The words, serenity, love, service, responsibility, unity and fellowship make up the Keep Coming Back Club’s (KCBC) message and, using those words, members will create a huge mural on the side of their downtown building at 33 N. Broadway.
The KCBC is a non-profit, private social club founded in 1995 to provide recovery and prevention opportunities for sufferers of addiction and co-dependency.
‘We’re in the business of saving lives,? said Salvatore Militello, who chairs the KCBC’s board of directors and administrative board. ‘We want to draw more attention to the club and to its mission statement.?
The two-story mural will be painted in bright colors by KCBC members to help advertise the little-known club. According to Militello, just a few short years ago, the club had only a few members, but now has 110. The growth is thanks in part to the KCBC’s 2009 community and youth involvement campaign, which the mural will be part of.
‘I want everyone to know what we are and what we do,? he said. ?[KCBC] is about changing your thinking, attitude and behavior, developing relationships with people there because they’ll save my butt when I can’t.?
Militello practices what he preaches as he used to suffer from addition, but has been clean and sober for over seven years.
The KCBC plays host to various 12-step programs for drug and alcohol dependency, but isn’t officially aligned with any. Instead, says Militelllo, its goal is to offer a safe, clean and sober place for people to gather for fellowship.
‘We all come in for different reasons,? he said, ‘but we stay for the same reason: the desire to stay clean.?
The club got its name through a slogan in one of the 12-step programs: meeting makers make it. So, ‘keep coming back? seemed like a natural fit.
‘There are always slips ? they happen,? Militello said. ‘Don’t ever quit quitting.?
Work on the KCBC’s mural will begin soon, pending approval from the building’s landlord. All of the designing and painting will be done by club members with paint donated or bought at a discounted rate from local stores.
‘That’s how it works in this community,? said Militello of residents and businesses? generosity. ‘It’s beautiful.?
The club generates funds for projects and member events by putting on dinners open to the community. Past menus have included saut’ed salmon, steak and barbeque chicken.
For more information on the Keep Coming Back Club and a listing of events, visit www.keepcomingbackclub.org, call 248-693-4291 or stop by 33 N. Broadway in downtown Lake Orion.