(Taylorville)--The Taylorville Kiwanis Club held their business meeting to review current Kiwanis Club activities for children and youth in the community, at their weekly luncheon Tuesday at the Taylorville Memorial Hospital auditorium. The guest speaker was Gerald McPhillips with Safe Families for Children.

McPhillips is the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Taylorville and his church has been involved with Safe Families For Children for a year and a half. Since 2003, Safe Families for children has grown to an international force of 9,000 volunteers who have hosted nearly 22,000 children. Safe Families has grown from having a presence in 1 city (Chicago) to now being in 80 cities across 30 states and having expanded to 4 countries outside of the U.S.

Safe Families for Children is a movement of volunteers mobilized through local churches who come alongside families in crisis: medical crisis, mental, substance abuse, unemployment, lack of family support. Safe Families creates a family-like relationship with those families in need. Host families host children while their parent(s) get back on their feet with the support of other volunteers. Their efforts help prevent child welfare, abuse, and neglect while helping families be strong and stable. For more information or to see how you can help, call Gerald McPhillips at 217-824-3405 or visit the website at www.safe-families.org.

And, the Kiwanis Club again invites the public to its annual Pancake and Sausage Day at the Taylorville Moose Lodge this Saturday from 6am until 11am. Tickets are on sale from any Kiwanis member, or at the door. Proceeds benefit the many local projects for children and youth sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, including Kiwanis Park, Coats for Kids, high school and Y-M-C-A scholarships.The Taylorville Kiwanis Club is part of global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.  Weekly meetings are held Tuesdays at noon at the Taylorville Memorial Hospital auditorium.  For information on the club, go to taylorvillekiwanis.com.