The Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club, one of South Florida’s most active, involved community service organizations, recently took residents of United Community Options (UCO), formerly known as United Cerebral Palsy-Miami, on an outing to Zoo Miami.
More than 45 UCP consumers and staff joined Kiwanis Club members and their families on the annual outing.
“Our consumers’ interaction with the Kiwanis Club members and seeing the wonders of the zoo make this a fun, memorable day for them,” said Aileen Phelan, UCO-Miami’s director of Social Services for Adult Day Programs. “This is something we look forward to every year.”
The zoo experience for the UCO-Miami group includes a guided tram ride throughout the zoo, featuring many behind-the-scenes activities not normally viewed by the general public, and lunch. The event included a special stop to feed the giraffes.
“One of the highlights of the day is definitely the giraffe feeding,” said the Jeff Rosinek, former president and longtime member of the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club, who coordinates the annual zoo outing. “It is a pleasure for us to have UCO-Miami as our guests and see the smiles on their faces when they see all the animals at Zoo Miami.”
The 67-year-old Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club is an all-volunteer organization of professional men and women based in Downtown Miami and dedicated to improving the lives and brightening the futures of disadvantaged children in Overtown, Allapattah and Midtown Miami.
Some of the club’s noteworthy ongoing service projects include: reading with elementary school students; providing a fully paid college scholarship to a deserving high school senior; distributing school uniforms, supplies and backpacks to children in need; providing guided tours of the Everglades and field trips to local attractions, museums and sporting events for children in shelters and public housing; feeding the homeless; providing three months of free summer swim lessons at Gibson Park, and ensuring that people with disabilities receive holiday gifts.
For more information on the Biscayne Bay Kiwanis or the club’s upcoming service projects, send email to Biscaynebaykiwanis@gmail.com or phone/text to 305-814-2225.
