READY TO SERVE—Kiwanis Club members and others man the barbecue for the Wellness Community Valley/Ventura’s annual Cancer Survivors Day picnic. Since the Wellness Community Valley/Ventura started 20 years ago, the Kiwanis Club of Thousand Oaks has been one of the organization’s key supporters. For the past 15 years, the Kiwanis have rolled in their popular barbecue wagon to feed guests at the annual Wellness Community Cancer Survivors Day Picnic in June.

This year’s recent picnic attracted more than 600 survivors, family members and caregivers.

“It all started at a fundraising event 20 years ago when the Wellness Community was just beginning,” said Marty Nason, program coordinator. “After hearing Dr. Harold Benjamin, founder of TWC speak, and learning about our plans to create a local Wellness Community, Arnold ‘Swede’ Larson, a Kiwanis member, came up and made a donation on the spot. He has been a key liaison and spearheaded our long-lasting relationship with the Kiwanis.”

“The picnic would not be the ‘the picnic’ without the signature contribution made by the Kiwanis year after year,” said TWC president Suzanne Drace. “We are so appreciative of their consistent dedication to making this annual event enjoyable for the cancer survivors and families who gather each June to celebrate life.”

Now in its 47th year in the community, the Kiwanis Club of Thousand Oaks is part of Kiwanis International, a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one community at a time.

Founded in 1982, the Cancer Support Community, formerly named the Wellness Community, is an international nonprofit which provides free support and education to people with cancer and their loved ones.