The Kiwanis of Old York Road held its annual Special Persons Valentine’s Dance on Feb. 11. The dance, which took place in the Upper Moreland Intermediate School Cafetorium, held over 100 Kiwanis volunteers, people with special needs and their caregivers.

“It began when Special Olympics began,” Tim Hoffman, longtime Kiwanis of Old York Road member, said. “Kiwanis International embraced the idea.”

According to Hoffman, Kiwanis of Old York participated in Special Olympics events since the 1970s, where they helped organize track and field, as well as bowling events.

However, by the early 1980s, Kiwanis of Old York Road was looking for something more unique to reach out to the special needs community.

One member, David Bender, suggested a Valentine’s-themed dance, which grew in popularity, typically drawing nearly 150 intellectual and physical special needs people from throughout the Delaware Valley. What’s more, the event is able to keep them coming back for nearly the last 30 years.

“I have people calling me in January, asking me when the dance is scheduled,” Bender said with a smile. “We have people coming back, year, after year, after year.”

He also emphasized the time in which caregivers can also just relax, as their special-needs loved ones take to the dance floor.

Amid the upbeat music and fun of the event, Kiwanis underscores the event’s community service component. Kiwanis members provide entertainment and refreshments, as well as the volunteers needed to help host the event.

While most of the adult Kiwanis members took great pleasure in dancing with the event’s special needs guests, it was the Kiwanis of Old York Road’s junior organization, the Upper Moreland High School  (UMHS) Key Club that kept up the energy of the event.

Wanting to provide more interaction with the special needs community throughout the year, members of the Key Club recently formed a Bear Buddies sub-group, in which members work with the special education students of the school district.

“We work with the special ed kids in the high school and the middle school,” Emma Joyce, an UMHS senior and Key Club president, said.

She said that the members join the district’s special education students on their monthly field trips, helping them to shape their life skills, such as shopping.

“Key Club is such a big group,” Rebecca Coults, also an UMHS senior and Bear Buddies member, said. “It’s nice to have a smaller group to get to know the kids on a [personal] level.”

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