29 ways to serve in one day 

29 ways to serve in one day 

Feb 23, 2024 | Club building, General interest, Leadership | 0 comments

Since it’s a leap year, we’re offering ideas for doing good with our extra day in 2024. 

By Sarah Moreland

Have you ever thought, “If only I had an extra day to…?”   

To sleep. To complete a to-do list. To visit a loved one. Here’s another possibility: to make the world a better place! 

Since 2024 is a leap year, we have that extra day. Whether you’re sharing kindness with a stranger or preparing a big event with fellow club members, it’s an additional 24 hours to do — or plan for — something good. 

Need a little inspiration? In honor of Leap Day, here are 29 ideas to get you started: 

  1. Write cards of encouragement for a school or children’s hospital. 
  1. Ask your local library if you can volunteer as a group reader. 
  1. Check with local organizations that may need extra help (e.g., Boys & Girls Clubs, a children’s hospital, etc.). 
  1. Help at a soup kitchen or local shelter. 
  1. Sort donations at a food pantry. 
  1. Team up with club members to pick up trash at a park or playground. 
  1. Set up a clothing or book drive. 
  1. Join an outdoor beautification project in your community.  
  1. Get members of K-Kids, Builders Club, Key Club, CKI and Aktion Club in a joint service project — then celebrate with a fun social hour. 
  1. Write congratulatory notes to give to Key Club and CKI seniors in the spring.  
  1. Drop off treats or small gifts of thanks to first responders in your community who keep families safe and healthy.  
  1. Host a resume-writing and interviewing practice session for students preparing for college and work life.  
  1. If you have crafting skills, knit hats for babies. 
  1. Train kids how to safely ride a bike. 
  1. Donate gently used items (clothing, electronics, eyeglasses, etc.) to an organization that can reuse or recycle them for those in need. 
  1. Build a Little Free Library for your community. 
  1. Host a game day for kids — whether it’s outdoor sports or an indoor board-game tournament. 
  1. Spread the word about a favorite charity. 
  1. Write a positive online review of an organization you or your club has collaborated with. 
  1. Teach kids how to grow their own food. 
  1. Host a diaper and baby formula donation drive to collect supplies for mothers and newborns in need. 
  1. Pack and distribute first-aid kits to families for their homes and vehicles. 
  1. Help families in need celebrate birthdays and milestones by creating a “party in a box” with balloons, streamers and signs. 
  1. Devote a day to mentorship. Speak to or meet with younger members of the Kiwanis family about an area of professional or personal expertise. 
  1. “Upcycle” plastic bags into waterproof blankets for those in need. 
  1. Set up a fundraising challenge for charity. 
  1. Sponsor a family in need to attend a museum, theater or attraction. 
  1. Provide kids with supplies to create puppets and perform their own puppet show. 
  1. Start planning an end-of-year ceremony to recognize your club’s BUG and Terrific Kids students’ achievements.  

 

Think outside the meeting box 

Think outside the meeting box 

Feb 23, 2024 | Club building, General interest | 0 comments

To build the kind of fellowship that makes your club and its service stronger, here are a few ideas. 

By Tony Knoderer

The strongest Kiwanis clubs grow because people want to join — and then keep coming back. The fellowship of the club experience is a big part of that success.  

 Does your club go beyond its normal meeting format to build camaraderie? If not, here are a few ideas for fun activities:  

  • Rent space at a local sports venue for pregame snacks, drinks and appetizers. Then share a seating block to cheer on the home team.  
  • Try a team-building activity such as a ropes course or escape room.  
  • Schedule activities around the seasons: a hayride or bonfire in the fall, hot cocoa and cookies in the winter, a nature walk in the spring, an ice cream social or outdoor concert in the summer.   
  • Host an annual thank-you event in a casual setting. Whether it’s brunch at a local restaurant or an outdoor picnic or barbecue, members will appreciate a time and place to relax and converse. 

 However you build fellowship, make sure potential members are welcome too — so they can see that Kiwanis can be about fun as well as service! 

How to recruit new members

How to recruit new members

Feb 20, 2024 | Club building, General interest | 0 comments

A South Carolina Kiwanis club is having a record-setting year of growth. Their tips could help your club become stronger too.

By Julie Saetre

In February 2024, the Kiwanis Club of Bluffton in South Carolina, U.S., inducted five new members at one time — a club record. Overall, the club has inducted seven individuals in the current Kiwanis year and is now 35 members strong. 

“Bluffton Kiwanis is growing,” says Bill Rickett, club president, “and there’s always room for more.” 

Rickett and Ed Murray, the club’s publicity chair, share what’s working for their club — and what could work for yours: 

  • Take recruiting into the community. Membership Chair Tim Beedle coordinates information tables at club events, providing details about the Kiwanis family and the value of membership in the Bluffton club. Club members also attend volunteer fairs to share the same messages. Look for similar opportunities in your area. 
  • Make the most of social media. “Our club has developed a serious and aggressive self-promotion campaign on Facebook and Nextdoor, with press releases in everything we do,” Rickett says. “Our members share all these posts to their own pages, enabling us to reach untold hundreds of others who live in the area.” Make sure you’re keeping your official club social accounts updated regularly and encourage members to share the good news through their own social media networks. Kiwanis has tools to help. 
  • Use members’ skills and contacts. A charter club member and past club president works as the social media director for a local TV station, providing both valuable contacts and promotional insight. Chat with your members about their own skills and connections and how they could help the club grow. 
  • Tell people the Kiwanis story. “We do a lot of recruiting by word of mouth,” Murray says. “For example, each of the five new members joined as a result of knowing a current member.”  

Rickett has asked each member to bring in at least one new-member prospect during the current Kiwanis year. “My goal as president is to end my year with 45 members and a new Kiwanis club satellite in a neighboring community that could lead to a chartered club down the road.” 

To help you share your club’s accomplishments in your community — and attract potential members — our PR Tips & Tools guide is packed with information you can start using today.