Kiwanis Leader Chester “Chet” Plasko Spearheads “Communication Through Food” Campaign-August 22, 1980

Local civic leadership is taking center stage on a global scale as Chester “Chet” Plasko of Norwood, proprietor of the Norwood News & Book Shop and recipient of a lifetime Kiwanis membership, prepares to supervise a major international fundraising campaign.

As the New England district chairman of the Kiwanis International Relations Committee, Plasko is spearheading the organization’s primary 1980–1981 initiative, rallying members across six states to support Heifer Project International under the guiding theme, “communication through food.”

The ambitious undertaking marks the first time the entire worldwide Kiwanis membership has united behind the self-help program, which was originally founded in 1944 by a minister to help impoverished farmers achieve self-sufficiency rather than relying on government aid. Operating under a unique “pass-it-on” model, the organization supplies food-producing animals—including cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens—along with proper livestock care training to families in Third World countries and low-income rural areas across the United States. For example, when a farmer in need receives a cow, the first healthy calf birthed is traditionally gifted to a needy neighbor, creating a sustainable chain reaction of community development. According to Rosalie Sinn, regional director of Heifer Project International based in Plymouth, the organization has delivered approximately 70,000 animals and two million chicks to more than 200 villages and towns worldwide since its inception, with New England contributions typically benefiting regions in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and domestic projects such as tribal reservations in New York and Maine.

To drive local contributions, Plasko is encouraging all 240-plus Kiwanis clubs across New England—representing more than 10,000 members—to place piggy banks at meetings for members to deposit their spare pocket change. “If every club donated only one dollar a week, that would be at least $12,480 for the year, and you can be pretty sure it will be more,” Plasko calculated. Beginning October 1, Plasko will travel extensively throughout the six-state region to present informational cassettes and film clips detailing the initiative. To foster friendly competition, Plasko’s committee will present special achievement awards to the three regional clubs generating the largest donations, though he emphasized that the intrinsic value of the mission speaks for itself. “Anything you do for humanity is good,” Plasko reflected, “and when you help people stand on their own two feet, you are really accomplishing something… It is a tremendous program that gives people independence and gives them back their self-respect.” (Reporting by Nona Dearth, Patriot Ledger Staff Reporter).

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger