kiwanis blog

Basketball and bonding

Kiwanis — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organization dedicated to using mentors to empower children. So a partnership between the BBBS of Central Wisconsin and the Plover Kiwanis Club makes sense, thinks club Membership Chairman Timothy Roman. That’s why he brought the idea—already tried and tested by his former Kiwanis club—to Plover when he moved to the area in the mid-1990s.

For more than a decade, the Kiwanis club and its sponsored CKI club at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point have annually treated 15 to 20 “Littles” to dinner at Pizza Hut before making a chilly trek to the university’s Quant Fieldhouse to watch a basketball game. By matching up one chaperone per child, they make their group outing about the one-on-one adult-child relationships the BBBS organization thrives on. All of the children are new Big Brothers Big Sisters enrollees—called “Littles”—who are still waiting to be matched with older mentors—called “Bigs”—whose interests and personalities will yield a mutually beneficial friendship.

The organization is one that has been part of Roman’s life since before he became a Kiwanian.

“Both my older brother and sister were mentors,” he says. “I got to know a couple of their matches along the way and saw the benefits that come from the relationship.”

The impact BBBS made on Roman and his family stuck. He’s now a board member for the Central Wisconsin chapter, and as a school-based mentor, he visited his “Little” monthly to have lunch and play games. His wife became a community-based mentor to a young man before they met, and together, the two of them continue to sustain a connection with him.

His passion about the organization has rubbed off on his fellow Kiwanians.

“This is probably my favorite club project,” says Eric Molien, club secretary. “It has been really cool to get to know my Littles and has gotten me to starting to think about becoming a Big (for more than just one day).”

The Kiwanis club also participates annually in Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Wisconsin’s annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser. This past year, the team composed of Plover Kiwanians was the largest donor.

“It’s another entity that’s very close to what the mission of Kiwanis is in terms of helping children so we’re always willing to be a part of that,” says Molien. –Courtney Meyer

Have a Kiwanis story to share? Send it to shareyourstory@kiwanis.org for consideration.

Does your Kiwanis club have a partnership with another organization? Tell us what you do in the comment section below.

Caribbean partnership promotes language

Kiwanis — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:00:00 GMT

A casual partnership between two Caribbean Kiwanis clubs, one Anglophone and one Francophone, yielded a committed relationship celebrating their determined commitment to children and bilingualism.

“In February 2009, my daughter visited Saint Lucia for four months,” says Inès Marinho, president of the Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, Kiwanis Club. “I accompanied her for the first week and immediately sought out a local Kiwanis club.”

Her search for a “sister club” led her to the Castries Kiwanis Club. Their initial partnership began simply as a means for the clubs to exchange gifts and discuss upcoming projects.

The following year, Marinho conceived of a project that would celebrate both the clubs’ relationship and the organization’s mission of serving children. She suggested the clubs host a French literature contest for Saint Lucian schoolchildren studying French. Children between the ages of ten and 15 (les collégiens) from eight schools were invited to participate.

Aiming to illustrate the benefit of diligently learning a language, Marinho says, “I proposed that the two winners would participate in a week-long cultural excursion to Guadeloupe.”

Bringing the project to fruition required an unwavering commitment and enthusiasm in spite of adverse circumstances. Part of Saint Lucia was ravaged by hurricanes and floods, diverting Castries Kiwanians’ attention, and a plethora of bureaucratic red tape complicated financial and logistical matters on both sides.

But their determination paid off. When the contest finally unfolded as part of the globally celebrated Francophone Week, the six schools’ entrants were split into two groups of three and quizzed by the Alliance Française (an international organization that strives to promote French language and culture) on topics ranging from French culture, music, geography, language use and grammar. The two winning schools faced off in an enthusiastic final round witnessed by the French Ambassador to Saint Lucia that saw St. Mary’s College edge out their competitor by five points in the tie-breaking round.

