New club kickstarts student success

New club kickstarts student success

Jul 21, 2026 | Club building, General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Service projects | 0 comments

A Children’s Fund grant helps the new Kiwanis Voices Club of Mírame launch a signature project. 

By Erin Chandler

The Kiwanis Voices Club of Mírame, Panama, is one of the latest clubs to apply for and receive a Kickstarter grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. As a result, the new club — part of the Kiwanis Voices program, which creates Kiwanis clubs for adults ages 18-26 — will help local students stay in school.  

Thanks to the Kickstarter program, a club that charters with 30 or more active members is invited to apply for a grant to help fund the club’s signature project — the service, event or fundraiser that the club will become known for in the community. For the Kiwanis Voices Club of Mírame, that project is Backpacks with Dreams (Mochilas con sueños), which will address the issue of school absences and damaged school supplies due to seasonal weather. 

Currently, when students walk to school during Panama’s rainy season, their supplies get wet and deteriorate. This has a negative effect on academic performance while also increasing school absenteeism and the financial burden on families who must replace supplies.  

Thanks in part to the Kickstarter grant, the Mírame club will partner with local organizations and the Ministry of Education to deliver waterproof backpacks and school supply kits to primary and pre-secondary students at the Ciri Grande Educational Center. Club members will be involved in every step of the project, including planning, purchasing and sorting supplies, and distributing the backpacks. They hope the project will help 100 kids in its first year. 

Club President Isai Meléndez shared some thoughts about the experience of launching the project as a new Kiwanis club. 

What led your club to choose Backpacks with Dreams as your signature project?
We believe education is one of the most powerful tools for changing lives. As a newly chartered Kiwanis club, we wanted our first signature project to reflect our commitment to serving children while creating a meaningful and lasting impact. After learning about the challenges faced by students in rural communities who lack access to basic school supplies, we knew we could make a difference by providing the resources they need to begin the school year with hope, confidence and dignity. 

What excites you most about your club’s first signature project?
What excites us most is turning a shared dream into a reality that directly benefits children and their families. Backpacks with Dreams represents the beginning of our club’s legacy and proves that even as a new Kiwanis club, we can make a meaningful difference in our community. Our favorite part is the distribution day, when we see the excitement, joy and hope on the students’ faces as they receive a backpack prepared especially for them. It reminds us that even a small act of kindness can open the door to great opportunities. 

What challenges, rewards or surprises have you experienced as a new Kiwanis club?
One of our greatest challenges has been introducing our club to the community, strengthening our organization and securing the resources needed to carry out meaningful service projects. We have also learned that coordinating volunteers, building partnerships and planning every detail requires commitment and teamwork. At the same time, the rewards have been incredible. We have seen individuals, businesses and organizations come together to support our mission, proving that when people believe in a meaningful purpose, they are eager to help. One of our biggest surprises has been discovering how much can be accomplished when passionate people work together to serve others. 

What advice would you give to other new Kiwanis clubs, especially those considering applying for a Kickstarter grant?
Our advice is to dream big and never let being a new club hold you back. Focus on identifying a real need in your community, develop a clear and well-planned project, involve every club member and document your progress along the way. Most importantly, tell your story with authenticity and clearly communicate the impact your project will have. The Kiwanis Children’s Fund Kickstarter Grant is an incredible opportunity to turn ideas into meaningful service. With teamwork, dedication and a genuine passion for helping children, even a new club can create a lasting impact in its community.

Find more information

  • Learn more about Kickstarter grants. Remember, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund will invite all eligible clubs to apply — but you still need to fill out the application!  
  • Email [email protected] with any questions about this or any Children’s Fund grants. You can also call 1-800-KIWANIS (U.S. and Canada) or +1-317-217-6225 (worldwide). 
  • Learn about Kiwanis Voices, our pilot program for creating Kiwanis clubs that consist exclusively of members who are ages 18-26 years old. 
Microgrants brighten kids’ futures

Microgrants brighten kids’ futures

Jul 10, 2026 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Service projects | 0 comments

From January through March, smaller clubs made a big impact through the Kiwanis Children’s Fund.

By Erin Chandler

In January, February and March, 12 Kiwanis clubs from around the world received microgrants, thanks to a Kiwanis Children’s Fund program that awards grants of US$250-$1,000 to clubs with 35 or fewer members. The following three projects highlight some of the ways Kiwanis clubs are using microgrants to give young people of all ages a more promising start in each of the Kiwanis cause areas: education and literacy, health and nutrition, and youth leadership development.    

