Grant continues fight against tetanus

Grant continues fight against tetanus

Kiwanis is helping UNICEF combat infant and maternal mortality around the world.

By Erin Chandler

Kiwanis International proudly continues to support UNICEF in its work to protect mothers and babies from maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT). In July, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund approved a US$275,000 grant that will help sustain UNICEF’s efforts to eliminate MNT around the world. 

MNT is a painful and deadly disease that disproportionately exists in areas where poverty, lack of education and inadequate health infrastructure make unhygienic birth practices more common. In 2010, Kiwanis joined UNICEF’s global initiative to eliminate MNT. Thanks to the combined efforts of UNICEF, the World Health Organization, national Ministries of Health, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Kiwanis and others, neonatal tetanus deaths dropped from 215,000 in 1999 to 24,000 in 2021. Forty-nine out of the 59 countries initially assessed to have more than one infant death from tetanus per 1,000 live births have now achieved MNT elimination. 

The latest US$275,000 grant from the Children’s Fund will be used to facilitate and accelerate mass tetanus vaccination campaigns for women of reproductive age in countries such as Angola, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan and Somalia — the countries most in need, of the 10 that have not yet eliminated MNT. Although an inexpensive vaccine to prevent MNT has existed for nearly 100 years, systemic inequities have prevented it from becoming widely available in the most vulnerable areas of the world. The Children’s Fund grant will help to right this wrong and strengthen health systems to ensure the sustainability of elimination efforts.  

This grant comes a little less than a year after a previous US$275,000 grant from the Children’s Fund, which helped fund efforts that led to the elimination of MNT in Mali and Guinea. Mali’s elimination status was confirmed in April 2024, and Guinea’s in May. 

Support for UNICEF’s fight against MNT is just one way Kiwanis has furthered the global cause of children’s health. Through The Possibility Project, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund regularly awards grants to clubs around the world — like the Kiwanis Club of Pakistan, which has provided a sustainable water source within a village in Sindh; and the Kiwanis Clubs of Third District, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., and Spalding-Christiana, Jamaica, which repaired and replaced essential kitchen equipment in homes for at-risk youth, allowing them to store and prepare nutritious meals. In June, the Children’s Fund awarded pediatric medicine support grants to help four clubs in the U.S. improve the equipment, facilities and supplies at their local medical centers.  

If your club is looking for ways to help mothers and babies in your own community, check out our tips and examples. You can alsomake a giftto the Children’s Fund todayto make a healthier world possible for kids everywhere.

August grants develop leadership skills

August grants develop leadership skills

Four clubs received grants for outstanding youth leadership development projects.

By Erin Chandler

This August, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awarded club grants to a remarkable 32 clubs serving communities around the world. Out of those projects, some of the most distinctive focused on the Kiwanis cause of youth leadership development by fostering young people’s creative independence. The following four projects exemplify different ways Kiwanis projects can guide the next generation on the path to becoming future leaders. 

CleanUP Community
Kiwanis Club of Craiova, Romania
The Kiwanis Club of Craiova is addressing Romania’s struggles with waste management, especially recycling, by getting the next generation involved. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will help purchase materials for seminars and workshops to educate kids from age six through 18 on environmental issues. The grant also will go toward supplies for conservation activities in which local children can participate with other members of their community, such as recycling drives, cleanups and community gardens. The ultimate goal of the CleanUP Community project, though, is to give young people the means to become advocates and leaders, developing their own plans and strategies to improve waste management in their community. Within a year, the club hopes its community youth teams will develop at least one implementable plan and be ready to promote sustainable development goals. 

Creativ in die Lehre mit Kunst (Creative Teaching with Art)
Kiwanis Club of Lavanttal, Austria
A Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will help the Kiwanis Club of Lavanttal purchase paints, brushes, canvas, ceramics and more to turn its community’s young people into artists. The Kiwanians are collaborating with a vocational school and a local artist to provide art classes for teens, including those with disabilities. Culminating in a public art exhibit to show off the students’ creations, these classes will allow the students to explore their artistic sides — with club members helping the students place their sculptures and other artworks in parks, gardens and other public places.   

