The Kiwanis Club of Farmingdale is aiming to broaden its scope of service - in more than one way.

The local organization recently set a new pledge goal as part of its ongoing campaign with thousands of other Kiwanis Clubs around the globe to rid the world of iodine deficiency disorder (IDD). At the same time, the Farmingdale club is seeking increased membership and involvement with the local community.

Kiwanis International announced the IDD campaign as an international service project in 1993, urging all Kiwanis clubs to participate. In this partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the worldwide service organization's goal is to raise $75 million by the year 2000. The money will be used to install and maintain salt-iodization facilities in IDD-affected areas, provide other remedial treatments, and educate at-risk people about the need for iodized salt in their diets. Iodine deficiency, which is most prevalent in mountainous or flood-prone regions, where iodine has been washed out of the soil, causes mental retardation, stillbirths, and other serious disabilities. More than 1.5 million people, most in developing countries, are at risk of IDD. Hundreds of millions of them are children.

The IDD campaign is Kiwanis International's first project aiming to have a global impact. Prior to it, all Kiwanis work has been focused on the local communities of clubs.

Farmingdale Kiwanis has taken the international goal quite seriously. Within the past three years, its members have contributed $5500 - all from their own pockets. They hope to achieve the recently announced additional pledge goal of $1500 within the next three years. This money, too, will come from individual donations designated to the cause, rather than from local community fund raisers. So far, Kiwanis International has raised $30 million dollars for the effort, according to Tony Kaiser, a Farmingdale Kiwanis past president and active member, who is heading the local group's IDD campaign. "It takes individual donations to make it fly," he said.

The international project is a change of pace for Farmingdale Kiwanis, which has served solely the local community since its founding in 1956. Still, the group is keeping its commitment to the local community as its first priority, according to George Valente, Farmingdale Kiwanis president. "That's our primary concern - the local community," he said.

Local community service projects, which are funded by local fund raisers, include sponsorship of high school scholarships and youth service organizations, putting flags around town for national holidays, Thanksgiving baskets, visits to local nursing homes, and a Halloween parade. All this is done by less than 15 members, while the average Kiwanis club has 38 members.

In addition to expanding its service abroad, Farmingdale Kiwanis wants to increase service at home, and is therefore seeking new members.

"If we were double the size, we'd do double the service. That's the main reason we'd like to grow, so that we could do more service," said Kaiser.

Valente said the group is especially looking for young, energetic people. He noted that the benefits of membership include new experiences, a chance to meet new people at conventions - which take place in a different part of the world each year - and the satisfaction of helping others. "You get to see a part of the world that way," he added.

More information about Kiwanis membership may be obtained by calling Valente at 935-7224 or member Bill Harrison at 249-7377.