Annual Kiwanis fundraiser gets curbside service to outpace pandemic

Ben Nunnally, The Anniston Star, Ala.
·2 min read

Feb. 15—The Anniston Kiwanis Club's annual Pancake Day breakfast is set for March 6 — and will be adapted for COVID-19 safety, like many traditional local events.

According to Bill Hagler, Pancake Day publicity chairman, the event will still feature hot-off-the-grill pancakes, sausage patties, coffee, juice and sodas from 6 a.m. to noon at the Anniston City Meeting Center. This year, though, visitors will pick up their food to-go from a handful of serving lines in the parking lot, without leaving their cars.

Last year's breakfast was on March 7, when the first reports of COVID began to appear in the United States. Hagler said last year's breakfast had gone well, but only just made it "under the wire." This year, he said, Kiwanis is unsure what turnout will be like, but not holding the event wasn't an option.

"We worked out all of the ideas we could," Hagler said Monday afternoon. "This is the only fundraiser for the Kiwanis club."

Each year Kiwanians and their families take children in need to Martins in Oxford and buy the kids everything from outfits and shoes to school supplies.

"All of this started years ago when the city school superintendent came to the club telling us how many children were embarrassed because they didn't have clothing equal to other children and had trouble concentrating on studies, worrying about what other students were thinking about them," Hagler wrote in an email.

The breakfast brings in about $50,000 each year, including sponsorships from local companies and organizations. Those groups will be highlighted in a brochure that will come with meals, Hagler said, since the usual printed banners at the meeting center can't be used. Money earned at the event also goes to other child-focused charities, Hagler said.

Breakfast is $6 in advance or $7 on-site. Tickets can be purchased from any Kiwanis member, by calling 256-239-6824 or by visiting annistonkiwanis.com/pancakeday.

Assistant Metro Editor Ben Nunnally: 256-235-3560.