The two winning students, their French teacher and a Castries Kiwanis youth services committee member traveled around the island of Guadeloupe for a week, courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of Pointe-à-Pitre. The visitors explored the sights and sounds of various cantons (states), including an industrial zone, a national park, an aquarium, beaches, shopping centers, libraries and museums. Both of the final schools’ students will receive six months of free classes at the Alliance Française.

Despite the difficulties encountered, the clubs remain focused on the outcomes and hope to reap the benefits of a learning curve.

“The Kiwanis clubs hope to make this an annual event expanding the scope to eventually encompass all secondary schools in St. Lucia,” says the Castries Kiwanis Club’s public relations and marketing chairman, Peter Alexander. –Courtney Meyer

Have a Kiwanis story to share? Send it to shareyourstory@kiwanis.org for consideration.

Does your Kiwanis club partner with another club? Tell us how in the comment section below.

A birthday bash for babies

Kiwanis — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:00:00 GMT

The Eliminate Project is about protecting newborn and future babies from tetanus and helping them reach another birthday. To raise awareness about the importance of this task, Kiwanian Bob Marshall of the Norfolk, Nebraska, Kiwanis Club decided to use two things at his disposal: his 60th birthday and his love of music.

A member of several bands throughout his life, Bob’s musical repertoire includes a variety of instruments. “I’ve been a music-maker for most of my life, starting with piano lessons, saxophone in school, then picking up drums, guitar and bass on my own,” he says.

So it was only natural for birthday plans to turn into a jam session with as many old rock colleagues as he could find. But as the idea matured, Marshall realized the event would be more meaningful if it could benefit a worthy cause. As a pharmacist and a Walter Zeller Fellow convinced of the ease of eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus with immunizations, he knew just the one.

“When we learned how gruesome it is to die of tetanus and how easy it is to prevent it, it was pretty easy to jump on the bandwagon. Try as I might, I can’t think of anything better to spend my money on!” he jokes.

When the idea matured into a means to expose the community to The Eliminate Project, his club—a US$100,000 donor—was more than enthusiastic. Kiwanians donated nearly 50 silent auction items, ranging from a Nebraska Cornhusker office chair to woodworking projects and homemade pies. Club member Randy Dee, also a manager of the Times Square Event Center, generously donated not only the party’s venue, but a dollar of the profit made on every drink purchased that night.

“We want to host this event annually, or even more often!” he says.

Advertised with flyers, radio interviews and newspaper articles, the event attracted nearly 200 attendees eager to dance, mingle and support a worthwhile cause. Though no admission was charged, the auction and monetary donations raked in nearly US$5000.

“My wife, Heidi, and I love to dance, and as active Kiwanians, we both know the importance of The Eliminate Project, so the evening was a real winner,” shares club member and Vice Governor of the Nebraska-Iowa District Steve McNally.

The event was so successful that the club is already planning to host another. Everyone wishes Marshall could have birthdays more frequently. –Courtney Meyer

Have a Kiwanis story to share? Send it to shareyourstory@kiwanis.org for consideration.

Has your Kiwanis club hosted an event to support The Eliminate Project? Tell us what you did in the comment section below.

Vancouver blooms with Kiwanis roses

Kiwanis — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Vancouver has a lot of beautiful sights and interesting landmarks, including a pair of Stanley Park attractions with relevance to Kiwanis.

Did you know, for example that President Warren G. Harding was a Kiwanis club member, and that there’s a memorial for him in Stanley Park? In fact, there’s a story behind that—check it out.

But did you also know that Stanley Park is known for its flower gardens, and that one of its best floral displays was established in 1920 by a local Kiwanis club?

The Stanley Park Rose Garden was first established by Vancouver Kiwanians in 1920 "to demonstrate the possibilities of rose culture in Vancouver," according to the City of Vancouver’s Parks, Recreation and Culture website. The attraction now has more than 3,500 rose bushes and includes an arbor wrapped in climbing roses and clematis. It’s a popular, romantic venue for outdoor weddings.

“Large floral display beds slope down toward the causeway and up to the Stanley Park Pavilion area with mass plantings of perennials and annuals in summer, and bulbs in springtime,” the website reports. “This is the park's epicenter of bloom between June and October and in late March and April.”

