Mount Washington Valley Kiwanis – Kiwanis Club of Mount Washington Valley

YOUTH PROTECTION HELPLINE

866-607-SAFE (7233)

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Contact Us:
info@mwvkiwanis.org

Links

Kiwanis International https://www.kiwanis.org/

New England District of Kiwanis https://k17.site.kiwanis.org/

Club Officers

President – Tim George

President Elect – John Little

Vice President – Marla Casella

Past President – Norm Gamache

Treasurer – Linda Hall Little

Secretary – Charlie Mallar

Board of Directors

Three Years

Deb Eskedahl

Lynda Dunwell

Allen Gould

Two Years

Marie Lee

Rick Breton

Linda Reid

One Year

Diane Gamache

Chris Booras

Liz Hughes

Recent Events

(click the event for photos/description)

Crazy Jim’s Mystery Dine Around 2025

2025 Children are a Priority Golf Tournament

2025 Outreach End Hunger joint event with Rotary

Welcome to Kiwanis Club of Mount Washington Valley!

We are an eclectic mix of ages, genders, occupations, backgrounds and interests. We are all passionate about making our community and the world a better place for children so they can thrive. We are devoted to serving the children in our local community through unique and innovative service projects and fundraising initiatives.

What is Kiwanis?

Here’s a short video that explains what Kiwanis is all about.

Our Mission

The Kiwanis Club of Mount Washington Valley was established in 1975 when twenty local residents recognized the need for another service organization in the region – read more of our history here. Today, our club has grown to 53 members and continues to expand, with one of our founding members still on the roster.

Our mission is simple yet powerful:

The mission of the Kiwanis Club of Mount Washington Valley is to make our community a better place to live by engaging adult and youth volunteers in service projects, with a special focus on meeting the needs of children.

Click here to learn more about how our work benefits the Mount Washington Valley.

This short clip highlights our community involvement, featuring member Barbara and K-Kid Ava!

Next Meeting

Prospective members are always welcome! We typically hold dinner meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Ledgeview Grill, located inside the North Conway Country Club, 76 Norcross Circle, North Conway, NH, starting at 5:30 PM. Access our calendar here. We do not meet during the summer months (but do try to hold a few cookouts).

Looking for a way to give back to your community? Do you enjoy helping kids, having fun, and making a positive impact? Consider joining our Kiwanis club!

Curious to learn more? Join us for a meeting—your first dinner is on us! We meet bi-weekly, often featuring guest speakers, and actively support a variety of community projects. While we welcome members who can commit time to service, there’s no pressure—volunteer as much or as little as your schedule allows.

Beyond service, you’ll have the chance to connect with amazing people from the valley and participate in fun social events throughout the year, including a holiday party, “Crazy Jim’s” mystery dine-around, and summer cookouts.

We encourage prospective members to attend a few meetings before applying. This gives you the opportunity to get to know our group, experience our projects firsthand, and see the impact we make together.

Contact us or apply to join our Kiwanis club here.

MWV Kiwanis 2025 Passport Books – Sold Out!

Thanks to the support of nearly 150 local businesses, the 2025 Passport is packed with valuable coupons for golf, skiing, Storyland, pizza, restaurants, and retail locations from North Conway to Gorham. Just two coupons can easily cover the $39 donation—everything after that is savings.

Donation per book: $39
Preview this year’s coupons: 2025 Passport Table of Contents

Our Signature Project

ANGELS & ELVES!

Angels & Elves is a holiday gift-giving program run by the Mount Washington Valley (MWV) Kiwanis Club, with nearly all of the club’s members involved in some way each season. While a core group manages the program year-round, many members also sponsor children, volunteer to wrap gifts, and help with the annual move-in and move-out of Elf Headquarters.

The program helps ensure that children in need throughout the Mount Washington Valley receive holiday gifts. Families can apply for assistance, and children are matched with “angels” who shop for gifts based on their needs and wish lists.

