IRI Kicks off Another Exciting New Year with the Kiwanis Club and Elects its First Female President!
February 18, 2023, was an exciting day at the Ridgewood Kiwanis Aktion Club in Queens, where individuals and staff from all over IRI came to vote for its newly appointed council members. There was tremendous cheer for Kimberly Tomasulo from New Metro, who was voted the Council’s First President!
Equal excitement and congratulations all around went to the following individuals who were elected as follows:
President: Kimberly Tomasulo (New Metro)
First Vice President, Daniel Sanchez (Rosado)
Second Vice President, Milton Collado (Rosado)
Secretary: Natasha Srikushun (Donaldson)
Assistant Secretary: Kimberly Wilson (ISS)
Treasurer: Jason Scalzo (Gutman)
Assistant Treasurer: Michael Dubrow (Chestnut)
History of the Kiwanis Club at IRI
From left to right: Kimberly Tomasulo, Natasha Shrikishun, Milton Collado, Daniel Sanchez
The Kiwanis Aktion Club has been going strong at IRI for the past seventeen years. In December 2006, IRI’s board members thought it would be a good idea for IRI to start an Aktion Club. Dr. and Mrs. Tessler, parents of our own Richard Tessler (Radisch home resident), along with his sister, Deborah Rothman, and her husband, played a key role in starting the Aktion Club supported by the Kiwanis. Before long, Matthew Kopetz, IRI Recreation Specialist, took over the reins with the help of Assemblyman Mike Miller and his Kiwanis staff, who guided the structuring of the meetings. In the early days, meetings were held in IRI group homes before moving to the old IRI main office and eventually ended up in the 120th Day Habilitation location. And then COVID struck, and much to the disappointment of everyone, meetings were suspended. In 2022, the Kiwanis meetings restarted with full force. After discussions with the Kiwanis Club organizers and Matthew Kopetz, an agreement was reached to hold monthly meetings in the Kiwanis’ Ridgewood building, which allows more time to run better-structured activities and, excitedly, a real opportunity for full community integration for our IRI individual members.
The Year Ahead
The Kiwanis Aktion Club has many activities planned for the upcoming year. In addition to the letters sent to Damar Hamlin in its first meeting, individuals are preparing for traditional activities, including two bake sales and a car wash – the proceeds will go towards purchasing Thanksgiving turkeys for our homes as well as to Island Harvest and a church in Jamaica which in turn distributes them to needy families in the community. IRI’s Kiwanis Aktion Club looks forward to helping celebrate the many upcoming IRI events, from Birthdays to the IRI Strider’s Annual Autism Acceptance Walk in April.
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