone,” Krompinger said. “You get so much back by feeling like, ‘Oh, maybe I did do a little bit that’ll impact a kid’s life and point them in the right direction.’”

While Kiwanis has endured for generations, Chavez said longtime service organizations have aging memberships and can sometimes be overshadowed by newer nonprofits despite decades of community work, with Krompinger emphasizing the group prioritizes service over publicity.

“They don’t really care about marketing,” Krompinger said. “They don’t care so much about coverage. They just want to keep their program going and keep doing the work that they do.”

That work has also produced some of Riverdale’s longest-running traditions. For decades, children in Riverdale have spent an October day crouched beside storefront windows, paintbrushes in hand, turning local businesses into scenes of ghosts, pumpkins and other Halloween creations during Kiwanis’ annual Halloween Window Painting Contest.

The first contest was held Oct. 26, 1957, according to an article published Oct. 31 in The Riverdale Press, with more than 45 children participating. “Spooks and Sputnik” were among the favorite themes, and first prize went to John Carey, who received $25 for a cemetery scene painted on the window of Alexander’s Cleaners, according to The Press’ coverage.

Chavez, who grew up in Riverdale, remembers watching the paintings appear on neighborhood storefronts as a child. Several years ago, after seeing participation lose some momentum, she pushed to strengthen the event again.

“When this has been going on for generations, it’s more than just that activity of painting,” Chavez said. “It’s the tradition and the memories that come with it.”

The organization itself has evolved as well.

Women were not permitted to join Kiwanis when the Riverdale club was founded. That changed nationally in 1987, and Celia Stein became the first woman invited to join the Riverdale club. Her legacy continues through the Celia Stein Kiwanis Club of Riverdale Scholarship, which named its first recipient in 2023.

Looking ahead, Riverdale club president Amelia Chavez hopes her branch can expand its work with local students and continue intoducing younger generations to community service.

“It’s that idea that all this investment in our youth at a young age will help them keep the community going,” she said.

For Amelia Chavez, that desire to serve is what connects the Kiwanis clubs of today with those that began working in Bronx and Westchester communities a century ago.

The organization may look different, and its membership may be smaller or less visible than it once was, but its central purpose has endured,  she said.

Keywords

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community service,

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Key Club,

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Bronx High School of Science,

Halloween Window Painting Contest,

Celia Stein,

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Nanda Chavez,

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Virginia Krompinger,

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Operation Prom,

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community organizations