11 benefits of volunteering

11 benefits of volunteering

Nov 14, 2023 | Leadership | 3 comments

Sometimes helping others helps you as well. 

The world has many urgent issues — food insecurity, wars and conflicts, infectious disease, water shortages, extreme poverty. Clearly, volunteering matters. But the benefits go beyond altruism. Research shows that it also provides benefits to the volunteer, some of which are surprising. Here are 11 of them:

  • The power to change lives. Whether you’re collecting supplies for a food bank, building a home for a family or fostering or adopting an abandoned or abused pet, you’re making a tangible change in a person’s (or animal’s) life. Even better, you’re also giving them hope.   
  • The ability to involve more people. When you volunteer, you’re raising awareness for an organization and its cause. And you often mention your service to friends and family — perhaps even without noticing you’re doing it. You might even post something about it on your social media platforms, which spread the word. That can encourage more people to get involved.   
  • A physical feeling of satisfaction. There’s scientific evidence that volunteering positively affects your body. Studies show that when people donate to charity, either financially or through volunteering, they trigger the mesolimbic system — the portion of the brain responsible for feelings of reward. The brain releases feel-good chemicals, spurring you to perform more kind acts. Psychologists call it “helper’s high.”  
  • New friends and stronger friendships. When you help others, you give off positive vibes, which can positively influence peers and improve your friendships, creating strong, lasting bonds. For instance, if you’re volunteering to mentor children, chances are good you’ll meet people who care about young children. Volunteering is an excellent way to find like-minded people.  
  • Connection and confidence. Silence the inner voice that’s saying you’re not enough! People who volunteer have been found to have higher self-esteem and overall well-being. Experts explain that the more connection you feel, the higher your self-esteem.   
  • Social and networking skills. Volunteering is a social activity — so it can build up your list of important contacts. For example, the people you volunteer with are great candidates for recommendation letters. After all, these are the people who have seen you interact with others and handle new challenges.  
  • A readiness to take on the world. People who participate in volunteer work feel rewarded and more fulfilled. Volunteers report that helping others enriches their sense of purpose and empowers them.  
  • Value to schools and employers. Volunteer experience can set you apart from other applicants for jobs and colleges. Your volunteer experience tells them that you are ambitious, care about your community and are willing to put in the work that brings change.   
  • A chance to pay it forward. Kindness is contagious. Simply seeing someone help another person gives us a good feeling. And that inspires us to do something altruistic ourselves.   
  • A sense that you have more time. Volunteering won’t literally give you more than 24 hours in a day. But it makes those hours seem more fulfilling. In fact, research shows that those who volunteer their time feel like they have more time.   
  • Feelings of gratitude. Helping others is a wonderful way to gain perspective on your own situation, and that can make you more appreciative of what you have.
Grants help young leaders grow

Grants help young leaders grow

Nov 14, 2023 | Kiwanis Children's Fund, Leadership | 0 comments

The Kiwanis Children’s Fund is helping clubs fulfill the Kiwanis cause of youth leadership development. 

By Erin Chandler 

Kiwanians know that today’s children are the future of every community around the world. That’s why Kiwanis clubs help kids to not only survive but thrive as they grow into adulthood. The following six projects received club grants from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund to help kids across four continents grow into leaders who give back to their communities. 

The skills to save lives
In 2022, the Kiwanis Club of Christchurch, New Zealand, partnered with FACT Co to provide a three-week first aid and CPR training course for 11- and 12-year-olds at Opawa School. Club members wanted to make sure that families’ financial needs did not present barriers to kids learning vital skills that could save lives — and they found the students’ enthusiasm in learning “amazing to see.” Some of the children even expressed a newfound interest in medical careers. A grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund will allow the club to bring its first-aid program to more schools this year, ensuring that more kids will develop lifelong skills that will benefit themselves and their communities. 

Confidence through new clothes
The Kiwanis Club of Matthews, North Carolina, U.S., has helped local families purchase clothes for their school-age children for over 20 years. School counselors and social workers help identify children who are most in need, including those experiencing homelessness. Then, over a two-week period, Kiwanis volunteers help these families shop for school clothes, underwear and shoes. The club emphasizes how new clothes can give children in difficult circumstances the confidence and self-esteem to perform better in school, setting them on the path to brighter futures. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund club grant will help the club fight inflation so that families can purchase all the items they need. 