If you’re attending the 98th Annual Kiwanis International Convention in Vancouver, June 27–30, the rose garden is located off Pipeline Road, near Stanley Park’s Georgia Street entrance. It’s less than two miles from the Vancouver Convention Center.

Award-winning Key Club's next project: Build a Kiwanis club

Kiwanis — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:00:00 GMT

It’s hard to receive an award for service. There are a lot of great acts of goodness out there; so, it’s downright impossible to get noticed if you don’t enter the contest, isn’t it?

Perhaps, but not so for New Jersey’s Millburn High School Key Club, winner of the state’s Community Food Bank’s Division 5 food-collecting contest. The thing is: No one in the Key Club entered the contest. You can read about the club’s surprise award in the June/July 2013 Kiwanis magazine.

President Marlee Birnberg also answered Kiwanis magazine’s questions about how her club organized their award-winning, hurricane-harassed project and about the students’ goal to build a Kiwanis club.

Kiwanis magazine (KM): Describe your club’s food-collection project.

Marlee Birnberg: Every year, Millburn’s Key Club hosts a Thanksgiving food drive to donate food and money to the Hillside Branch of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. Committee heads Meghna Patny, Grace Jing, Ashley Rose Lynn and Bhavitha Kotha, along with Editor Sylvia Levy and myself, began planning our annual food drive almost as soon as the school year began.

In October, the committee heads, officers and our advisors, Mr. Neil Cooperman and Mrs. Bridgette Nevola, already were spending several hours meeting to discuss plans. However, Hurricane Sandy hit the area in late October, leaving the town almost entirely without power for weeks.

Having no easy way to communicate severely delayed the food drive planning. On the other hand, experiencing the natural disaster’s destruction and lack of resources may have taught us something that gave a boost to our food drive. We were able to grasp what it felt like to be deprived, and we knew there were a large number of people who needed support even when we got our power and daily life back. When we finally came back to school in early November, we finished our plan of a two-part collection process: in school and at local supermarkets.

In school, we partnered with another club’s fundraiser to encourage students to bring food and money into their homerooms. SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) held their second annual Battle of the Classes, where the grades competed in coin collecting and physical activities. The advisor of SADD, Mrs. Jennifer Manis, suggested that they incorporate the results of our food drive into the scoring for the Battle of the Classes. Certain points would be awarded toward the grade for each dollar and each pound of food donated. Additionally, we offered doughnuts to the homerooms in each grade that brought in the most food. We wanted to motivate the students by providing an incentive in addition to the rewarding feeling of helping those in need.

After a club meeting in early November, volunteers created and distributed boxes that had been donated by the Chatham Moving and Storage Company to all 77 homerooms to start the collection. The committee heads and officers took another step forward and helped the Key Club’s class representatives to organize and assign a “food drive ambassador” to every homeroom. The ambassadors spoke about our cause, explained about the food drive and the rules, and encouraged their fellow homeroom students to donate. Some homerooms were incredibly enthusiastic, requesting additional cardboard boxes to hold more than 70 pounds of food items. A few weeks passed by, and we ended the collection as Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching. Key Clubbers helped weigh the food and count the money. We collected more than 1,000 pounds of food and US$319.47 in school.

Meanwhile, our first weekend at ShopRite in early November was successful despite the chilly weather. We raised $1,356.59 and several thousand pounds of food. Although satisfied with our work, we felt like we could do more. Thus, our Thanksgiving food drive turned into a holiday food drive. We headed back to the supermarkets the last weekend of December during school’s winter break. Although we had to cancel one of the dates because of the severely cold weather and the snowstorm, several members stood outside the store for hours asking the shoppers for donations. Once again, we acquired another few thousand pounds of food and $174.08.

Our success would not be possible without such dedicated club members and support from the school and community. It’s nice to know that our hard work paid off, and we were able to help so many people.

KM: What’s your next project?

