Grants expand medical services for kids

Grants expand medical services for kids

Jun 24, 2024 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund | 0 comments

Kiwanis Children’s Fund grants for pediatric medicine will help four clubs help more kids.

By Erin Chandler

This year, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awarded pediatric medicine support grants to four Kiwanis clubs for projects that will help medical centers expand their services for children. These grants are especially important where access to medical services is limited by families’ financial or geographic constraints. The support they provide allows Kiwanis clubs and medical centers to unite in making sure all kids get the best possible care — whether through a specialized wheelchair, equipment that makes therapy fun, better milk storage or simply a pack of diapers to take home. 

Wheels of Hope: Empowering Kids of Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center
Kiwanis Club of Sayville, New York, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Sayville and the entire Suffolk East Division of Kiwanis’ New York District are working together to provide specialized wheelchairs to Stony Brook University Hospital Pediatric Trauma Center. Trauma recovery has been shown to be faster — and hospital stays shorter — when patients can move around early in the process, socialize and experience changes of scenery. With help from a pediatric medicine support grant from the Children’s Fund, the division will purchase 12 Convaid Cruiser wheelchairs, which will be sized specifically for pediatric patients. Most importantly, the chairs will be built with the necessary safety measures, including harnesses, to move children with ventilators and other equipment to the playroom, to visit with family members and more. Hospital workers and Kiwanians hope these wheelchairs will help hundreds of children in their recovery from illness or injury.  

University of North Carolina Health Southeastern Pediatric Supply Drive
Kiwanis Club of Robeson-Lumberton Young Professionals, North Carolina, U.S.
A pediatric medicine support grant will help the Kiwanis Club of Robeson-Lumberton Young Professionals donate pediatric supplies to the University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Southeastern Regional Medical Center. UNC Southeastern is the only hospital in Robeson County, where over a quarter of the population struggles with poverty. Club members will work with hospital staff to determine the greatest supply needs for families on the pediatric floor, such as formula, clothing and, most of all, diapers. They will then purchase and drop off the supplies personally. The club hopes the pediatric supply drive will become an annual event, so that thousands of families get the supplies they need to give their children a healthy start in life. 

Children’s & Women’s Hospital Milk Room Expansion
Kiwanis Club of Mobile, Alabama, U.S.
In March 2024, staff from USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital approached the Kiwanis Club of Mobile for help in providing a bigger and better milk room — the area where breast milk and formula are prepared and stored — for its growing number of patients. The hospital is highly regarded for its pediatric care and delivers more babies annually than any other hospital on the upper Gulf Coast — and its Pediatric Emergency Department recently doubled in size. A pediatric medicine support grant will help the Kiwanis Club of Mobile and other clubs in its division purchase refrigerators, a freezer, a stainless-steel workstation and a milk warmer for the expanded milk room. The new equipment will allow for more storage and better organization while reducing the risk of infection, contamination and mislabeling. The additional refrigerators and improved milk warmer will also prevent the nutritional value of the milk from degrading. When the milk room opens next year, it will be ready to provide the best care for patients in the hospital’s Newborn, Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care units. 

Unity Medical Center Pediatric Sensory Gym
Kiwanis Club of Grafton, North Dakota, U.S.
Unity Medical Center is one of the few places where families in the rural area of Grafton can access occupational and speech therapy for children. Since August 2023, the number of kids in the Center’s therapy programs has more than doubled, and the Kiwanis Club of Grafton is stepping up — helping enlarge the pediatric gym and add a sensory gym to meet the growing demand. A pediatric medicine support grant will help to purchase gym equipment, including wall padding, a balance beam, tunnels, activity mirrors, monkey bars and more. Kids in the program will use the new equipment to develop skills such as motor planning, coordination, body awareness and sensory integration. Kiwanis club members will assist in delivering and setting up the equipment. They will also help with annual screenings to identify area children who would benefit from the therapy program’s services. The club hopes that the new and improved gym will be ready for patients in September 2024. 

How do I apply for a pediatric medicine support grant?
The Pediatric Medicine Support Grant Program offers onetime grants for clubs to fund projects that specifically support local children’s medical centers. Grant money can be used to purchase products or supplies for patients’ hospital stays or to support a capital improvement project. 

You can learn more and apply for a Pediatric Medicine Support Grant on the Kiwanis website. For more information about the Kiwanis Children’s Fund, visit kiwanis.org/childrensfund. 

UNICEF announces MNT elimination in Guinea

UNICEF announces MNT elimination in Guinea

Jun 20, 2024 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund | 0 comments

With help from organizations including Kiwanis, Guinea is the latest country to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.