Health and Nutrition
Improving Child Health Through Deworming Outreach in Nakivale Refugee Settlement
Kiwanis Club of Likasi DRC-Virtual, Uganda
With help from a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant, the Kiwanis Club of Likasi DRC has launched an initiative to improve the health and nutrition of 500 vulnerable children, including orphans, in Uganda’s Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Volunteers traveled 31 miles by rented motor scooters to the city of Mbara for medication to treat intestinal parasites. Led by two Kiwanians who are nurses living in the settlement, they distributed the medication over the course of three weeks, going house-to-house in villages without easy access to schools or clinics. While food scarcity is a severe and ongoing problem in the settlement, with most residents receiving only one meal a day, eliminating intestinal parasites helps children better absorb the nutrients they do receive. Club members hope this effort will increase the children’s strength and energy, reduce illness and lay the groundwork for future efforts to address health and nutrition among Nakivale’s refugees. 

Education and Literacy
Kiwanis Improves Education
Kiwanis Club of Dooly County, Georgia, U.S.
With just 17 members, the Kiwanis Club of Dooly County is working to strengthen literacy and encourage a lifelong love of learning for at least 50 students per year. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant will help the club purchase books for the community’s students in kindergarten through second grade. The goal is to turn these students into confident readers before standardized testing begins in third grade, so club members work with local schools to select a wide variety of books that will capture kids’ imagination and appeal to their diverse interests and experiences. The club also provides continuing motivation for learning by working with local organizations to present STAR Student scholarships to graduating high school students each year. 

Youth Leadership Development
Bridges to Success: Community-Based Mentorship and Career Pathways for Youth
Kiwanis Club of Rosiorii De Vede, Romania
The Kiwanis Club of Rosiorii De Vede plans to use a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant to help members reach young people when they are most in need of guidance: while planning their future education and career pathways. The club will host approximately 100 high school students at five mentorship and career guidance sessions that will include structured activities and discussions with mentors in the areas of career exploration, goal setting, leadership development and understanding educational pathways. The mentors will be former Key Club members — many of them reengaging with the Kiwanis family for the first time since graduation — in professional fields such as medicine, law, engineering, journalism, agronomy and entrepreneurship. The program will culminate in the Community Education and Career Fair, where high school and eighth-grade students can interact directly with educational and professional organizations. The club hopes to support students making difficult decisions, lead them to be confident in their futures and strengthen intergenerational bonds in the Kiwanis family. 

How you can help 
To learn more about Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants, visit kiwanis.org/microgrant-program.     

If you want to help the Children’s Fund provide grants like these that reach children around the world, you can make a gift to The Kiwanis Possibility Project. Your club also can apply for a grant to help kids in your community today.  

2026 Signature Project Contest winners

2026 Signature Project Contest winners

Jun 27, 2026 | Fundraising, General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Kiwanis Convention, Service projects, Video | 0 comments

Out of a record 590 contest entries, this year’s six winning projects brought communities together. 

By Erin Chandler

Kiwanis clubs around the world brought their communities together over the past year through creative and impactful service, fundraisers and events. The best of Kiwanis clubs’ signature projects were recognized during the 2026 Kiwanis International Convention in Manila, Philippines, when the winners of this year’s Signature Project Contest were announced. 

In the name of fun, food, competition and companionship — or a little of all four — this year’s six winning projects were selected from a record-breaking 590 contest entries from around the world. Through ongoing programs and projects built to last, these clubs promoted the Kiwanis causes — health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development — in innovative ways. 

Want to enter next year’s Signature Project Contest? You can find contest details and a link to past winners on the contest’s webpage. 

Group One (clubs with 27 or fewer members)  

Gold 

Annual Baldwinsville Kiwanis Turkey Day Race
Kiwanis Club of Baldwinsville, New York, U.S.
New York District
Over 57 years, the Kiwanis Club of Baldwinsville’s biggest annual fundraiser has become a beloved holiday tradition in the community. The Turkey Day Race, held on American Thanksgiving, includes a kids’ fun run, a 5K and a 10K — with an average of 1,600 runners taking part. Last year’s event welcomed 1,800 runners! Even those who are not running get involved, with the Baldwinsville Village, Sheriff’s Department, Fire Department, School District and local sponsors all providing assistance. Proceeds from the event help the club give over US$50,000 back to the community in scholarships and grants for everything from preschool to local theater, youth sports and the Ronald McDonald House. During the race, the club also hosts a food drive to support local food banks during the holiday season. And thanks to the event, 19 new members have come running to join the club.  

