Katy Area Retired Educators celebrated 20 years of serving the Katy ISD community on Nov. 6, said KARE President Earlene Hopkins. The group commemorated the milestone with a party during their November meeting which included musical acts by Katy ISD students.

“They played ‘Celebrate’ of course and then ‘We Are Family’ and it was a fun time,” Hopkins said.

The event included visits from Senator Joan Huffman (R – Houston), Katy Mayor Bill Hastings, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris, Katy ISD Trustee Rebecca Fox, Hopkins said. Hastings read a proclamation honoring KARE members for their service to the community and describing its history of service. Hopkins said the organization provides advocacy at the state level for those who have worked for educational institutions, provides scholarships to KISD students interested in a career in education, volunteers for KISD campuses and an opportunity for retirees to socialize and support one another.

“(When we first started), I think our mission was just to connect with other retirees and talk about fun times that they had, and also, what can they do to improve their lives, you know,” Hopkins said. “They wanted to enrich the lives of retirees, and that was their first mission. We’ve expanded that mission, I feel, like to a whole lot of things.”

Hopkins said the last two decades have seen the expansion of the KARE program to include several committees. These include the Healthy Living, Informative and Protective Services, Community Volunteer Services, Legislative, Books Project, Retirement Education and Scholarship committees. Through these committees, the organization helps retirees stay healthy, avoid scams and give back to the education community through volunteering, book donations and scholarships, she said. Those committees help retirees contribute and have purpose while focusing on their favorite parts of education.

“We’re still in the education community and we’re still giving back,” Hopkins said. “The thing with KARE is that we’re getting to do all the things we love to do, but you know, we put our passion into that one certain thing that’s fun. You really don’t have to sign up for all the committees – you just do what you want to do.”