By Erin Chandler

Kiwanis International joins UNICEF and people around the world in celebrating the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) in Guinea. In May 2024, just one month after UNICEF confirmed MNT elimination in Mali, Guinea became the 49th country to achieve MNT elimination out of the priority countries identified in 1999. 

MNT is a painful and deadly disease that disproportionately affects areas where poverty, lack of education and inadequate health infrastructure make unhygienic birth practices more common. Kiwanis partnered with UNICEF in its global campaign to eliminate MNT in 2010, focusing on countries with more than one case of neonatal tetanus per 1,000 live births. Since then, twenty-nine priority countries have achieved MNT elimination status, significantly dropping the number of newborn deaths from tetanus. Now, MNT poses a significant threat in only 10 remaining priority countries. 

In 2023, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund granted US$275,000 to UNICEF USA to help facilitate mass tetanus vaccination campaigns for women of reproductive age in countries such as Guinea, Pakistan and Yemen. The grant also funded the assessments and surveys that validated the elimination of MNT in Guinea, and it will continue to strengthen the country’s health systems to ensure that MNT does not return in the future. 

Support for UNICEF’S fight against MNT is just one way Kiwanis has furthered the cause of children’s health around the world. Throughout the year, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awards grants to clubs across the globe — like the Kiwanis Club of Lalbandi, which is working to provide autism screenings and therapies for families in Nepal; the Kiwanis Club of Libertad, which is helping to create a nutrition program at a primary school in Panama; and the Kiwanis Club of Wentzville, which is part of a partnership to build beds for kids who need them in Missouri, U.S. 

You can make a gift to the Children’s Fund today to make a healthier world possible for kids everywhere.  

Scholarship recipients are making a difference

Scholarship recipients are making a difference

May 30, 2024 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Leadership, Service Leadership Programs | 0 comments

The Kiwanis Children’s Fund honors 7 Key Club and CKI scholars in 2024. 

By Erin Chandler

Out of over 500 applicants, the seven outstanding scholars who will receive this year’s Kiwanis Children’s Fund scholarships stand out as leaders and visionaries. Each recipient emphasizes that the values and skills they have learned in Key Club and Circle K International are the foundation for the difference they will make in the world — whether through science, medicine, politics and community organization, or education. The Children’s Fund is honored to help them continue their education in the upcoming academic year.  

Samaira Lee
Linda Canaday Memorial Scholarship
Samaira Lee is a recent graduate of Fishers High School in Indiana, U.S., where she served one term as secretary-treasurer and two terms as president of her Key Club. She went on to serve as lieutenant governor for her Key Club division. Lee’s passion for service began when she was 7 years old, helping her parents serve meals to families of hospitalized children at the Ronald McDonald House. Last year, that passion came full circle when she organized pajama days at four local elementary schools to raise funds for Riley Children’s Hospital. That service helped show more kids how, in Lee’s words, “small acts of service make an impact in one’s community and incrementally create a better world.” In addition to Key Club, Lee was part of the 2024 Leadership Committee for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Student Visionaries of the Year, the student board for the Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation, the Fishers High School National Honor Society, and the National French Honor Society. Next year, Lee will attend Northwestern University with a major in psychology and minors in economics and French. She plans to pursue a career in community leadership, with the goal of serving in state or national government. 

Kyle Hanson
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Kyle Hanson is a recent graduate of Beaverton High School in Oregon, U.S., and the current president of Key Club International. He previously served Key Club as a district governor and club president. As governor of the Pacific Northwest District, Hanson developed a strategy for better engaging and supporting clubs in rural areas. The district subsequently grew by over 1,000 members, with record-breaking attendance at its convention. For the past two years, Hanson has worked at the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute, contributing to research on the treatment of pediatric cancers. He has also served as student government president; co-president of the STEM education nonprofit Create Invent Aspire Science and of Club Hope, a student aid group focusing on homelessness; founder of his school’s chapter of the Oregon Math, Engineering, Science and Achievement program; project coordinator for the environmental activism club; and Beaverton-area dragon boat team captain. “By centering work around Key Club’s core values,” Hanson says, “I’ve built better relationships, got people more engaged and ultimately made a bigger impact.” Hanson will study economics and applied math at Harvard University. He hopes to pursue a career in biotechnology and run his own nonprofit. 

