The Kiwanis Blog

• Egg-citing events

  February 01, 2012

  

  The Easter Bunny shows up to delight guests and Kiwanians at the annual Kiwanis Club of Tempe egg hunt. 

  by Jack Brockley 

  The month of April is almost here. That means Kiwanians are donning bunny ears as they host community Easter egg hunts. Does your club need something fun to do this spring? Kiwanis magazine can help.

  Grab your baskets and consider these tips from egg hunt chairmen Kerry Fetherston of the Tempe, Arizona, club ...

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• Add MNT to your Mother’s Day

  February 01, 2012

  

  East Maitland, Australia, Kiwanians prepare to deliver flowers for its annual Mother’s Day fundraiser. 

  by Jack Brockley 

  Mother’s Day is a very busy time of year for Kiwanis clubs as they celebrate the enriching relationship between children and their moms. The Eliminate Project also honors that bond by saving and protecting women and their babies.

  So combining Mother’s Day with Eliminate Project activities is a natural fit. Consider these Mother’s Day project ideas from Kiwanis ...

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• Be our guests

  January 24, 2012

  
  by Fabienne April, global project administrator 

  “They’re here! I just saw the first Kiwanians!” An excited staff member exclaims with a big smile.

  We are in Geneva, the Kiwanis International convention registration desk will open in a few hours, and already Kiwanians are exploring the convention center.

  It takes several years for staff and volunteers to plan a convention, and you, Kiwanians, are always at the center of our thoughts throughout the planning stages. So ...

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• 10 reasons you should mentor a child

  January 18, 2012

  by Kassie Barker, Communications Coordinator

  

   
  Photo by arquera under CC BY 2.0.

  As we continue celebrating January as (U.S.) National Mentoring Month, let’s reflect on the importance and benefits mentoring offers for both the mentee and you.

  Mentoring doesn’t require a lot of special skills. You just need the ability to listen and offer friendship and encouragement to a young person. And you’ll be amazed by how much you’ll get out of the ...

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• Kiwanis One Day call for contest entries

  January 13, 2012

  

   

  You may have exciting plans for Kiwanis One Day on April 21, but imagine how much more exciting that day will be with a video crew there recording your cause. Use the video to show your community and the Kiwanis community the impact your group was able to make in One Day. Enter the Kiwanis One Day contest and let everyone know what a winning One Day project looks like!

  Learn more about Kiwanis ...

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• How to: make a service project meaningful for everyone

  January 12, 2012

  
  Photo by chesbayprogram under CC BY 2.0. 

  By Lanton Lee

  
  For service to have value and meaning, there are five critical elements that must be included in the design and direction of all community-service projects.
  
  

  1. Community Voice

  Community voice is essential if we are to build bridges, bring about change and solve problems. Every Kiwanis club should make sure that the voice and needs of the community are included in the development of ...

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• Child mentoring pays big dividends

  January 02, 2012

  
  Photo by bujiie under CC BY 2.0.

  by Pam Norman

  Have you ever really thought about what it takes to be a child mentor? It only takes one person to make the difference in the life of a child. Kiwanis members around the world engage in child mentor programs every day. Following are five reasons for you to consider becoming a mentor:

  1. Children need you. Children thrive on consistency. Be the one that consistently ...

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• A club for the ages (all ages)

  December 22, 2011

  
  Photo by JasonDGreat under CC BY 2.0.

  by John Shertzer
  
  I’m the youngest member of my Kiwanis club. Like many of our clubs, most of the members are late in their careers, near retirement or retired completely. There are a few 30-somethings like me, but a visitor to the club would likely see us as outliers. Every once in a while, a friend of mine will ask me why I decided to join Kiwanis, ...

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• A life dedicated to maternal health

  December 12, 2011

  
   

  by Jo Lynn Garing

  During the 2011 convention in Geneva, Switzerland, Kiwanis magazine interviewed a physician whose devotion to the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus has earned him the nickname “Dr. Tetanus.” Now his cause is Kiwanis’ cause. Through The Eliminate Project, Kiwanis clubs and members worldwide aim to raise US$110 million to save and protect millions of mothers and their babies.

  Dr. François Gasse has spent the past decades on the front ...

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• Do you really know who your members are?

  December 05, 2011

   
  Photo by stephen_bolen under CC BY 2.0.

  by Stephanie Ursini

  Are you an avid reader, golfer, scuba diver, coin collector, geocasher, chess player, hiker, swimmer, dog or cat enthusiast?
  
  Wouldn’t you like to know what you have in common with your other club members? You can if you use a Volunteer Interest Form. One is available on www.KiwanisOne.org. Just type “Volunteer Interest Form” in the search window or download the form directly...

