A $75,000 gift to celebrate 75 years of service 

A $75,000 gift to celebrate 75 years of service 

Aug 1, 2024 | General interest, News, Service projects | 0 comments

In California, a Kiwanis club marked its milestone with a major investment in the community. Here’s how members did it. 

By Julie Saetre

The Kiwanis Club of Roseville, California, U.S., commemorated its 75th anniversary this year, and club members wanted to celebrate in a big way — by giving back to the community. Their solution: giving a US$5,000 check to each of 15 community groups, for a total impact of $75,000. 

The common thread among the groups, says club member Roy Stearns, is consistent service to kids and the community. 

“Each of the organizations selected has ongoing contact with a populace they have been serving for years who are struggling with some hardship, be it food insecurity, medical conditions, schooling, clothing, homelessness, foster care, child abuse or other problems,” Stearns says. “The Kiwanis Club of Roseville feels strongly that these groups know their constituencies best and how to utilize added funding where it makes a difference.” 

The Roseville Kiwanis Club is relatively small, with 45 members in a community of 150,000. So how did they raise $75,000? 

“We have a cadre of very dedicated Kiwanians,” says Mike March, the club’s president-elect, “and we’ve developed a stable of ongoing fundraisers that keep the funding rolling in and the donations to children’s organizations rolling where needed. Our members are very proud of that.” 

Inspiration from Roseville
If your club would like to make a significant community donation to mark a future milestone — or for any reason — these Roseville Kiwanis Club fundraisers could inspire some new approaches: 

  • Sell sweet treats. Each year during the holiday season, Roseville members set up shop in a rented storefront and sell See’s Candies. In 2024, the club netted over $13,000 as a result. 
  • Get competitive. The annual June golf tournament brought in over $2,000. 
  • Be flexible. The club used to host a popular crab feed, but prices for the crustaceans have soared. So members pivoted to a catered taco festival, which raised an additional $2,000. 
  • Throw a party. In the nearby town of Rocklin, the Roseville club sponsors the Rocklin Community Festival each May. Fans flock in for carnival rides, a craft show and music. For thirsty adult attendees, the club partners with a local brewery for sales in a beer garden. “This four-day festival brought out our Kiwanians to the tune of more than 800 [volunteer] hours,” Stearns says, “and it netted more than $40,000.” 
  • Spark a celebration. Members sell fireworks for the U.S. holiday of Independence Day on July 4. In 2024, they brought in over $30,000. 

In addition, Stearns says, the club keeps a solid reserve of funds for families in need — in case of another unforeseen event like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ultimately, the key component to financial stability is member commitment. 

“Let me be clear,” Stearns says. “All of these fundraisers require that our Kiwanians step up to the plate and take their turn at whatever they are capable of doing. And they do that because they strongly believe in our mission.” 

Key Club International names Key of Honor winners

Key Club International names Key of Honor winners

Jul 30, 2024 | General interest, News, Service Leadership Programs | 0 comments

Barry Chisholm of New Hampshire, U.S., and Brian Egger of Washington, U.S., receive Key Club’s highest honor.

By Julie Saetre 

Two volunteers for Key Club International recently received the organization’s highest recognition award, the Key of Honor. Barry Chisholm of New Hampshire, U.S., and Brian Egger of Washington, U.S., were recognized for their lifelong positive impact upon youth in general and Key Club specifically. 

The Key Club International Board presented Chisholm and Egger with their Key of Honor awards at the 2024 Key Club International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., in July. 


Barry Chisholm
Chisholm has served as an advisor for the Kennett High School Key Club in Conway, New Hampshire, U.S., since 2006. He first served as the club’s faculty advisor when he joined Kennett in 2006 as a special education teacher, after a lengthy career in the United States Air Force. Chisholm retired from Kennett in 2011 and then became an advisor representing the Key Club’s sponsor, the Kiwanis Club of Mount Washington Valley, North Conway, of which he is a member. 

A highlight of Chisholm’s Key Club experience is his involvement with Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine, U.S. Camp Sunshine provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening diseases and their immediate families. Chisholm has taken Key Club members to camp sessions annually since he became a club advisor in 2006, stopping only during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, he received a “6 Who Care” award from News Center Maine for his work with Camp Sunshine. 

Molly DellaValla, 2023-24 president of the Kennett Hight School Key Club, wrote the letter of nomination for Chisholm.  

“As both a teacher and a Key Club advisor, his dedication is unparalleled, marking two decades of relentless efforts to foster a culture of compassion and community engagement among our students,” she wrote. “No one has done more to improve the lives of our youth than Barry Chisholm. 

“Under his guidance, the Kennett High School Key Club has achieved outstanding milestones, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for dozens of charitable causes domestically and internationally, and orchestrating countless hours of community service to innumerable beneficiaries. … Under his guidance, we’ve received over 100 awards from Key Club International and several Governor’s Commendations for Excellence in Service and Leadership.” 

Chisholm is the first Key of Honor recipient from New Hampshire in 70 years. He was nominated by his Key Club student members and fellow advisors. Their nomination packet featured nine letters of recommendation, including one each from the School Administrative Unit #9 school system’s superintendent and assistant superintendent. 

“As a graduate and Key Club member in Kennett High School in 2000, I can speak directly to the impact the club has had, and continues to have, on the world,” wrote Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Aimee Frechette. “The club’s history is profound, and it continues to be one of the most recognized, decorated and active clubs in the region and beyond. Barry Chisholm has been humbly at the forefront of these accolades for the past 20 years, and he deserves the highest recognition.” 