Marlee: After a few years with an increasingly inactive, and then disbanded, sponsoring Kiwanis club, we decided that it was time to take matters into our own hands. Mr. Cooperman spoke with the Key Club officers about building a Kiwanis club at the beginning of the service year.

We chose committee heads Sonisha Sanju and Ashley Rose Lynn to help with this seemingly impossible task. Sonisha, in particular, has spent countless hours working toward our goal: Kiwanis Re-Creation. Between meetings, writing letters, and posting fliers around town, her actions have been invaluable.

Sonisha and Ashley compiled the list of names and addresses of community leaders and wrote our invitation letters. Our vice president, Chaerin Ahn, created our posters and designed our “reminder” postcards. In general, all of our officers and several members made every effort to be as helpful as possible. And, in support of our goal, members of the Livingston Kiwanis Club, our temporary adoptive parent, advised us on some of these activities.

We know that a Kiwanis club would not only benefit the Key Club, but also the community in general, and we are spreading our message and passion. Our first Kiwanis meeting was on March 18 at Millburn High School, where Key Clubbers, their parents, business owners and other community and school leaders were in attendance. Mr. Cooperman, Sonisha, Immediate Past President Helen He, Kiwanis Lieutenant Governor Mr. Michael Pollack and I spoke at the meeting.

We were pleased with the audience’s demonstrated interest, and we invited everyone back to the high school for our second Kiwanis meeting.

Kiwanis says farewell to President Harding

Kiwanis — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 10:00:00 GMT

The October 1925 Kiwanis magazine served as a commemorative issue of a ceremony in Vancouver, British Columbia’s Stanley Park. More than 12,000 people gathered on that occasion to dedicate a memorial to former United States President and Marion, Ohio, Kiwanian Warren G. Harding. But rather than dwell on the president’s unexpected death, the monument also celebrated the goodwill that exists between Kiwanis’ two founding nations.

Two bronze figures, representing the United States and Canada, stand on the memorial, each holding an olive branch of peace. Beside them is a plaque that quotes Harding’s 1923 speech:

“What an object lesson of peace is shown today by our two countries to all the world. No grimfaced fortifications mark our frontiers, no huge battleships patrol our dividing waters, no stealthy spies lurk in our tranquil border hamlets. Only a scrap of paper, recording hardly more than a simple understanding safe-guards lives and properties on the Great Lakes and only humble mile posts mark the inviolable boundary line for thousands of miles through farm and forest.

“Our protection is in our fraternity, our armour is our faith. The tie that binds more firmly year by year is ever increasing acquaintance and comradeship through interchange of citizens, and the compact is not of perishable parchment, but of fair and honorable dealing, which, God grant, should continue for all time.”

Read the full quote, along with messages from then-US President Calvin Coolidge and Canadian Premier W.L. McKenzie King, details about Harding’s Kiwanis membership, the dedication ceremony and much more in the October 1925 Kiwanis magazine.

Dinner in white

Kiwanis — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 10:00:00 GMT

Maybe you’ve heard of Le Dîner en Blanc (Dinner in White) concept: a group of people picks a surprise location, invites friends to bring food and all-white dinnerware and linens, and then creates a beautiful, elegant party meant for a good time—but also to draw attention.

The Kiwanis Club of Nürnberg-Franken, Germany, borrowed this concept for its dinner in white party and turned a lot of heads recently at a park right in the center of Nurnberg. The popular fundraiser has grown to more than 100 attendees and club members have hopes to get to 500.

Sounds like the perfect way to attract attention to Kiwanis. And it’s something any club could try. Just get a few members together to work on planning. Announce plans to have the event, and ask members to bring all-white linens, cutlery, food and drink. The club can pitch in to rent tables and chairs—and maybe find decorations and entertainers. Find a location, but remember, keep the suspense going by keeping it secret to the rest of your members and friends. Turn it into a fundraiser by asking everyone to bring a small donation.

Set up in the park and watch all the curious people walking by, wanting to know what Kiwanis is all about!

