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.”

 

How we reach recruits

How we reach recruits

Jul 17, 2023 | Club building, Leadership | 0 comments

From Two For Two to SLPs, the Kiwanis Club of Kewanee, Illinois, has several ways to recruit people.

By Brock Tumbleson, Angela Burford and Willie Burford 

Kiwanis members all have different spheres of influence. In the Kiwanis Club of Kewanee, we have found that new members help us fulfill the mission of Kiwanis — by bringing much-needed resources to our club.

Here are some activities, principles and people that have proved useful in our recruiting efforts:

  • Two For Two. We first heard about the Two For Two program in 2021. With our 100th anniversary taking place in November 2022, we used it to bring in 22 new members during the year. Our greatest success through Two For Two has been with our evening club. Younger members can attend meetings and get involved in community projects. They have expanded their meeting schedule to two meetings per month. One meeting focuses on service opportunities while the other meeting is more traditional with a program and the like.
  • Putting it in print. Our best aid is a statement of club activities, fundraisers and where our dollars go. Potential new members need something physical to go back and study as they make a decision. We can tell a great story, but people also need something tangible to consider.
  • Following up. If you don’t get back to those you have visited with, they may think you have forgotten them. We try to reach out again in a week or 10 days to answer any questions they may have, explain our mission more clearly and hopefully get a signed membership application.
  • Persistence. When it comes to inviting people to join a Kiwanis club, the worst someone can say is “no.” And we have found that many times they mean “not now.”
  • Kiwanis youth connection. We are very fortunate in Kewanee to have nine Service Leadership Program clubs — at least one in every category. This is a tremendous help in that Kiwanis is well-known and respected in the community. We strongly encourage other clubs to work on building SLPs in their communities.

Brock Tumbleson is the president of the Kiwanis Club of Kewanee, Illinois, U.S. Angela Burford is club secretary, and Willie Burford is a club member and Tumbleson’s Two For Two partner.