SPANISH FORT, Ala.—Twelve members of the Spanish Fort High School Key Club will be attending the international organization’s annual district meeting in only nine days thanks, in large part, to a recent donation.

Joe Somers, a Spanish Fort representative for Kiwanis Club, recently presented two members of the SFHS chapter with a check for $1,320 to cover costs with the three-day conference at the Riverview Marriott in Mobile beginning March 27.

Evan Broussard, the newly-elected SFHS Key Club president for the 2011-12 school year, stood alongside current chapter president Sara Beth Deas in accepting the check.

The Alabama district of Key Club International hosts about 400 members statewide each year during the conference, dedicated to training officers, recognizing outstanding examples of volunteerism and, of course, just a bit of socializing.

Shirin Torabinejad, who is currently serving a term as governor for the Alabama district, said members will continue throughout the coming year their five-year commitment to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama’s Children’s Miracle Network affiliate.

“We have promised to raise $150,000 to donate to Children’s Hospital. We promised to raise $30,000 a year, (and the) past two years have been great,” Torabinejad said.

The nonprofit Children’s Miracle Network consists of more than 170 children’s hospitals, and during the 2009-10 school year, alone, Key Club and Kiwanis raised almost $1.8 million for the cause nationwide.