South Whidbey’s Kiwanis Club joined with hundreds across Washington and Alaska to continue funding a three-year fellowship for Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The Whidbey club donated about $1,000 toward the $75,000 total, said Ron Myers, a member of the South Whidbey club and the regional Kiwanis president.

The social club dedicated to improving children’s lives has worked on the Kiwanis Children’s Cancer Program for years. In the past, the clubs donated blankets for children being treated for various forms of cancer. This is the second time in two years that the Washington and Alaska clubs funded a fellowship that brings a doctor to Seattle Children’s Hospital for three years — one working in the hospital with patients, two spent researching.

“There are more than a hundred doctors that apply for the three positions that they open up,” Myers said.

According to an informational sheet from Seattle Children’s Hospital, 1,274 patients from Island County were admitted in 2013. Of that total, 173 were inpatient admissions. Uncompensated care costs totaled $1,042,317, and the Kiwanis want to help take a chunk out of those costs.

South Whidbey’s Kiwanis will be holding their candy sale fundraiser in November, the weekend before Thanksgiving, and again the two weeks before Christmas. Their other major fundraiser is the fireworks sale ahead of Independence Day.

Most of the money raised by the club goes to its scholarships for Whidbey Island students, but the club has made it a point to add a line item in its annual budget for the Kiwanis Children’s Cancer Program.