Let’s Play! Leadership Training Program
Kiwanis Club of Melbourne, Florida, U.S.
Members of the Kiwanis Club of Melbourne noticed a lack of local accessible and affordable child development programs that focused on mental health for kids and families alike — and they decided to change that. Through the “Let’s Play!” program, the club will provide free programs at local libraries for kids ages 18 and younger and their caregivers. The programs will promote creativity, innovation and collaboration through activities like open-ended play, art projects and storytelling sessions. After working together to complete their projects, participants will reflect on their experiences through dialogue, drawing and writing. A grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund will help the Melbourne Kiwanians produce “how-to” videos, presentations and manuals to help other Kiwanis clubs and communities replicate “Let’s Play!” The club hopes to guide young people and families, regardless of income, to value play as a way of reducing anxiety and increasing understanding of their own and-w others’ creative abilities.  

Lifewise Program
Kiwanis Club of Wapakoneta, Ohio, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Wapakoneta’s Lifewise Program is geared toward at-risk adolescents between the ages of 16 and 18 who may be aging out of the foster system, not attending traditional schools or involved in the judicial system. Through a weekly series of six three-hour courses, club members hope to help these vulnerable young people graduate high school and prepare for the next steps in their lives. The courses will focus on basic cooking and cleaning skills, identifying risky situations, finding a job and achieving financial independence, basic auto knowledge, and dressing for success — with the sixth course serving as a culmination of the program. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will go toward meals for instructors and participants at each course, as well as supplies the students can use during the courses and then take home with them. The entire Lifewise Program wraps up with a graduation ceremony to celebrate the participants’ achievements. 

More health and education projects
Other projects that received club grants in August include:  

  • A weekend food program from the Kiwanis Club of Hilliard, Ohio, U.S. 
  • Mental health care kits from the Kiwanis Club of Park Ridge, Illinois, U.S. 
  • A program to honor most-improved third-grade students from the Kiwanis Club of Opelousas, Louisiana, U.S. 
  • After-school tutoring from the Kiwanis Club of Shan Hsin, Taiwan. 
  • An inclusive playground from the Kiwanis Club of Lapeer, Michigan, U.S., and a musical instrument playground from the Kiwanis Club of Sycamore, Illinois, U.S. 
  • A recreation hour for children in the hospital from the Kiwanis Club of Granada-Meta, Colombia. 
  • A high school herbal garden from the Kiwanis Club of Greater Portmore, St. Catherine, Jamaica. 
  • Renovation and repairs at Shady Grove Basic School from the Kiwanis Club of 23 Central Surrey Online, Jamaica. 
  • Children’s swimming lessons from the Kiwanis Club of Rockaways, New York, U.S. 
  • Miracle League of Montgomery County inclusive baseball training and recruitment from the Kiwanis Club of Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. 
  • 2024 Signature Project Contest Group II Bronze-winning project “Kiwanis Cares for Kids,” providing supplies and experiences to local school children from the Kiwanis Club of Gig Harbor, Washington, U.S. 
  • Clothing, school and essential supply projects from the Kiwanis Clubs of Brigham City, Utah, U.S.; Fostoria, Ohio, U.S.; Hagerstown, Maryland, U.S.; Lenape Valley, New Jersey, U.S.; and North Shore, Long Island, New York, U.S.  
  • Holiday events from the Kiwanis Clubs of Bald Eagle and Nittany Valleys, Pennsylvania, U.S.; Petersburg, Virginia, U.S.; Providenciales, Florida, U.S.; and Sierra Vista-San Pedro, Arizona, U.S. 
  • Literacy projects from the Kiwanis Clubs of East Lansing, Michigan, U.S.; Hickory, North Carolina, U.S.; Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, U.S.; Richmond, Virginia, U.S.; The Rising Sun, Bahamas; and Siesta Key, Florida, U.S.  

How you can help
The Kiwanis Children’s Fund makes grants that improve the lives of children around the world by identifying projects that create a continuum of impact in a child’s life — one that spans their entire childhood and sets them up for a bright future. Through The Possibility Project, the Children’s Fund ensures that its grantmaking has the greatest possible impact, supporting projects that target the Kiwanis causes — health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development — whether through a Kiwanis club’s local service project or a club’s partner. 