Brian Egger
Egger has served as the district administrator for Key Club’s Pacific Northwest District since 2015. He also serves as a director on the Kiwanis Youth Programs Board. 

“In my capacity as international president, I have never seen an individual dedicate so much to youth within our organization,” 2023-24 Key Club International President Kyle Hanson wrote in his nomination letter for Egger. “He goes well beyond his capacity in any position to ensure students are taken care of and get what they need to succeed in Key Club.” 

Egger’s nomination package included 20 letters of recommendation from former Key Club members, governors of the Key Club Pacific Northwest District, Kiwanis family members beyond the district and others.

J. Scott Johnson, administrator for the Key Club Carolinas District, wrote one of those letters.

“As a member of the Kiwanis family since 1979, I have been privileged to know hundreds of Kiwanis members involved with serving the children of the world,” Johnson wrote. “Most of them have a true desire to help others, but only a select few truly give of their time to help our organization grow and prosper. An even smaller handful of people give unselfishly to not only improve the organization, but to positively influence the young people that are involved in it. One of those people is Brian Egger. I stake my reputation as a past Key of Honor recipient and 32-year district administrator that you will find no nominee more deserving of this award.”

Egger first joined Key Club in 1999, when he became a member of the Westview High School Key Club in Beaverton, Oregon, U.S. During his time as a Key Club member, he held the titles of club president, lieutenant governor and district convention chair.

His involvement with the Kiwanis family continued at Williamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he became a district lieutenant governor of Circle K International. As the lieutenant governor, he built a new CKI chapter at Oregon State University, served as district governor for CKI’s Pacific Northwest District and was the Circle K International president in 2005-06.

Egger joined the Kiwanis Club of Washington, D.C., in 2009. Upon moving to Seattle, Washington, U.S., he joined the Cascadia Kiwanis Club, and in early 2024 chartered the Kiwanis Club of Greater Seattle. The new club’s sole focus is supporting Pacific Northwest District Key Clubs that don’t have a sponsoring Kiwanis club.

Egger works as a senior analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which has driven him to evaluate many government programs that affect students and military families. He currently leads a team evaluating the performances of several child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program.

Plan a project to help newborns and new moms 

Plan a project to help newborns and new moms 

Jul 19, 2024 | General interest, Service projects | 0 comments

The month with the highest birth rate varies around the world. That means it’s always a good time of year to help babies. 

By Julie Saetre

In the northern hemisphere’s higher-latitude nations, birth rates are highest in July, August and September. In its subtropical and tropical countries, those months shift to October, November and December. And in the southern hemisphere’s nations, births are highest in March, April and May. 

In other words, it’s always a great time to help babies — and new moms. If your club would like to give babies and their parents the best possible start together, consider planning a service project to address their new needs. Take inspiration from these successful Kiwanis club initiatives. 

Host a diaper drive. For the past 10 years, the Kiwanis Club of Raleigh in North Carolina, U.S., has partnered with Saint Saviour’s Center, a community service organization that started The Diaper Train, the county’s first diaper-bank service. Kiwanis club members hold an annual drive to collect diapers and baby wipes (neither of which are provided in traditional government support programs), as well as children’s books. Since 2011, The Diaper Train has distributed more than 3 million diapers to low-income families in the county. The program assists over 1,100 children each month through donations and volunteers. 

Support young moms. In March, the Kiwanis Club of Young Professionals Kingston, Jamaica, partnered with the nonprofit JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation to donate J$100,000 to the scholarship fund of the Women’s Centre Foundation of Jamaica. The funds are being used to support adolescent mothers at the Women’s Centre, reflecting the United Nations’ 2024 theme for International Women’s Day “Invest in women: Accelerate progress.” 

Help a pediatric hospital. The Kiwanis Club of Mobile, Alabama, U.S., will use a Kiwanis Children’s Fund pediatric medicine support grant to expand a milk room at the Children’s & Women’s Hospital. The hospital — which delivers more babies annually than any other hospital on the upper Gulf Coast — recently doubled the size of its Pediatric Emergency Department and needs a larger, enhanced area for preparing and storing formula and breast milk. The Mobile Kiwanis Club, along with other clubs in its division, will use the grant combined with other funds to purchase refrigerators, a freezer, a milk warmer and a stainless-steel workstation. 

Prevent early childhood injuries. The Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute, part of the Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., offers free Early Childhood Prevention Packets that Kiwanis clubs in the New England and Bermuda District can distribute to doctor’s offices, maternity units, parent groups, daycare centers and homes, birthing education centers, and prenatal and pediatric clinics. Each packet contains a car seat identification sticker, a child passenger safety booklet, prevention information on Shaken Baby Syndrome, car safety tips, a burn-prevention brochure, a home safety checklist booklet, a “Helping Baby Back to Sleep” SIDS prevention booklet, fall-prevention tips, electric outlet covers and a temperature-sensitive bath duck to prevent burns from bathwater. 

Looking for something that requires less prep and fewer hands? Try one of these options: 

  • Knit baby blankets or booties for newborns at an area hospital. 
  • Interview parenting experts and distribute parenting tip worksheets to organizations helping inexperienced moms and dads. 
  • Provide new slow cookers, healthy recipes and pantry staples to families in need. 
  • Donate new or gently used board books for babies to groups supporting new moms.