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• Convention: an opportunity of a lifetime

  November 28, 2011

  

  by: Sophia Bird

  Sophia Bird is the daughter of South Central Indiana Kiwanian Loni Dishong. After serving as president of the Jackson Creek Middle School Bloomington Builders Club, she moved on to high school and was elected president this year for the Bloomington, Indiana, Key Club. Here, she writes about attending the 2011 Kiwanis International Convention. Though she reflects on her experiences in Geneva, Switzerland, her remarks speak of the enlightening opportunities that await Kiwanis-family ...

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• Volunteering is not just for the holidays

  November 28, 2011

  

  Photo by annalea hart under CC BY 2.0.

  
  

  by Julie Stutzman

  
  

  ‘Tis the season to be jolly and serve others! 
  
  It’s that time of year again. The holiday season often sparks a cheerful spirit in us as we give gifts to family and friends, donate money to charities and spend time volunteering around our community. Kiwanis clubs around the globe have spent their holidays serving others, oftentimes the same ones each year.

  I have ...

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• How to find a service project

  November 18, 2011

  

  Arlington Kiwanis Annual Oyster Feast & Pig Roast. [Photo by cliff1066™ under CC BY 2.0.]

  by Julie Stutzman

  Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time. Each year, Kiwanis clubs sponsor nearly 150,000 service projects and devote more than 6 million hours to service. But how can you find a good service project?

  If you are completely stumped I suggest taking a ...

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• Kiwanians are servant leaders

  November 02, 2011

  

  Key Leader at Lakeside Camp in Pittsfield, MA - Oct. 21-23, 2011

  by Lanton Lee

  What does it mean to be a servant leader. Robert K. Greenleaf identified the concept of servant leadership in 1970 when he wrote his famous essay, “The Servant as Leader.” According to Greenleaf, "The servant-leader is servant first. … It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire ...

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• Service Leadership Programs sponsorship

  October 28, 2011

  

  
  
  

  by Lanton Lee
  
  

  One of the greatest service impacts a Kiwanis club can have is to sponsor one or more of our Service Leadership Programs clubs: K-Kids, Builders Club, Key Club, Circle K or Aktion Club. These clubs give our youth, young adults and adults with disabilities the opportunity to develop their leadership skills through the vehicle of service. My experiences as a Key Club member in Ohio and as a Circle K member at ...

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• It’s about time . . . Recognition and Reward for members!

  October 26, 2011

  

  By Stephanie Ursini
  
  As a president or membership chairwoman, what better way to kick off the new Kiwanis year and have some fun too! Go to the grocery store and buy a box of “Special K” cereal for every member of your club. Donate all the cereal inside the box to a food pantry or women’s shelter (etc.). Keep all the boxes and place a surprise gift inside each box with a card recognizing the ...

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• Why I care about kids

  October 21, 2011

  

  photo by epsos.de under CC BY 2.0

  by Julie Stutzman

  For a semester in college, I was a substitute teacher in my hometown school system. I needed the extra cash and felt it would be an excellent opportunity to explore my childhood dream of becoming a teacher. Needless to say, I ended my time as a sub with a wide range of emotions and memories.

  I knew beforehand that teachers had a tough job, but ...

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• Utilizing Twitter for Your Club

  October 19, 2011

  
  Photo credit: tonyhall under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

  
  

  tonyhall

  http://www.flickr.com/photos/anotherphotograph/2971382851/

  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en

  by Julie Stutzman
  
  For most nonprofit organizations, there’s always some sort of challenge with communicating with the community at large. For Kiwanis letting current members know about the next meeting, service project or telling the community about your Kiwanis club, can be difficult.
  
  What if there was a way to start making those connections? Connections that allow you to talk about your ...

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• Volunteering Is a Positive-Sum Game

  October 13, 2011

  

  Photo credit: -marko under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
  

  by Robin Bortner

  I was completely unqualified for the job, but there was no competition.
  
  Do you speak English? Why, yes. Do you know the basics of grammar? Maybe. I watched Grammar Rock in junior high. Great! The job is yours!
  
  Somehow, when I volunteered to teach English as a second language to refugees, this wasn’t what I’d pictured.
  
  There were more than 20 students in total, ...

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• Busting the myth: Find the time for long-term volunteering

  October 11, 2011

  

  Photo credit: Emarone under CC BY-NC 2.0.

  by Sarah Moreland

  “Busting the myth: Find the time for long-term volunteering”

  
  

  Do you struggle to find volunteers to help out with long-term service projects? For many people, short-term projects fit better with their busy schedules because they “don’t have enough time” to commit. Or do they? Statistics from the Corporation for National and Community Service show the average American adult volunteers around 50 hours annually. 

  LINK ...

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