Saumya Sikhwal
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Saumya Sikhwal recently graduated from South Warren High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S. She immigrated to the U.S. from India in 2020, and within a few months, while still adjusting to life in an American high school, she was elected lieutenant governor of her division in Key Club International. Sikhwal went on to receive the Robert F. Lucas Outstanding Lt. Governor Award and to further serve Key Club as secretary and governor of her district. She describes her decision to run for governor as the moment that changed her “from an indecisive person to a certain one, reticent to outgoing, a young leader who made mindful decisions.” Sikhwal is also a leader outside of Key Club, serving as a student council officer, National Beta Club social media chair, chess club president, taekwondo demonstration team lead and a national competitor in archery. As president of the youth advisory board for the tobacco prevention and cessation organization #iCANendthetrend, she has presented her advocacy at youth tobacco control conferences and in professional development series. Sikhwal plans to pursue a degree in biochemistry at the University of Louisville. 

Sarah Khreizat
CKI Past Presidents Scholarship
Sarah Khreizat is a public health major at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. As club president, Khreizat took on the responsibility of rebuilding her club’s chapter of Circle K International following a sharp decline in engagement, successfully tripling the club’s membership and reactivating dormant community partnerships. In addition to CKI, she has been president of the Pay It Forward mentorship program and the Arabesque Dance Troupe. She has held leadership positions with the Hospital Elder Life Program at the University of Michigan Hospital, Arab American Health Initiative and Middle Eastern/North African Public Health. She has also served as an English tutor for Syrian refugees. Khreizat currently works as a research assistant in the Prevention Research and Health Equity Lab, where she studies factors associated with HIV in adolescents. She has presented her research at national conferences and in peer-reviewed journals. Khreizat says, “CKI taught me that even though a leader may face challenges along the way, there is always light at the end of the tunnel as long as we hold onto our values of passion for service and determination to make a positive change in our community.” 

Matthew Yuro
John E. Mayfield CKI Scholarship
Already a recipient of a 2023 Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship, Matthew Yuro is a special education, elementary education and history major at The College of New Jersey, U.S. He is the lieutenant governor of his Circle K International division, and he leads and serves on a number of CKI committees at the international, district and club levels. He is also a member of the Youth Homelessness Committee for the New Jersey District of Kiwanis International. In addition to his service with the Kiwanis family, Yuro is the president of the New Jersey Education Association Preservice and holds leadership positions with the National Education Association Aspiring Educators, Student New Jersey Education Association, Teachers of Young Children, multiple honor societies, history club and student government. He is also active as a peer mentor and is vice president of his college mentoring union. In his quest to become an educator, Yuro works as a substitute teacher at Mill Lake Elementary School and as a tutor for the Monroe Township School District and The College of New Jersey. “For me,” Yuro says, “Circle K International transcends being just a club; it is a community of like-minded individuals where I can be my best self.” 

Jonathan Huang
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Originally from Houston, Texas, U.S., Jonathan Huang is a molecular and cellular biology major at Harvard University in Massachusetts, U.S. A former president of his high school’s Key Club, Huang founded the first virtual CKI club. With Huang as its president, the Circle K e-Club of the New England District has grown to include members from five universities and has the district’s highest fundraising total. Huang is also the chair of CKI’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coalition. Outside of CKI, Huang is a peer advising fellow and holds leadership roles in the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association, Harvard Undergraduate UNICEF, Harvard University Police Advisory Board and MakeHarvard, a competitive engineering organization. He works as an emergency medical technician for CrimsonEMS, an undergraduate research assistant in global health issues at MJ Lab and a Harvard admissions recruiter for first-generation students from low-income backgrounds. Huang says his experiences with CKI “serve as the backbone and foundation for everything I’ve been able to accomplish.” He plans to pursue a career as a physician. 

Srishti Khadilkar
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Srishti Khadilkar of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, is studying physiology and interdisciplinary medical sciences at the University of Western Ontario. She is in her second term as governor for the Eastern Canada District of Circle K International, having previously served as chair of the Kiwanis Family Relations Committee. In the latter role, she helped plan events that enhanced the connections between CKI, Key Club and Kiwanis International. For Khadilkar, one of the most rewarding aspects of CKI leadership is that it has “strengthened [her] ability to empathize and communicate effectively, fostering a sense of community” between people of all ages and backgrounds. In addition to CKI, Khadilkar has been president of the Microbiology and Immunology Student Association and vice president of academics for Simply Scientific. She has also worked as a student volunteer at University Hospital. In her free time, she is a member of BRDRLESS Dance Studio. Khadilkar plans to take the values and interpersonal skills she has learned in CKI into her career as a dentist, providing affordable and convenient care to underserved communities. 

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.