Learn how your club canapply for a grantto help kids in your community. If you are interested in extending your and your club’s impact beyond your community, make a gift in support of The Possibilty Project. 

Grants help CKI do more in communities

Grants help CKI do more in communities

Six Circle K International projects receive Tomorrow Fund grants.

By Erin Chandler

Circle K International members are the next generation of servant leaders — and they’re already making a difference in college and university communities around the world. The Kiwanis Children’s Fund established the Tomorrow Fund to help these clubs implement more creative solutions to problems and make the greatest possible positive impact. 

This July, the Children’s Fund awarded Tomorrow Fund grants to six new CKI projects that will bring vital resources where they are needed most. 

Connect, Learn and Act for Disaster Prevention
Circle K International of Ashiya University, Japan
Ashiya University CKI plans to host a disaster-preparedness course for attendees of the 2025 CKI Asia-Pacific Conference. A Tomorrow Fund grant will go toward the fees for an expert-led lecture and workshop. The course will also include a tour of a disaster-prevention experience-learning facility. Ashiya CKI members hope the clubs that take part in the experience will be motivated to host similar courses in Asian communities that commonly deal with disasters such as earthquakes, floods and tsunamis. 

Literacy Kits Donation for Young Students
Circle K International of Pace University, New York, U.S.
A Tomorrow Fund grant will help Pace University CKI purchase backpacks, school supplies and hygiene kits to distribute to kids in need in New York City. CKI members will fill the backpacks with supplies and deliver them to schools participating in Jumpstart’s “Read for the Record” early literacy program. The school supplies, including copies of the book being read aloud during “Read for the Record,” will help engage kids in learning and reading, while the hygiene supplies will reduce absences and boost confidence. 

Leading for Literacy: Little Free Libraries
Circle K International of the University of Alabama, U.S.
University of Alabama CKI will use its Tomorrow Fund grant to help purchase kits with all the materials necessary to build Little Free Libraries at three area Title I schools. Through this project, kids whose families might not be able to purchase books will be able to build their home libraries, practice reading outside of school and develop their love of learning. The club plans to turn its Leading for Literacy book drive into an annual event that will allow club members to continually restock each Little Free Library.   

Community Book Fair
Circle K International of the University of Central Florida, U.S.
University of Central Florida CKI intends to increase literacy rates in its community’s public elementary schools by hosting a series of engaging, interactive book fairs. A Tomorrow Fund grant will help the club purchase books and school supplies, some of which will be available to students for free, and themed learning games. CKI volunteers will lead the games during the book fairs and donate them to the schools afterward. The club also intends to follow up with the participating schools, hosting storybook readings and providing tutoring where needed. 

Decorating Bags for Meals on Wheels and Senior Resources
Circle K International of the University of South Carolina, U.S.
The University of South Carolina will use its Tomorrow Fund grant to purchase paper and cloth bags for the local Meals on Wheels and Senior Resources programs, as well as art supplies to decorate the bags with messages and artwork. The bags will be filled with food for community members who struggle to afford groceries or to get to the store. CKI members hope the decorated bags will help fill both the nutritional and emotional needs of those who receive them.  

Once Upon a Time Literacy Service Project
Circle K International Florida District, U.S.
A Tomorrow Fund grant will help purchase supplies for the district-wide “Once Upon a Time” project to promote literacy at the 2025 CKI Florida District Convention. Participants will rotate through a variety of small service projects: making reading pointers, bottle cap letters, sight word flashcards, number flashcards, paper bag hand puppets, bookmarks and booklets. They will also write messages inside books that the Kiwanis Club of Avalon will distribute to local K-Kids. The project’s organizers hope to inspire young children to love reading and to inspire clubs to replicate these projects in their communities. 

How to get involved
Does your Circle K International group have a project idea that could benefit from a Tomorrow Fund grant? Learn more about the grant and how to apply. If your Kiwanis club does not yet sponsor a CKI club, learn about the advantages of chartering one.