After-school tutoring and anti-drug abuse program
For three years, the Kiwanis Club of Szu Hai Nu in Taichung City, Taiwan, has provided an after-school tutoring program for first- through sixth-grade children from low-income, new-immigrant, single-parent, skipped-generation and indigenous families. The program includes English reading, art and sports time — and two years ago, the club added a component to educate students on drug abuse prevention. Attendance for the program, which is prepared and run by Kiwanians and teachers, has doubled since it began, and it now serves hundreds of students. A grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund will help cover the price of additional equipment and materials, including bilingual resources. Club members hope to have a meaningful impact on their community by guiding children’s development in a fun and safe environment. 

Feeding bodies and minds
The Kiwanis Club of Fairfield-Villa Rica’s Kids In Need program takes a multipronged approach to helping kids in its Georgia, U.S., community develop into the next generation of leaders. Throughout the school year, the club hands out weekend food backpacks to 140 children, pays the lunch debts of students in the reduced meal program, provides snacks to students who miss breakfast and supplies clothing and hygiene products through school care closets. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund club grant will help expand this program to more kids as demand increases. During the break between academic years, the club sponsors children in kindergarten through sixth grade to attend Camp Invention, a weeklong STEM program conducted by the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Through this program, the club helps kids in difficult circumstances foster their interests and talents for the bright futures ahead of them. 

Developing scholarly and leadership skills
In Cartago Valle del Cauca, Colombia, the Kiwanis Club of Mariscal Robledo, Cartago, is helping kids stay in school and develop leadership skills. The club currently provides scholarships to 15 children who are at risk of dropping out of school due to their families’ financial circumstances. The club also helps pay for books, videos, computers, chairs, tables and more for a program that teaches values such as leadership and social responsibility. Next year, a Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will help members serve even more children. Club members recognize how programs like this can improve students’ academic achievement and their sense of belonging to a community — qualities that will strengthen children’s home lives and help them build a more constructive society as they grow up. 

Sowing values
The Kiwanis Club of Quito, Ecuador, is working to instill the values of leadership and service in young people through its “Training in Values” program. The club will use funds from a Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant to purchase second-edition copies of the book “Kiwanis Sembrando Valores (Kiwanis Sowing Values).” Combined with a YouTube video series, the lessons and activities in this book will help thousands of kids learn how to make a difference in their communities. 

How you can help
The Kiwanis Children’s Fund makes grants that improve the lives of children around the world by identifying the projects that create a continuum of impact in a child’s life — one that spans their entire childhood and sets them up for a bright future. By funding projects that target the Kiwanis causes —health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development — whether through a Kiwanis Club’s local service project or through a club’s partner, the Children’s Fund ensures that its grantmaking has the greatest possible impact.    

If you are interested in extending your and your club’s impact beyond your community, make a gift to the Children’s Fund or learn how your club can apply for a grant to help kids in your community.

Scholarship recipients share passion for service

Scholarship recipients share passion for service

Nov 2, 2023 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Leadership, Service Leadership Programs | 0 comments

The Kiwanis Children’s Fund honors 7 scholars who developed skills through Key Club and CKI. 

By Erin Chandler 

The outstanding scholars who will receive this year’s Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarships stood out among 459 applicants not only for what they have already accomplished, but for their commitment to creating a more just and inclusive future. Through their membership in Key Club and Circle K International, these seven students have grown as leaders and are ready to further pursue their passions to create a more equitable world in the fields of science, healthcare, business, environmental stewardship and education. The Kiwanis Children’s Fund is honored to help them continue their education in the upcoming academic year. 

Maya Narayan, Linda Canaday Memorial Scholarship
Maya Narayan is a recent graduate of Goshen High School in Indiana, U.S., where she served successively as her Key Club’s secretary, vice president and president. She also served the Indiana District of Key Club as a lieutenant governor and as secretary-treasurer. Narayan was an officer in her school’s Multicultural Youth Alliance, three-year student council class president, an active leader in her local 4-H club and a record-setting captain of the Goshen High School girls’ golf team. Narayan has a passion for singing and has participated in multiple choirs as well as in national vocal programs. She won lead roles in school and professional musicals — most recently that of Wednesday Addams in “The Addams Family.” Initially hesitant about joining Key Club, Narayan was drawn in by how it helped her grow as a leader. “That is what I appreciate most about the Key Club community,” she says. “We are a group of tomorrow’s leaders whose horizons keep broadening.” She will continue to broaden her horizons next year as a freshman at Western Michigan University. 

