There are about 2.2 billion children in the world.*
2.2 billion.
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Some are gap-tooth grinning schoolchildren with lunch boxes and backpacks, eagerly boarding yellow school buses. Some are snuggling in for a bedtime kiss and just one more story, please. Some are standing on a kitchen stepstool proudly mixing a batch of gooey chocolate chip cookies. Some are delighting in a Sunday afternoon soccer game, running with glee as mom and dad cheer from the sidelines.
But many, many more are hungry. Many will have no place to lay their head tonight; at least not a place they call “home.” Many lack even basic educational tools—let alone encouragement or extra assistance. Many are sick, chronically ill, even dying. And many will forgo their childhood all too early, taking on adult responsibilities, taking in the world’s violence.
Many need a hug. A new pair of shoes. Help with their homework. Someone to look up to. Someone to count on. Someone who cares. Someone who can change their world.
Many need Kiwanis.
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Resolution: One million members by 2015.… Whereas…
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. The strength and effectiveness of our service depends on the strength and effectiveness of our membership. To change the world by serving more children and more communities, Kiwanis membership must grow to meet tomorrow’s needs.
Annie Grace needed Kiwanis. The young girl, from one of Vanuatu’s tiny remote Pacific islands, suffered burns on her body far beyond what a primitive island hospital could heal. She was sent to Kidz First Children’s Hospital in New Zealand, where she became the hospital’s first patient. New Zealand-South Pacific Kiwanians are major supporters of Kidz First and its adjoining state-of-the-art National Burns Centre, providing the hospital with funding to purchase innovative specialized equipment just right for its young patients.
“Compared to anywhere in the world, this is state of the art. My colleagues in America would kill to (have access to a facility and technology like this),” says Burns Clinical Leader Richard Wong She, MD. “We couldn’t have done this without Kiwanis’ support.”
Therefore, be it resolved that:
The delegates to this 91st Annual Convention of Kiwanis International, on behalf of Kiwanians around the world, endorse the goal of 1 million members by the Kiwanis centennial year of 2015, because of what 1 million Kiwanians can do to change the world.
Stacy Ann and her four children needed Kiwanis. The critically ill North Carolina mother didn’t know if it was possible for Christmas to come for her children that year, when a stranger—a Kiwanian—knocked on her door, bearing boxes of food.
“My children were so happy to see the food and treats they normally don’t get,” Stacy Ann says. “(The stranger) gave more than food to my family. What he gave filled my heart with food and reminded me to lift up.”
Street children in Pampanga Village, Davao City, the Philippines, needed Kiwanis. They are hungry for food and starved for kindness. So, the Kiwanis Club of Durian Davao, Davao City hosted a dinner called “share a plate,” providing food to homeless and abandoned children forced to live on the streets. The Kiwanians now regularly visit a community to evaluate and ensure malnourished children receive food.
Children in West Elgin and West Lorne, Ontario, needed Kiwanis. A fire destroyed their precious library, but Kiwanians in the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District rallied to raise funds, find book donations, and set up a temporary library.
“I cannot emphasize enough that the success of this project is due to the support from all Kiwanians,” says past Division 4 lieutenant governor Allen Ure. “The new interim library looks great and is ready to ‘turn the page’ on providing a full range of services to the area’s citizens.”
And be it further resolved that:
By increasing membership in our current districts, expanding Kiwanis into new areas of the world, and creating new opportunities for membership, we will ensure our vision of Kiwanis as a powerful voice for children and communities and the most effective adult
and youth service organization worldwide.
Four-year-old Rosante, of Barbados, needs Kiwanis. The child suffers Sickle Cell Disease, and as a result of that ailment, she has had amputations below both knees and elbows. She would like to have some prosthetic limbs, but they’re far too expensive for her family to afford. Kiwanis clubs throughout the island nation are working to get them for her. But that’s not all: The Kiwanians are also committed to raising enough funds to pay for the limbs’ maintenance and future prosthetics as the child grows.
“(Rasonte) dances, laughs, and plays with her peers, and like most children, is so full of energy she keeps her mother’s hands full,” states an article in The Barbados Advocate. “In an attempt to maintain (her) smile, the Kiwanis clubs of Barbados have taken a special interest in raising funds. (They) are looking to solve this monetary problem, once and for all.”
Children in Sincelejo, Colombia, need Kiwanis. A grant from the Kiwanis International Foundation will allow Kiwanians there to provide classroom equipment including desks, chairs, TV, DVD, ceiling and floor fans, blackboards, and gym mats to a kindergarten that will benefit more than 60 children.
Children in Iceland need Kiwanis. Each year, young bicycle riders count on Kiwanians to help them stay safe. Icelandic Kiwanians pay a visit to the seven-year-olds in their communities, giving each child a bicycle helmet, saving countless children from serious injuries and even death.
2.2 billion children, around the world, need Kiwanis.
“(Kiwanians), there are (thousands) of you, but each one of you has changed a person’s life,” says North Carolina mother Stacy Ann.
Indeed, hundreds of thousands of Kiwanians are reaching out to the children of the world every day, changing lives. Imagine how many lives Kiwanis will change with 1 million members.
Perhaps even 2.2 billion.
*Individuals under age 18, according to the 2006 State of the World’s Children report published by UNICEF. The main data source: United Nations Population Division.
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