Quality of Life
Active 20-30 Club of Redding…
Kelsi Sprague is past president of Active 20-30 Club of Redding #143 and treasurer for Active 20-30 U.S. and Canada.
Enjoy: Tell us a bit about the 20-30 Club International.
Kelsi: Active 20-30 International is a nonprofit organization in eight countries which just turned 100 last year. Active 20-30 U.S. and Canada develops leaders and serves the needs of children in more than 30 clubs coast-to-coast. Each chapter or club is locally run by a volunteer board of directors and club members. Every club has its own focus and style, but each has a common goal to improve the quality of life of the youth of their community. Our mission is “to provide young adults with an opportunity for personal growth, friendships and leadership development while improving the quality of life for underserved children in our community.”
Enjoy: How long has the Active 20-30 Club of Redding been in existence?
Kelsi: The Active 20-30 Club of Redding was rechartered in November 2006. There were two prior charters in Redding; the first one chartered in 1934 and the second in the early 1970s.
Enjoy: Share some examples of past successful projects or initiatives that your club has undertaken in Redding.
Kelsi: In 2021, we made our biggest donation of $10,000 to Mercy Medical Center’s NICU campaign. We have built playgrounds at Alta Mesa School and One SAFE Place. We have also grown our Annual Back-to-School Shopping Spree to include 80 children who get to go back-to-school shopping for new clothes, shoes and accessories while also receiving a backpack filled with school supplies and toiletries.
Enjoy: How does your organization make a positive impact?
Kelsi: I see us making a positive impact in Redding by continuing to foster a community for people in their 20s and 30s to be active and engaged in our community. We are helping to develop future leaders by instilling skills and experience that can help create great community leaders and engaged citizenry.
Enjoy: What distinguishes the Active 20-30 Club from other service organizations?
Kelsi: Not only are we focused on raising funds and helping the underserved children in our community, but we are creating an environment where young professionals can learn how to be on a board, run a community event, fundraise, be engaged and so many other skills that they might not get in their careers or day-to-day lives. A good portion of our members, including myself, had never been a part of a nonprofit board, never planned an event or collaborated with outside community partners to create a common goal.
Enjoy: How does the club raise funds to support its efforts?
Kelsi: Three big fundraisers help raise most of our funds. One is the Kicks for Kids Radio-thon, where we partner up with Results Radio to help fund our Back-to-School Shopping Spree. Our other two big fundraisers are the Redding
Lighted Christmas Parade and the Sundial Film Festival, which are held in December and
March, respectively.
Enjoy: Does the club collaborate with other community organizations or nonprofits in Redding?
Kelsi: We are constantly partnering with other local organizations. For our Back-to-School Shopping Spree, we reach out to different organizations and school districts to help identify kids who would benefit from being part of the event. We also volunteer for events put on by nonprofits throughout the year, such as the One SAFE Place Crab Feed, Asphalt Cowboys BBQ, Red Bluff Round-Up and many others.
Enjoy: How many members are in the Redding club and how can people join?
Kelsi: We typically hover around 20-25 members throughout the year. People between the ages of 21-39 can become members by attending two of our business meetings (held the first Wednesday of every month at 6pm, typically at Cattlemen’s) and volunteering at one of our events.
Enjoy: What is the time commitment?
Kelsi: It depends on how active one chooses to be. For general membership it’s about an average of three hours a month. If you are in a board position, there is an additional monthly board meeting. For events, it can vary. For the Redding Lighted Christmas Parade, members typically volunteer the entire day, but smaller events are usually about three or four hours that day. Non-members can volunteer at our events by emailing [email protected].•
