Disaster relief

Disaster relief

Jul 26, 2023 | Fundraising, News | 0 comments

When a fire in Pennsylvania destroyed multiple homes, Kiwanis members jumped into action.

By Julie Saetre

Kiwanis clubs often plan projects to help their communities based on needs surveys, discussions with community leaders and other detailed research. But sometimes an urgent situation emerges, and Kiwanis members jump into action to provide immediate relief.

That was the situation on May 29, 2023 — the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S — in Easton, Pennsylvania. In the middle of the afternoon, a six-alarm fire broke out in the West Ward area of the city. By the time it was controlled, it had damaged or consumed 15 row homes.

The devastation left 45 people, including parents and children, without homes. When Bill Walters, secretary and manager of special projects for the Kiwanis Club of Easton, heard the news, he knew his club could help. The day after the fire, club leaders began to organize a relief effort in conjunction with other area organizations and Easton City Council Member Taiba Sultana.

To address the pressing matter of housing for those impacted by the fire, Third Street Alliance — a nonprofit that provides shelter and childcare for women, children and families in need — offered to help. Other organizations joined with the Kiwanians to plan a lunch for those affected.

At the same time, Walters was busy working to ensure those individuals had quick funds for urgent expenses such as prescription drugs, eyeglasses and cell phones.

“After the fire, I sent an email to our club leadership team, immediate past president, current president, president elect and chair of our foundation,” Walters says. “I made a suggestion of what I felt we might be able to pull together quickly.”

The Easton Kiwanis Club Board approved a minimum of US$3,000, based on the club’s treasury, non-disbursed budget monies and donations from members.

Help in six days
On Sunday, June 4, less than one week after the fire occurred, the Easton club and Full Gospel Cathedral hosted the lunch. Fidelity Bank and its branch manager, Linda Johnson, provided pizza, pasta and beverages, and counselors from the American Red Cross were available for trauma counseling. Easton Kiwanians James Owen (club president), Janet Owen, Nick Ciambrone and Dean Young (who is also the executive director of the Easton Boys and Girls Club) distributed a $75 gift card to each of the 45 guests.

“Today was a good day to be a Kiwanian,” Owens said at the event. “This enabled us to make sure there were considerations and immediate/critical needs met for those families who had children. This is only a beginning. The city of Easton and other agencies are working together to make sure the needs of these folks and others are met as the recovery continues. We will be there to do our part.”

Since the luncheon, the Easton club continues to receive additional donations, which members will distribute to those impacted.

“The healing has begun,” Owens says. “It will be a long way through. Love will guide the way, and we will be there alongside to support and provide resources to the best of our ability. We are Easton, and we are Kiwanis.”

In a surprise twist, the social media coverage of the club’s quick relief drew the attention of a retired schoolteacher in Easton. She searched for club information on kiwanis.org and requested to join.

“Our membership chair spoke with her,” Walters says. “She is so happy that Kiwanis is about kids, she is planning on attending our meeting next week.”

Building literacy

Building literacy

Jul 19, 2023 | Leadership, Literacy | 0 comments

A Kiwanis club in Arkansas, U.S., brings bookcases and books to kids. 

By Julie Saetre 

In April of this year, 50 children in Conway, Arkansas, U.S., eagerly gathered at the Conway Public Library for a special presentation. Soon, each child would be awarded a personalized bookcase, a starter kit of age-appropriate books and a “reading buddy” — a stuffed animal toy — courtesy of the Conway Kiwanis Club. 

The presentation marked the 19th year of the Conway Kiwanis Bookcase Project, founded in 2005 by club member Jim Davidson with the goal of promoting literacy at an early age and setting kids up to excel in education and future professions. The Kiwanis club assumed oversight of the project in 2020. 

Recipients are 4- and 5-year-old preschool children who are enrolled in three area Head Start centers; they are selected by the Community Action Program for Central Arkansas, the centers’ administrator. 

“They’re old enough to understand they’re receiving a gift and they react in particular to books with colorful pictures and their ‘reading buddy,’ says Richard Plotkin, the Kiwanian who chairs the Bookcase Project. “One recipient could not wait to have her bookcase loaded in her family’s car before checking out her copy of ‘Three Little Engines.’” 

A local construction company builds the bookcases, which the Kiwanis club funds through ticket sales to its annual banquet and supplemental cash and in-kind donations from businesses and individuals. A personalized nameplate, donated by a local trophy and awards shop, identifies the owner of each bookcase, which contains a selection of books that the Conway Public Library receives through community donations. Other area supporters donate books as well, and an individual donates the “reading buddies.”

A seven-person operating committee provides functional oversight of the Bookcase Project. Committee members include representatives from the fields of education, government and community service.

Bookcase recipients, however, are unaware of the annual team effort organized by the Conway Kiwanis Club. They’re just happy to receive the gift of literacy.

For Plotkin, one experience from earlier this year stands out: a bookcase ceremony in which a representative of Child Care Aware of Northcentral Arkansas led recipients in numerous activities.

“I was told after the ceremony that the children did not want to return to their parents at the end of the session,” Plotkin says. “They wanted to stay.” 

An inclusive day of play in Barbados

An inclusive day of play in Barbados

Jul 17, 2023 | Fundraising | 0 comments

The Kiwanis Pride of Barbados Club offers fun for kids of all abilities.

By Julie Saetre

On a recent Saturday afternoon, almost 50 children gathered in the parking lot of Kensington Mall under a sunny Barbados sky for a fun-filled afternoon of games and activities. As with any large gathering of kids, laughter filled the air and a lively atmosphere prevailed.

But this wasn’t just any play group. This was an event designed to promote inclusive play.

Everyone is A.B.L.E was sponsored by the Kiwanis Pride of Barbados Club, which partnered with Massy Properties, Champion Pediatric Physical Therapy, and IncludeU Sports Academy. The A.B.L.E. acronym encourages participants to accept persons despite their differences, believe we are all equal, learn to include, and embrace.

“We wanted to promote inclusion through understanding and, in so doing, develop children who become adults capable of promoting, encouraging and fostering inclusion for all Barbadians,” says Nicola Yard, a former club president and current club board member. “We hope to eliminate the stigma associated with disabilities as we move toward a fully inclusive Barbados.”

Reaching more kids
Each child in attendance partnered with another child to form 24 pairs. Each pair consisted of one child with disabilities and one child without. For the next three hours, the children enjoyed races, face painting and other age-appropriate activities.

Volunteers from the four partnering organizations, Kiwanis Barbados Benevolence and the Barbados Senior Men’s football team led the young participants through the various play opportunities and monitored their safety.

“We hope that each child will share the experience with friends,” Yard says, “so that we can reach more children and change more lives.”

The A.B.L.E. event is one part of a larger Pride of Barbados club effort to promote inclusion. The club has started redistributing its inclusive-play coloring books in Barbados schools and plans to expand that effort to include other countries. Future initiatives include distributing videos that discourage parking in spaces reserved for people with disabilities and highlighting the right terminology when speaking to or about people with disabilities.

“In addition, we will be purchasing wheelchairs and building ramps for individuals who need assistance with these items,” Yard says. “We want to positively impact lives giving service in a meaningful way, and we believe that we can achieve this through inclusion — one child and one community at a time.”