Fighting hunger at home and in Haiti

Kiwanis — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:04:57 GMT

The sun had barely risen into the hazy morning sky on April 6, but Downey High School was already a hub of activity. Hundreds of Kiwanis-family members from the California-Nevada-Hawaii Division 13 were gathering at the school in Southeast Los Angeles County—ready to participate in Kiwanis One Day, when Kiwanis members around the world join in a day of service.

“We’ll pack 50,000 meals today to ship to Haiti, to schoolchildren who are going hungry,” said Carol Wait, lieutenant governor for Division 13. “We’re going to put a Kiwanis sticker on each and every one of those 50,000 packages so the kids know where they came from. It’s a very exciting project.”

After a Zumba dance warm-up, 350 Kiwanis-family members were ready to begin the fight against hunger. Circle K International, a service club for university students, and Key Club International and KIWIN’S, programs for high school students, joined Kiwanis members to package the meals. In fact, the clubs in Division 13 had raised US$12,500 to purchase the meals’ ingredients through Stop Hunger Now of Southern California.

“The meal has four main ingredients,” said Brandon Romano, program manager for Stop Hunger Now of Southern California. “There’s a vitamin and mineral packet, a dehydrated vegetable mixture, soy, which is the protein in the mix, and white rice.”

With music playing and everyone organized into assembly stations, the work went quickly.

“We have people filling bags of food, people running bags of food to the scales and people making sure they’re the appropriate weight,” said Sean Nguyen, CKI governor for the Cal-Nev-Ha District. “We have other people sealing the bags and then other people putting bags inside of boxes to ship out. It’s definitely a great experience being here with everyone.”

Meanwhile, Builder’s Club and K-Kids club members, programs for students age 6 to 14, ran and walked around the high school’s track. Each lap brought in 25 U.S. cents, the cost of one pre-packaged meal, from local sponsors.

“I’m out here today to run around the track to help stop hunger because there’s plenty of people in Haiti that do not have food,” says Christian Vaillant, vice president of K-Kids at Gauldin Elementary School. “I love helping people—it’s something I naturally do because some people are less fortunate than us. But with Haiti, it’s a big impact on me because that’s where my dad’s from, my grandma’s from, and I really want to help there.”

But these Kiwanis One Day participants didn’t forget the hungry in their own backyard. They also collected about 700 cans of food and other nonperishable items for the local food bank.

“It just means so much to us to have the support of clubs like Kiwanis,” says Beth Gendreau, director of the Downey Council PTA Food Bank. “I think it’s really important for the kids to get involved in giving the food because it’s giving back to their community. And they realize that just because they have food on their plate doesn’t mean that everybody in the community has food.”

After a morning of scooping, weighing and sealing, the 50,000 meals were ready to be loaded on a truck and shipped to a school in Haiti. Many kids were tired from running or walking around the track in the hot sun. And, at the same time, the local food bank had a Suburban full of food to restock its shelves.

Alex Gaytan, chairman of youth services for the Kiwanis Club of Downey, was reminded yet again why he looks forward each year to Kiwanis One Day—when the worldwide Kiwanis family creates and participates in local service projects designed to improve children’s lives.

“It’s a time where we get the whole Kiwanis family together,” Gaytan said. “It’s unbelievable how everyone else is doing this around the world. It’s just such a special moment for all of us to come together and do one act of kindness on one day.”

Cal-Nev-Ha Division 13 won Kiwanis International’s 2013 contest for best One Day project.

Stopping MNT in its tracks

Kiwanis — Thu, 30 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Kiwanis clubs around the world are helping rid the Earth of a deadly disease, one nation at a time.

Iraq and Cote d'Ivorie recently eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus. They join a long list of nations that have used a combination of immunization campaigns and safe birthing education to stop the disease in its tracks. As recently as 2000, neonatal tetanus killed approximately 200,000 newborns in 59 countries each year. Now that number has dropped to 58,000 per year, with 31 countries free of the disease.

UNICEF and its partners, including Kiwanis International, touted this achievement on May 15 at the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative annual meeting. Since 1999, more than 118 million women have received the lifesaving tetanus vaccine.

