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 Autumn Warren with Kemmerer Village.

Warren gave a brief history of Kemmerer Village from its 1914 establishment from humble beginnings. Located just outside of Assumption, the cottages were built in the 1950’s to create a home environment to make foster transitions easier for children. In the 1980’s, Kemmerer was no longer an orphan home, rather it became a home for victims of abuse and neglect from all over Illinois. During this time, an on campus school opened featuring curriculum for Jr. and Sr. high graduation.

Warren also discussed many of the specialized programs for children designed for individual based treatment including therapeutic recreation, vocational education, and equine therapy. The typical census at Kemmerer is around 60 children and the outcomes are positive. From 2010 to 2014, 70% of the children and young adults returned to a family home did not require subsequent in-patient treatment for the twelve month period following discharge from Kemmerer’s program. Kemmerer Village is located at 941 N. 2500 E. Rd, Assumption, Il. 62510. For questions, call 217-226-3511 or log on to www.kemmerervillage.org.

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