The program focuses on essentials such as warm clothing, winter gear, and educational items, along with toys and other gifts to brighten the holiday season. Angels & Elves typically operates during the holiday season but also conducts fundraising year-round to support its mission. Volunteers play a vital role in processing applications, organizing, wrapping, and distributing the gifts, making it a true community effort.

2025 Season

As we close the doors on another Angels & Elves season, we’re taking a moment to pause and take it all in.

This year, 489 children were accepted from 220 families right here in the Mount Washington Valley – infants to high school seniors, with families ranging in size from 1 to 8 children.

Most importantly, all 489 children were sponsored — either by a community sponsor or fulfilled internally through donations. Hundreds of children and their families experienced the Santa Express donated by the Conway Scenic Railroad, a few dozen others received bikes from the Mount Washington Valley Bicycling Club and many will find sleds, scooters, and other items they had hoped for under the Christmas tree!

Because of the generosity of this community, every single family received a $50 grocery gift card ($11,000 worth), thanks in large part to Facebook page Nick News!!!! where Jason Bagley, rallied followers and raised nearly $4,000 in grocery gift cards, along with generous donations from Hannaford and a few other donors who wish to remain anonymous.

As always, applications were carefully reviewed to confirm families live in the Mount Washington Valley, that children attend local schools, and that families were not receiving duplicate holiday assistance. This process allows us to be thoughtful stewards of the generosity entrusted to us and ensures support reaches those it is intended to serve.

We are deeply grateful to the school personnel who encouraged families to apply, especially those who might not have otherwise reached out. That advocacy made a real difference.

None of this happens without a village. The donors, volunteers, individual and business sponsors, school partners, community social media accounts and behind-the-scenes helpers once again showed up in a big way. The need is real — and so is the generosity in this community.

Angels & Elves isn’t built only on big checks. It’s built on people who showed up — the ones who wrapped gifts for hours, who donated $5 because that’s what they could give, who dropped off a single toy, who shared a post, who helped quietly behind the scenes. Those contributions mattered just as much. This program works because so many people gave what they could.

Beyond our own program, we were also able to lend a hand to others doing important work — helping support The Revolving Closet, Raiders and Eagles for the Valley (REV) — a program where kids help other kids, run by our own Kennett High School Key Club, Jen’s Friends Cancer Foundation, Starting Point: Services for Victims of Domestic & Sexual Violence, Children Unlimited as well as programs in Berlin through Northern Human Services and a few items to Tamworth, ensuring their applicants had what they needed too.

Big thank you to The Conway Daily Sun for their continued support and for featuring Angels & Elves on the cover not once, but twice this season — that kind of community coverage makes a real difference.

A heartfelt thank you to HEB Engineers whose employees selected Angels & Elves through their annual charitable giving program, resulting in a $10,000 donation that strengthened our ability to serve local families. We are also grateful for the time their employees spent volunteering at Elf Headquarters throughout the season.

We are deeply grateful to Settlers Green whose support year after year makes so much of this possible. By providing space for Angels & Elves and Photos with Santa at no cost, including heat and electricity, they remove a major operating expense and allow us to focus our resources where they matter most — serving children and families. That kind of ongoing partnership makes this program sustainable.

Last but certainly not least, a special shout out to our two Head Elves, Kiwanians Marie Lee and Christine Gillette Their leadership, commitment, and countless behind-the-scenes hours are what keep Angels & Elves running year after year. From guiding volunteers to solving problems no one else ever sees, they carry this program with heart and dedication. This season simply would not have been possible without them. ❤️

Angels & Elves has been part of the Mount Washington Valley for 34 years, and we can say this honestly: this was our BEST YEAR EVER. Not because the need was greater — but because the response was.

This is what it looks like when a community looks out for its own. Thank you all for making this season one filled with care, dignity, and joy.

We’ll see you next year.

PS: Be sure to give us a follow on Facebook or Instagram so you see our posts when Christmastime 2026 rolls around.