Kiwanis International plays a key role in this effort through The Eliminate Project, dedicated to providing the funds necessary to continue the fight—and to eliminate MNT worldwide. During its May 23 Worldwide Report Day, nearly 50 Kiwanis district coordinators reported fundraising goals totaling more than $92 million. It’s an excellent start toward the roughly US$110 million needed to eliminate MNT by 2015 from the 28 countries where it remains a serious threat to the connection between mother and child.

Helping hands support a family's wish

Kiwanis — Wed, 29 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Turbo enjoys spending time with his best friend on the bus, at the beach and at home. But Turbo is no ordinary dog.

Turbo was specially trained to meet the specific needs of a child and a family. His charge is Luke, a 13 year old who is autistic, has a developmental delay, suffers from epilepsy and is non-verbal. The family became interested in obtaining a dog after learning the potential impact a furry friend could have on their son.

“Early in 2008, we visited a friend who had a dog from 4 Paws. We were amazed when soon after arriving, Luke started to interact with the dog by snuggling into it—a reaction we had never seen before,” reflects Maria Burr, the boy’s mother. 4 Paws for Ability is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting children with a variety of disabilities with service animals.

“We made contact with 4 Paws in America and found out that the only way we could obtain a dog for Luke was to fundraise,” Burr says.

Luckily, the community was behind them.

“I think the fact that autism had been in the news quite a bit at the time and also that Kiwanis (clubs) are there to support children, we felt it an ideal cause to pursue,” says Diane Hodgson, secretary of the Morrinsville, New Zealand, Kiwanis Club.

Funds from the club’s Easter Raffle combined with those from the local Lions, Rotary, Fitness Centre and other organizations helped the family obtain a dog in two years.

First trained in the United States before making the final journey to New Zealand for further instruction, Turbo soon proved to be an asset to his new family. He tracks Luke if he wanders away from home, follows him to school on the bus and protects him from climbing fences or going too deeply into the ocean.

“Turbo is a good companion to Luke and is much loved by every member of our family,” Burr says. –Courtney Meyer

Have a Kiwanis story to share? Send it to shareyourstory@kiwanis.org for consideration.

Has your community ever banded together to help a family? Tell us what happened in the comment section below.

Partnering to feed the hungry

Kiwanis — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Hunger is an often invisible community tragedy. But for the past 15 years, the Manhattan, Kansas, Kiwanis Club has had a very visible connection to a food network that feeds thousands of families.

Carroll Hackbart has been volunteering with the Flint Hills Breadbasket since the club took on the project. “I don’t like to see perfectly good food go to waste, especially when there are people that have a need for it,” he says.

The Breadbasket’s mission: “To minimize hunger and poverty through the distribution of available food and to nurture projects that will help alleviate hunger and poverty.” To contribute to that goal, every Thursday at 8 a.m., volunteers collect unwanted food from coffee shops, produce markets, grocery stores and restaurants. Using a pickup truck and many cardboard boxes, they gather the businesses’ donations before returning to the Breadbasket to process the collections. Many churches, schools, and organizations also conduct food drives and fundraisers for the Flint Hills Breadbasket, helping it serve the 24.7 percent of Riley County citizens who live at or below the poverty level.

“For me, the most important mission for our Kiwanis club is to provide hands-on help to community organizations such as the Flint Hills Breadbasket, maximizing their potential of serving children and families who need assistance in obtaining healthy food,” says club Secretary Elaine Haun. “An added bonus is getting to know my fellow Kiwanis members better while we are volunteering together.”

This isn’t the only way the Kiwanis club fights hunger in Manhattan. Members also deliver Riley County Senior Center meals to homes every Wednesday, giving nutrition to individuals unable to prepare it for themselves. –Courtney Meyer

Have a Kiwanis story to share? Send it to shareyourstory@kiwanis.org for consideration.

Does your Kiwanis club fight hunger? Tell us how in the comment section below.

