WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE FOR THE KIWI CLUB!
Sam Gooch
MESSAGE FROM THE KIWI CLUB PRESIDENT:
September, 2020
Hello Fellow Kiwis:
I am sure by now you are all feeling a little homebound. Most of us have cleaned every nook and cranny of our homes. Organized every pantry in our home. Probably overeaten a little.
Sending up happy thoughts that soon this too will pass, and we will be able to assume the “New Normal.”
With the pandemic came some major changes in our Airline history. Near shutdown of all major airports at one time or another since April 2020. Some airlines completely shutting down. Many discontinuations of flying routes and just an overall massive amounts of flight schedule changes. Now as September winds down and the government loans have dried up, we are looking at major furloughs and retirements. The end of many flight attendant flying teams (buddy bidders). Stress on many friendships. Loss of family and friends. Now is the time to look inward and find your strengths. Reach out to old and new friends. Find time for self-help and maintaining relationships. The world has changed and so we must learn new ways to maintain our lifestyles and friendships.
The Kiwi Club offers a path to maintaining some of your Airline friendships. Most line Flight Attendants believe that you must be an American Airlines retiree to become a Kiwi member. Maybe in the past that was true. Currently, I am a line flight attendant based in New York and the Current President of The Kiwi Club. Yes, it takes balancing my flying with my Charity and Social work. It takes some juggling, but I make it work. In 2013, 4 Retired Flight Attendants and myself (a line flight attendant) started a Kiwi Chapter in New Jersey. Within the first year our chapter had grown to 63 members. We have a great mix of retirees and line flight attendants.
We love being able to gather and share old and new stores. We are involved in each others lives. We all are affected by the ups and downs of our fellow Kiwi members lives. The pandemic has interrupted our face to face meetings, but we still reach out and check in on one another. For larger chapters, divide up your membership and have the officers make a quick phone call or email/text to your Chapter members. Reaching out to them can help with their mindset of being “alone” in their home. A little ray of sunshine can go alone way with someone that is feeling homebound.
If you are or have ever been an American Airlines Flight Attendant or a Flight Attendant of an Airline that has merged with American Airlines, you are eligible to become a Kiwi. Please visit our Membership Page for a Membership application. If you have any questions about chapter locations or becoming a member at large, please contact K-Lynn Hoffmann Yelvington,
Sam Gooch, The Kiwi Club President, 2020-2022
WHAT DOES OUR NATIONAL BOARD
DO FOR US?
(Click HERE)
KIWI DUES ARE NOW DUE.
CONTACT YOUR CHAPTER TREASURER
Kiwi illustrations by Mary Thrasher
TRAVEL WITH YOUR KIWI FRIENDS
'TRAVEL LINK'
HOW TO USE YOUR NATIONAL KIWI WEBSITE:
There are 'Links' at the top of each webpage, outlined in red with a navy blue background, which, when clicked on, will open a different page.
Any word, or words, or name that is underlined and in a Blue color, when clicked on, will open a different page or a link to that person's email.
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The "Chapters," "Newsletters" and Kiwi Kaleidoscope pages are password protected for security reasons. Members of the Kiwi Club are given the password.
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE KIWI CLUB:
We offer two types of memberships, Chapter Member or Member at Large. To determine if a chapter is in your area, go to the Chapters link and you will see the location of all Kiwi Chapters. Then visit the Membership page for information on who to contact and where to access the necessary forms.
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If there isn’t a chapter in your area, or you prefer not to join a chapter, the Membership page also provides information about becoming a Member-at-Large.
There are now 44 Kiwi chapters in 21 states making up our national organization. The individual chapters support many of their local charities and worthy causes, including shelters for abused women and children, food pantries, breast cancer awareness, the Ronald McDonald House, Guide Dogs for the Blind, to name a only a few.
About the Kiwi Club
As a group, we support Wings, an organization that provides aid to American Airlines Flight Attendants who are in critical need of financial assistance as a result of illness, injury, calamity or disability.Additionally, we take care of our own by donating $1 of our dues to the National Kiwi Fund, a fund that helps Kiwis in need. Read about our Kiwi Club National Endeavor, click here.
Kiwis know how to have fun! However, we combine the fun with caring - for each other and our communities. At our meetings and social events, you will always hear laughter - we laugh at our flight tales and reminisce about the wonderful adventures we had during our flying careers and now in our everyday lives.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Kiwi Club, please contact the National Vice President, K-Lynn Hoffmann Yelvington, of the Carefree Kiwi Chapter.
Kiwis meet every two years for Convention, where the business of the club takes place and National officers are elected for the next term. Although one purpose for having a convention is to take care of the business of the club, we find time to kick up our heels while enjoying a resort or location chosen and hosted by a local Kiwi chapter or chapters.