PROCTORVILLE — The holiday season is well under way, and one club is making Christmas a little brighter for those children who are spending the holiday in the hospital.

The Southeast Lawrence County Kiwanis Club is collecting toys for the holiday season that will be delivered to children in local hospitals by Santa Claus himself.

Kiwanis president Ron McClintock said the toys will be for children in the hospital over the holidays — to make their holiday season a little brighter.

“It is something simple that can be done and it really means a lot to the children and their parents,” McClintock said. “The Kiwanis Club is an international organization, and the main thing is projects that revolve around children and the community.”

The first Kiwanis Club was organized in Detroit, Mich. on January 1, 1915 — today the clubs are active all over the world.

The club’s motto is “serving the children of the world.” According to the club’s website, in one year, Kiwanis clubs sponsored 147,000 service projects. To accomplish that, club members raised and spent nearly 100 million and contributed 6.2 million hours of volunteer time.

This is the first time the local club has done this service project. Other service projects include collecting cell phones for a local woman’s shelter and Camden Park Day where they take the youth to Camden Park. McClintock said it had been done previously in Athalia. He said it is a good project to end the year and Kiwanis tries to support children in anyway they can.

“The club’s main goal is to support children and their needs through different projects,” he said.

Donated toys will be accepted through December 21. Those who wish to donate toys can drop them off at Proctorville City Hall, Ohio University Proctorville Branch and Curves in Proctorville. Kiwanis members will meet that week and distribute the toys to area hospitals including St. Mary’s Hospital, Cabell Huntington Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House.

The Kiwanis Club is always looking for new members. The club meets on the second and fourth Thursday of every month at the Dairy Queen in Proctorville. More information is available by contacting Pam Legg at (740) 886-8399.