On a mission to build

Kiwanis — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:41:00 GMT

Fifty years ago, more than 200 Kiwanians and guests from North America boarded planes to make history. The previous year, 1962, Kiwanis opened the door to establishing clubs outside the United States and Canada, and a “European Mission” was organized to officially welcome new clubs in three Continental cities: Vienna, Austria; Basel, Switzerland and Brussels, Belgium.

This year, Kiwanis celebrates the 50th anniversary of Kiwanis in Europe. The first European club, the Kiwanis Club of Vienna-Europe 1 will host a three-day party, March 14-17.

During the mission, the North Americans also visited Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam and London. Kiwanis magazine recorded some of the trip’s highlights: a tour of a Holland tulip farm; coffee and cake at a Swiss physician’s home; an opportunity to see the Iron Curtain and the laying of a cornerstone at a House Kiwanis in Hinterbruhl, Austria—a home for orphan children.

Gerda Schmidt had a front-row seat to the chartering ceremonies in Vienna. In 1960-61, she had been a exchange student sponsored by the San Benito, Texas, Kiwanis Club. When her Texas hosts learned about the European Mission, members suggested she contact the Austrian Kiwanians. This introduction led to her assignment as an official interpreter for the charter gala.

“This certainly was a wonderful evening,” Schmidt reported. “All the men wore tail coats and the ladies very fancy dresses. I wore white shoes, gloves and purse, and a pink-reddish dress and a white overcoat. Altogether, I imagine there were 150 American couples and 50 Austria couples. A very exclusive dinner was served for all those people.”

Leslie Carlson, president of the North Hennepin, Minnesota, Kiwanis Club, summarized the nonstop charter party in Basel: “We started at 8 p.m., and the festivities lasted until midnight. We’d be served a course and then entertainment would follow, served another course and more entertainment.”

In 1973 and ’83, 10th and 20th anniversary European Missions were arranged, expanding the itineraries to include Norway and Iceland.

Transformational teamwork

Kiwanis — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Perseverance and community networking allowed one Canadian Kiwanis club to contribute funding toward the construction of a recreational center in their community. Supporting the project soon became a route to not only the community’s transformation, but also the club’s.

After seven years of dedicated fundraising, the Kiwanis Club of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, fulfilled a CAD $100,000 commitment toward the construction of the Garcelon Civic Centre. The civic center is intended to become a recreational, social and cultural focal point for the community, and its construction a stimulus for economic development. Designed for use by citizens and businesses in Charlotte County (New Brunswick, Canada) and Washington County, (Maine, USA) the CAD $3.5 million center will include a skating rink, recreational and therapeutic pool, track and meeting rooms. It’s expected to open in the fall of 2013.

“Our club chose to become involved as we understood the importance of a facility like this to our community,” explains club President Lisa Murphy.

Donations such as the one made by the Kiwanis club supplemented funding from the federal, provincial and municipal governments. The largest financial commitment in the club’s history, it was also one of the primary sources of funding for the project.

“The Kiwanis Club of St. Stephen gains its financial support from residents of the area,” explains club Secretary Roger Alain. In spite of a mixed reception given to the project by the community’s taxpayers, he feels that the Kiwanis club acted in the best economic and civic interests of the community it serves.

“After listening to those involved with management of the project and after having town officials meet with our club to address those worries, we felt that a project of this magnitude could only have a positive effect on our community. By showing support of the Garcelon Civic Centre through our public activities, we hope the change in attitude toward the facility will continue as construction proves that this is not just an unattainable dream,” he says.

The road to the 87th anniversary celebration at which the check was presented was not always smooth. Early in the campaign, one of the club’s largest annual fundraisers was canceled due to the economic downtown. But members—retired from professions ranging from grocery store management to school principal and postal worker—used their connections to establish new fundraisers or encourage sales. Alongside an annual partnership with the local Rotary club to sponsor a radio bingo benefiting both clubs and a barbeque on Canada Day, the Kiwanians also began to sell raffle tickets.

Though the fundraising initiated as a means to help the community recover economically, the success has reverberated into the club itself.