Swarada Kulkarni, Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Swarada Kulkarni is a recent graduate of West Ranch High School in California, U.S. She designed the website for her school’s Key Club before going on to serve as its vice president, then as her division’s project coordinator and finally on the California-Nevada-Hawaii District’s technology team. According to her former division lieutenant governor, Kulkarni is “a true brainstormer, team worker and, most importantly, a kind-hearted person.” In addition to Key Club, Kulkarni has served as an ambassador for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and taken on leadership roles in Academic Decathlon, Speech and Debate Club, the California Scholarship Federation and the National Art Honors Society. She is an award-winning Hindustani classical singer, world champion dragon boat paddler and volunteer in urgent care, emergency room and neonatal intensive care settings. Kulkarni is founder and CEO of the nonprofit Bridge to Hope Foundation, which works to minimize the effects of income inequality around the world. Next year, she plans to attend Vanderbilt University with the goal of becoming a neurosurgeon, providing affordable healthcare in underserved regions around the world.  

Lilian Thai, Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Lilian Thai is the current president of Key Club International. A recent graduate of Garland High School in Texas, U.S., Thai was a member of Garland High School Key Club for four years. She served as a Key Club division governor before becoming governor of the Texas-Oklahoma District. In her role as Key Club International president, Thai launched a scholarship to increase access to the Key Club International convention, created resources for clubs in the newly chartered Philippine Luzon District, mentored fellow Key Club leaders and sought to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. “My priority has always been to serve the members of our organization with passion and love,” she says. In addition to Key Club, Thai is a member of UNICEF, served as treasurer in the National Honor Society and spent two years as captain of her varsity tennis team. She will take the skills she has acquired in her leadership roles to Southern Methodist University, where she will major in business administration. 

Brittani Meis, Circle K International Past Presidents Scholarship
Brittani Meis is a student at Colorado State University, U.S., where she is pursuing a degree in soil and crop science. She has served her school’s Circle K International Club, first as treasurer, then as president. As a club leader, Meis focused on creating more volunteer opportunities and partnerships that forged connections between CKI and the community. She even put her background in agriculture to use by partnering with The Growing Project, a community garden organization. Meis hopes to take the leadership and networking skills she has developed through CKI with her to graduate school and then around the world as she uses sustainable agriculture to help those suffering from malnutrition and poverty. Outside of CKI, Meis has served as vice president of the Striders running club, president of her school’s agronomy club and an agroecology lab assistant.  

Aleisa Tobin, John E. Mayfield Circle K International Scholarship
Aleisa Tobin is a student at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, U.S., where she is pursuing a degree in adolescent to young adult life science education. Under her leadership as vice president and president, her school’s Circle K International club increased its membership, service hours and number of projects, and it was able to secure university funding to send 10 members to the Ohio District convention for the first time. Her club’s advisor states that Tobin’s “charisma allows her to engage with her fellow students and motivate them to want to do more and make a bigger impact.” In preparation for her teaching career, Tobin is a Science and Math Education in ACTION Scholar and a board member for her university’s Science Education Council. She hopes to use the skills she has built in CKI to become a compassionate and inclusive teacher who inspires her students to learn and lead. 

Grace Nguyen, Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Grace Nguyen is pursuing a degree in cell and molecular biology at Seattle University in Washington, U.S. She is the past secretary and current president of her school’s Circle K International club, and she takes pride in incorporating her passion for activism and social justice into her leadership. Her club’s advisor credits Nguyen with leading the club “to new and record heights” in membership and community involvement, for which the club received an Excellence in Service Award. In addition to Circle K International, Nguyen works part-time as a student peer research consultant with the Seattle University Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons and as a student programming assistant with the Seattle University Office of Multicultural Affairs. She has held leadership roles in the Seattle University Japanese Student Association; Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American Student Association; Vietnamese Student Association; and biology club. 

Matthew Yuro, Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Matthew Yuro is a student at The College of New Jersey, U.S., where he is pursuing degrees in special education, elementary education and history. He has served on and chaired multiple committees for Circle K International at the club, district and international levels, and he is the current lieutenant governor of his division. At the 2022 Circle K International Convention, Yuro was honored as New Member of the Year and Outstanding International Committee Member. In his quest to become an educator, Yuro holds leadership roles in the New Jersey Education Association Preservice, Student New Jersey Education Association, Teachers of Young Children Association, history club and multiple peer mentoring organizations. He is a tutor at his college’s tutoring center, the Monroe Township School District and a private tutoring agency. “Circle K International is more than just a club for me,” Yuro says. “It’s a place for me to be my best self with a community of like-minded people who truly care for me and want to help others in the local community.” 

Visit the Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship Opportunities page for information about scholarships distributed by the Children’s Fund, including who to contact with questions and award notification dates.