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

By Erin Chandler

In July, August and September, Kiwanis clubs around the world received Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants for projects that found creative ways to give more kids and families access to services, opportunities and enrichment. The following four projects highlight some of the ways Kiwanis clubs are using microgrants to give young people of all ages a promising start in the Kiwanis cause areas of education and literacy, health and nutrition, and youth leadership development.  

Education and Literacy 

Orange City Public Library E-Bike Project
Kiwanis Club of Floyd Valley, Iowa, U.S.
In its first year since chartering, the Kiwanis Club of Floyd Valley is already forming strong community partnerships to expand literacy. When the club heard that the local library was raising funds for a new e-bike program that will increase access to books and library programming in underserved areas, they decided to pitch in and purchase a safety and accessory package. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will go toward a helmet, umbrellas, a first aid kit, lights, a horn or bell, a tire pump and repair kit, a phone mount, a basket, safety vests and more supplies to make the library’s e-bike safer. With the bike, library staff will be able to host remote story hours and even remotely check out materials to library patrons. 

Pencil Case Project
Kiwanis Club of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The Kiwanis Club of Brisbane discovered a simple way to reduce barriers to learning and participation in school. Every January for the past four years, club members have purchased pencils, colored pencils, erasers, rulers and highlighters. They then pack these supplies into durable, zip-up cases for teachers to distribute to kids who arrive without them for their first day at area schools. The project can set the tone for the year, enabling kids whose families might not be able to provide school supplies to feel included and prepared from the start. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant will help stock up to 150 cases for the upcoming school year. 

Health and Nutrition 

Pediatric Medical Equipment
Kiwanis Club of Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Tallahassee has a longstanding relationship with Bond Community Health Center, assisting in community outreach and providing chaperones for special events. Now members are teaming up with the Kiwanis Clubs of Southside Tallahassee, Tallahassee Northside, and Tallahassee-Killearn to provide new screening equipment for the clinic’s pediatric patients, many of whom attend Title I schools or are on Medicaid. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant will help purchase equipment for hearing screenings, benefiting thousands of children.  

Youth Leadership Development 

Building a Disc Golf Program for Students in Chugwater
Kiwanis Club of Wheatland, Wyoming, U.S.
In the small, rural community of Chugwater, there are limited opportunities for kids and families to engage in outdoor activities. The Kiwanis Club of Wheatland is stepping in to fix that by purchasing a portable disc golf kit for the town’s only elementary school — with help from a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant and the Prairie View Charter School K-Kids. The 12 K-Kids club members have committed to raising US$500 for the equipment, giving them the chance to develop as leaders in the community and be personally and financially invested in the disc golf course. The club is excited to help, and working with them is the Kiwanians’ favorite part of the project. Once Kiwanis members have installed the equipment, they plan to provide initial instruction to students and teachers on how to use it. 

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.  

A grant helps the Kiwanis Club of Klang plant seeds for future climate leaders. 

By Erin Chandler

Click “play” on the Kiwanis Club of Klang’s five-minute video recap of Green Generation Adventure Camp 2025, and you’ll see kids’ curiosity and creativity ignite as they encounter new ideas, new challenges and even new animals in a beautiful region of Malaysia.  

The Kiwanis Club of Klang has organized camps for underprivileged children for nearly a decade. In 2024, however, the club merged its signature project with 2023-24 Kiwanis Asia-Pacific Chairman Sujan Kumar Shrestha’s campaign to empower youth toward environmental stewardship and sustainability. That’s when the first Green Generation Adventure Camp was born. 

“The name ‘Green Generation’ reflects both urgency and hope: a call to action and a celebration of young changemakers,” says club president Eric Chin. “It’s not just a camp. It’s a living classroom, a playground for purpose and a reminder that even the smallest hands can plant the biggest seeds.” 

Glimpsing a wider world
The club was surprised by the first camp’s popularity in 2024 — and they resolved to build on that success. The 2025 camp took place in September at Mantin Farmstay, a resort and farm in the heart of Malaysia’s tropical rainforests. Farmers there grow jackfruit, durian and rambutan through sustainable agricultural practices. The farm also runs a mini-zoo.  

Over three days, the 150 Green Generation Adventure campers took part in forest hikes, leadership development training, interactive workshops on climate action and immersive, farm-based activities focused on sustainable agriculture. The hands-on nature of the activities was especially important for children from urban areas who don’t interact with wildlife and agriculture in their everyday lives.  

“For some of these children, especially those who’ve never stepped beyond the walls of their shelter homes, this camp is their first glimpse of a wider world,” Chin says. “A world where nature speaks, where friendships form around campfires and where they are seen not just as recipients but as changemakers.” 

Clearly, the Kiwanis Club of Klang has big ambitions for its camp. The art of balancing those ambitions with available resources has been one of the project’s biggest challenges. 

When seeking sponsorships and funding, Chin says, “asking becomes an art form of equal parts courage, empathy and timing. We’re not just seeking funds, we’re inviting belief. And that’s a vulnerable thing to do.” 

An act of stewardship
One productive “ask” was a grant application to the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. Green Generation Adventure Camp was awarded a club grant in August 2025 to help cover participation and transportation costs for kids whose families couldn’t otherwise afford the camp.  

And the camp still has room to grow. That fact can tempt the club to say yes to everyone, Chin says, but they resist — as difficult as that can be.  

“Sustainability demands discernment,” he adds. “Drawing the line by saying, ‘not this time’ or, ‘not yet’ can feel like a betrayal of our own ideals. But it’s also an act of stewardship, ensuring that what we offer is meaningful, not just generous.” 

Green Generation Adventure Camp has proved meaningful for campers and Kiwanians alike. For the Kiwanis Club of Klang, the annual event has become an opportunity to rediscover their values and reasons to serve — and to have a real impact on the lives of children. 

Seeds planted in young hearts
Chin likes to tell campers to “be a sponge, not a rock. Every moment, every interaction, every challenge is a lesson waiting to be absorbed.” 

Among his favorite moments from this year’s camp: watching a shy child gain confidence and leadership skills, seeing volunteers become friends, and the sense of togetherness that came with a marshmallow roast under the stars. 

“These bonds are the invisible scaffolding of community,” Chin explains. The 2024 and 2025 Green Generation Adventure Camps “aren’t just events — they’re seeds planted in young hearts, watered by experience and left to bloom in ways we may never fully see.  

“That’s the beauty of service: you give, not knowing what will grow. But you give anyway.”