The Rockwall County Kiwanis Club has earned the Kiwanis International Distinguished Club Award for the 2024–2025 fiscal year, a recognition that reflects the local chapter's expanding reach feeding food-insecure kids, running adaptive baseball, and drawing hundreds of athletes to its annual triathlon.
The award requires clubs to score at least 100 out of 150 possible points across five categories: membership and engagement, leadership and education, community impact, financial viability, and branding, according to Kiwanis International's criteria. The Rockwall County club described it as one of the organization's highest honors in a July 30 announcement.
Programs behind the award
The club's flagship effort, Food for Kids, now packs more than 1,000 weekend food bags each month for local elementary students. That figure is up from more than 600 bags per month a year ago. The program hit a milestone of 50,000 total bags packed at a Tuesday, January 14, 2025, event at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall.
"With rising food costs, every dollar and donation counts," club secretary Kate Sitzenstatter said in a July 2025 appeal for the program. "Just $4 can feed a child for the weekend."
The club also runs Angel League baseball, a free program for children ages 4 to 15 and adults 16 and over with disabilities. Pat Turner, a longtime Kiwanis member, founded the Rockwall Angel League in 1999. Games feature no strikes, no outs, and no scorekeeping.
Every hit is a home run.
The 2025 TriRock Triathlon, the club's largest annual fundraiser for Food for Kids, drew 326 participants from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and beyond for a 150-yard pool swim, 10-mile bike ride, and 5K run. As we reported July 29, the race returned this summer to raise meals for Rockwall County children.
The Rockwall County Kiwanis Club also sponsors a Key Club at Royse City High School and organizes the Hometown Christmas Parade in downtown Rockwall each year.
How to get involved
Residents can volunteer at upcoming Food for Kids packing events at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall at noon on the following dates:
- Tuesday, August 18
- Tuesday, September 8
- Tuesday, October 20
- Tuesday, November 10
More information is available at rockwallkiwanis.org or by emailing [email protected].