Silver (tie) 

Kiwanis Special Athlete Basketball Tournament
Kiwanis Club of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Pennsylvania District
For 46 years, the Kiwanis Club of Jenkintown has provided athletes ages 8-70 who have intellectual and developmental disabilities an opportunity to compete in an inclusive basketball tournament with players like them from across the tricounty area. The one-day event is positive, welcoming and free of charge, with meals and snacks, Kiwanis T-shirts, medals and trophies for all athletes provided. Athletes and volunteers then participate together in service projects — building bonds among community members of all abilities. Members of Aktion Club, Key Club, Builders Club and Circle K International (all of which are Kiwanis Service Leadership Programs) serve alongside Kiwanians as athlete buddies, coaches, event volunteers and service project partners. Four hundred people attended last year’s tournament. Club members say that many participants, both athletes and volunteers, identify the Kiwanis Special Athlete Basketball Tournament as the best tournament experience they’ve had. Over the years, 80 new members have joined Kiwanis as a result.  

Kiwanis-Led Destination Play Space for ALL Ages and ALL Abilities
Kiwanis Club of Springfield South, Missouri, U.S.
Missouri-Arkansas District
The playground equipment at Fellows Lake recreational area was over 50 years old, unsafe and neglected when the Kiwanis Club of Springfield South stepped in. The club recognizes the importance of play in helping kids build social skills and learn about the world, so it was important that the playground be a place where children of all abilities could play and belong. With help from enthusiastic community partners, members transformed the space into the only fully accessible playground in Greene County — The Hatch: A Playground for ALL. Now thousands of families per year come there to picnic, hike, fish, relax and play together. Through PlayCore, it has been designated a National Demonstration Site for quality, evidence-based research in outdoor recreation. Next, the club plans to make the playground the site for an annual Kiwanis Day of Play event, where families can enjoy refreshments and activities — and get information and resources from local organizations like Abilities First.  

Group Two (clubs with 28 or more members) 

Gold 

Breast Cancer Awareness 5K Run/Walk/Wheelchair
Kiwanis Club of Providence-Montego Bay, Jamaica
Eastern Cananda and the Caribbean District
The Kiwanis Club of Providence-Montego Bay’s Breast Cancer Awareness Run/Walk/Wheelchair brings over 2,000 people from Jamaica and beyond together to “support the fighters, admire the survivors and honor the taken.” The event raises awareness about breast cancer and includes an education component. Last year, a surgeon gave a presentation on reconstructive surgery for breast cancer survivors. But it also raises over US$10,000 for screening, scans, surgery and support for people in the community experiencing or recovering from breast cancer. Additional funds go to the Jamaica Cancer Society and the Cornwall Regional Hospital’s pediatric oncology ward, for a total of US$80,000 raised. Sixty-nine Kiwanis club members and 133 Key Club and Aktion Club members participate in and volunteer at the event. The eight area Key Clubs even have a competition to see who can get the most participants to register. This year’s 5K had special significance: After it was postponed by Hurricane Melissa, the race became a celebration of resilience, raising additional funds and using partnerships to provide care packages for those affected by the devastating storm.  

Silver 

Kiwanis Club of Fargo Annual Pancake Karnival
Kiwanis Club of Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Minnesota-Dakotas District
Everyone in Fargo knows and loves the Kiwanis Club’s Pancake Karnival. Held annually for 67 years, it’s a tradition for generations of families — both as attendees and volunteers. Many of the Fargo Kiwanians’ reasons for joining Kiwanis involve childhood memories of the Pancake Karnival. Some attendees have never missed a single Karnival and are now bringing their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for a day of fun that gives back to the community. The goal of the Pancake Karnival is to raise as much as possible for grants to support children. Last year, US$25,000 helped create a Kiwanis-branded space in a city park centered on children’s mental health awareness, with US$42,750 left for local nonprofits. This year, the club plans to award US$30,000 to three organizations that address childhood food insecurity. And many of the organizations that have received grants over the years return the favor as Pancake Karnival volunteers — a full-circle Kiwanis moment!  

Bronze 

Kiwanis Caring Kitchen
Kiwanis Club of Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Pennsylvania District
After an 8-year-old child in the community died from malnutrition, the Kiwanis Club of Erie vowed to make sure such a tragedy would not happen again. In collaboration with Community Shelter Services (CSS), it opened the Kiwanis Caring Kitchen, a small structure in a parking lot that offers three meals a day, seven days a week, for anyone who is hungry — no questions asked. Customers are typically children and families from the neighborhood, but some come from further away, including those experiencing homelessness. The school bus stops nearby, so every child who boards the bus has something to eat. Local Scout troops have made picnic tables for outdoor seating, and Kiwanians painted the kitchen exterior to make it bright and welcoming. CSS staff oversee the kitchen, and on-site volunteers include Kiwanis, Key Club, Aktion Club and K-Kids members. Local businesses and community members have donated money, food and supplies. The project is a true community effort, and it has paid off. In just two years, the club estimates the Kiwanis Caring Kitchen has served 90,000 people.