As Brunswick's population keeps growing, how these newcomers are saying thanks

Before 8 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month, the parking spaces along Nash Street are filled.

That’s when the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis Club meets. The club is one of many civic and service organizations in Brunswick County with an active membership.

Across the country, civic and service organizations are seeing their memberships decline. An article published in Lion Magazine on July 10, 2020, noted Lions Club International had seen a “steady decline” in membership across North America. Others, including Rotary International and Kiwanis International, are seeing similar trends.

But in Brunswick County, these organizations maintain healthy rolls, and the members are often seen volunteering with local nonprofits, hosting community events and raising thousands for charities.

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Across the country, many civic organizations reported seeing their numbers shrink to record lows after the COVID-19 pandemic, but Kathleen Bradcovich, president of the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis Club, reports even through the COVID-19 pandemic, the club’s numbers remained steady.

“We lost a few members through COVID but inducted new members over Zoom,” she said.

The reason these clubs are continuing to thrive when others across the country are not can be attributed to the area’s growth and demographic. Brunswick is one of the nation’s fastest-growing counties, and many of those who move here are looking for friendship and a way to give back to their community.

A desire to give back

Bradcovich and her husband retired from their federal government jobs and moved from Maryland to Southport in 2016.

Soon after settling into her new home, Bradcovich began looking for something to do. Her new friends introduced her to the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis Club. As a division of Kiwanis International, the local club has several programs aimed at improving the life of the community’s children.

Bradcovich decided to become a member and began volunteering with the organization’s Royal Readers program, which offers first-grade students in several Brunswick County Schools the opportunity to practice their reading skills by reading with a volunteer from Kiwanis.

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At first, Bradcovich recalled, the students are still learning the sounds and piecing them together, but by the end of the year, they are on their way to becoming independent readers.

“It’s very rewarding to see them be proud of themselves for what they are able to do,” she said.

She noted while many of the club’s members enjoy volunteering with Royal Readers, others enjoy being involved in the organization’s other programs, including serving as sponsors with Key Clubs at the local high schools, presenting certificates to students nominated as Terrific Kids, or volunteering to help with one of the organization’s sponsored events, such as Big Toy Day in Oak Island or the Southport Spring Festival.

Social interaction

For many newcomers across Brunswick County, the decision to join a service organization or civic club comes down to establishing a sense of community.

That was initially the case for Jeff Mount. After moving to St. James in 2014, Mount went to a St. James Service Club meeting to “see what the group was all about.”

Established in 1997, the St. James Service Club began with 15 women who wanted to make a difference in the community. By December 1998, the club had grown to 79 women. Today, the club is now a 501c3 nonprofit, and boasts more than 400 active members.

“I was pleased to see so many people in our community who wanted to give back and help others, so I joined immediately,” he recalled.

Mount was soon recruited to be the group’s treasurer, and a few years later, he was asked to be the group’s grants chairperson. Part of that job took him into the community to see the work Brunswick County’s nonprofits are doing.

“Seeing what they do on a daily basis to help others made such an impact on me that I wanted to become even more involved in the community,” Mount said.

Mount then talked with Communities in Schools about teaching chess to students and launched chess programs at some of the local schools.

“The Service Club serves as not only a great way to plug into St. James, but also as a resource to learn about the great work of our nonprofits,” Mount said.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mount joined the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis Club to continue giving back through one of the organization's 30-plus programs.

“At every meeting, it is a great feeling to be in the midst of so many members who are energized to go into Brunswick County schools and volunteer to help children,” Mount said.

Nonprofits reap the benefits

Bright and early on Labor Day, members of the Southport Rotary Club gathered at Spring Lake Park in Boiling Spring Lakes to host the annual Go Jump in the Lake 5K race.

Merry McBarb was among those club members who volunteered to help with the event. Originally from Connecticut, McBarb moved to the town of St. James, and as she got settled in, she began to see ways she could help.

“We moved to an area that was very underserved,” she explained.

McBarb believes one of the things that helps keep organizations like the Southport Rotary Club going is the influx of newcomers.

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“A lot of people are moving into the area who were former Rotarians, former Civitans, former Lions, and they are all looking to give back to their new community and help their new community,” she explained.

While these civic and service organizations provide Brunswick County’s newest residents opportunities for social interaction and a way to give back, Brunswick County’s residents reap the benefits. Since it began, the St. James Service Club has raised more than $2 million that has been awarded to local charities, and the Southport-Oak Island Kiwanis Club members spent more than 20,000 hours volunteering for local schools and organizations last year.

The Southport Lions Club helps conduct vision screenings for children, sponsors free eye screenings for patients at the New Hope Clinic, and conducts a recycling program for used eyeglasses, giving the gently-used frames to those in need.

McBarb said after Hurricane Florence hit the area in 2018, Rotarians took an active role in helping small businesses with recovery. Other Rotary Club projects have included helping Hope Harbor Home — the county’s domestic violence shelter — build a new fence, and fundraising for the New Hope Clinic, which provides healthcare to uninsured and underinsured Brunswick County residents.

"We're in the community, and we're helping," McBarb said.

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This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: How Brunswick County newcomers can help the community