Winchester Area Newcomers Club

John Conrad

President, Kiwanis Club of Winchester

John Conrad, President, Kiwanis Club of Winchester, VA https://winvakiw.org/ John Conrad is the newly elected President of the Kiwanis Club of Winchester. The Kiwanis Club of  Winchester is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “Change the world one community and one  child at a time.” The Kiwanis Club is focused on the community. It is non-political and has a primary  focus on helping children in the community. The Club distributes funds to community causes (primarily  to help children). In addition, the Club provides $10,000 in scholarship money which is used in area high  schools. John described the membership of the Winchester Kiwanis Club as being a wide spectrum of  people. The Kiwanis Club has weekly (Wednesday) lunch meetings at the Moose Lodge on Cork Street.  The only requirement of members is to pay the $160 annual dues.  

The Kiwanis Pancake Day feeds about 6,000 people twice a year which brings in approximately $30,000.  These funds go back to the community, primarily for children. Many non-member volunteers help with  Pancake Day. John has served as the head of the Pancake Day Committee. Pancake Day was cancelled in  Spring of 2020 due to COVID. Subsequently, Pancake Day was moved to a drive-through event during  COVID which was very successful. The next Pancake Day (which has returned to an in-person event) is  scheduled for April 20. 

The Kiwanis Club puts on a Christmas party each year for approximately 70 elementary school children.  Each child receives a bag of presents specifically chosen for that child.  

The Club is looking for volunteers (even if you are not a Kiwanis member). Volunteers participate in such  activities as Pancake Day, road clean-up, and packing lunches for Bright Futures. Anyone interested in  volunteering should contact Patty Maples who will pass the information on to John.  

Speaker: Lauren Clouse

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Winchester Rescue Mission (WRM)

434 N. Cameron Street, Winchester, VA

Lauren Clouse serves as the CEO and supervises approximately 15 staff members at the 

Winchester Rescue Mission,  a faith-based, non-profit organization that has been serving people experiencing homelessness and poverty since 1973. In March 2022, it was named the “Non-profit of the Year” by the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber. Since its inception, WRM has experienced tremendous success in providing food, shelter, mental health services, and vital community engagement to numerous individuals experiencing challenges such as homelessness, job insecurity, and poverty in their lives. 

Lauren spoke passionately about the work of the Mission and the needs of their clients. Lauren asked us what we thought caused homelessness, and our  list included; medical expenses, divorce, loss of employment or under employment, domestic abuse, cost of housing, addiction, mental health. Lauren pointed out that these were all important factors, but the key to understanding the homeless was to realize that they often suffered from broken relationships, and unlike many of us who might suffer from some of the above, we most likely have a family support structure to help us out.

The Rescue Mission creates a space that is designed to reflect their clients innate dignity. The  current capacity is 10 women and 20 men. The Mission provides 3 meals a day and operates a food pantry. The Mission evaluates a client in order to determine the best way to meet their needs and get them back to independent living. The average stay for a client is 12 to 18 months. The Rescue Mission is renovating a property on Valley Road that will increase their capacity, but the need is great and they have to turn people away.

There are over 200 children in the Frederick County school system who are homeless! There are no homeless shelters for families in this area. Families are welcome to eat at the Rescue Mission, but there is only limited help from some area churches who will do temporary hotel vouchers. 

The Rescue Mission relies heavily on volunteers, and there is always a way they can use your volunteer help. Lauren is happy to give anyone who is interested a tour of their building on Cameron St.