“Our club has rebounded, but it is only thanks to the efforts of Kiwanis members of all lengths of service,” says Alain. –Courtney Meyer

Have a Kiwanis story to share? Send it to shareyourstory@kiwanis.org for consideration.

Has your club undertaken any projects or fundraisers that led it to change? Tell us below what you learned from the experience in the comment section below.

Charitable cars drive intercontinental change

Kiwanis — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

The passion two Swiss Kiwanians share for classic cars has been harnessed to fundraise thousands of dollars for children in the African nation of Zimbabwe.

The members’ leadership allowed the Kiwanis Club of Weinfelden, Switzerland, to create and host one of the largest car shows in eastern Switzerland. Hosted first in 2009, then 2011, the second biennial Charity Classic showcased more than 60 vehicles on a parade through the canton of Thurgau.

Motivated by a presentation to the club about the work that Dr. Christian Seelhofer and his wife were doing in a bush hospital in the African nation of Zimbabwe, the Kiwanians went to work. Well received by the community, the first two car shows raised a combined total of 50,000 CHF. The initial funds allowed for the completion of an orphanage for abandoned children, which opened in 2009. The second half of this total has been dedicated to the children’s education through the establishment and renovation of three schools. As a token of gratitude, plaques proudly displaying the Kiwanis club’s name have been displayed in the buildings.

“Mr. and Mrs. Seelhofer initiated the projects and organized and coordinated the implementation on site,” explains club member Christoph Lanter. “Therefore it was possible to maximize the effect of the available resources.”

Recent reports from Zimbabwe indicate that the projects—most of which are low cost and have been implemented through involving the community—are anticipated to be long-lasting. Keen to continue their partnership, the Kiwanis club has already slated the 2013 car show‘s profits toward the construction of a preschool with a playground in the Charamba/Simbabwe area. There should be enough monies left to purchase medical aids, such as prostheses, glasses and hearing aids for children with disabilities who are patients at the Seelhofer’s clinic in Silveira. –Courtney Meyer

Additional information and pictures associated with the event are available at www.charity-classic.ch.

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Funding fun

Kiwanis — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Some elbow grease and Kiwanis funds are helping the Island of Hawaii YMCA reach even more children this year.

Contacted by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation because of its community involvement, the Kiwanis Club of East Hawaii was informed that the foundation can award nonprofit organizations a US$10,000 check if they execute a project for another nonprofit organization supporting children in the community. The Weinberg Foundation aims to assist financially disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals and families through grants to service organizations. The Kiwanis club chose to give this benefit to the Island of Hawaii YMCA, which works to meet the health and human service needs of families and children. Its services range from preschool and after school care to health and wellness activities.

But the club’s gift to the center wasn’t only financial. Utilizing the help of its sponsored Circle K club at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, the club began renovating the walls of the facility by cleaning and repainting them and refurbishing the bathrooms.

The significance of their dirty work wasn’t lost on those who helped.

“The painting and construction project for the Waiakea YMCA was much needed given the difficulty that many non-profit organizations face in obtaining program funds,” explains Kiwanian Delmar Kleckner. “The project brought the Kiwanis and Circle K members together for an opportunity to work and get to know each other better. The pre-school program serves many families in the Hilo community and having a clean, safe and well maintained facility goes a long way in providing this much needed service.”

Another member, Hunter Bishop, agrees. "It's always a pleasure to join in these types of Kiwanis projects,” he reflects. “You really begin to understand the true spirit of aloha (compassion) when so many people come together to do something so worthwhile in our community. Imua (continue with purpose), Kiwanis!"

The YMCA is more than grateful for their labor of love.

“We annually serve approximately 2,500 children, ages 3-18 years old, says Fred Yamashiro, the CEO/CFO of the Island of Hawaii YMCA. “Approximately 80 percent of the children are from lower income families and require scholarships so they can participate in our programs. The Kiwanis/Weinberg grant will be used to enhance our scholarship fund. We deeply believe in the principle that no child will be turned away from participating, so your gift truly helps us to fulfill this principle.” –Courtney Meyer