Microgrants fund beds, bookmarks and blooms

Microgrants fund beds, bookmarks and blooms

From January through March, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund helped smaller clubs fund big ideas.

By Erin Chandler

In the first three months of 2024, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund again awarded microgrants to clubs making a big difference with fewer members — giving away books, collecting supplies for kids in foster care, promoting inclusive outdoor play and more. Below, you can read about three projects that take an innovative approach to service in each of the Kiwanis cause areas: health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development. 

Health and nutrition 

Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Members of the new Kiwanis Club of Wentzville, Missouri, U.S., know that a good night of sleep is essential for the health and development of a growing child. That’s why this club and the Kiwanis clubs of Lake St. Louis and Troy are partnering with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, which builds single bunk beds for children who don’t have beds to sleep in. The club has already participated in volunteer events to help construct beds. A Children’s Fund microgrant will help members purchase mattresses and bedding sets to accompany the newly built beds for 10 local children. 

Education and literacy 

Kiwanis Kids Day
When the Kiwanis Club of Willmar’s first Kiwanis Kids Day — held in celebration of the Minnesota, U.S., club’s 100th anniversary in 2023 — drew over 800 attendees and resulted in five new active members, the club decided to make it an annual event. In addition to food, entertainment and crafts, this year’s Kiwanis Kids Day will feature a service project in conjunction with United Way of West Central Minnesota. A Children’s Fund grant will pay for supplies kids need to make bookmarks using pressed, dried flowers. These bookmarks will go into hundreds of bags of “tools” that United Way gives out at preschool Early Childhood Screenings with the goal of engaging young learners. Each child who makes a bookmark will receive a free book to take home — so the project promotes literacy both for the children who receive the bookmarks and the children who make them. 

Youth leadership development 

P.E.A.C.E. (Positive Environment for Allowing Change and Engagement) Garden
The Kiwanis Club of May Pen, Clarendon, Jamaica, will use funds from a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant to help establish the first of what members hope will be a number of “P.E.A.C.E. Gardens” at local primary schools. The project aims to address the increased violence in schools by creating an enclosed garden space — complete with seating, plants and flowers — that will serve as a tranquil setting for fun and reflection. P.E.A.C.E. Gardens are designed for mediation, peer counseling, mentorship and programs that promote positive values. The first garden at Toll Gate Primary and Infant School will be built and maintained by the club and the school’s K-Kids and Builders Club. May Pen Kiwanians hope students will internalize the garden’s lessons about managing their emotions and resolving conflicts.   

How you can help 

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

If you want to amplify your impact to reach children around the world through the Kiwanis causes of health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development, you can make a gift to the Children’s Fund or learn how your club can apply for a grant to help kids in your community today. 

Kiwanis clubs reach kids through bicycle projects

Kiwanis clubs reach kids through bicycle projects

From safety to supplies, bike-focused service has proven popular and effective around the world.

By Tony Knoderer

No matter where you are, two things always seem to go together: children and bicycles. For Kiwanis clubs, that makes service projects that focus on bikes a great way to serve kids — and to make your mark in the community. Looking for ideas and inspiration? In recent years, these projects and programs have helped clubs around the world reach kids. 

These are just a few of the ways Kiwanis clubs are reaching kids by focusing on bicycles. How does your club make a difference through bike-related initiatives? 

Club grants span continents 

Club grants span continents 

Kiwanis Children’s Fund grants help clubs start projects that support kids’ health and education.

By Erin Chandler

This March, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awarded club grants to 12 outstanding Kiwanis club projects that are making a difference across four continents. The following projects highlight the truly international spirit of Kiwanis and show how Kiwanians have addressed the specific health and education needs of kids in Italy, Panama, Austria, Nepal and the United States.  

Bright futures start with a diagnosis
Kiwanis Club of Lalbandi, Kathmandu, Nepal
According to a survey conducted by the Kiwanis Club of Lalbandi, four to five cases of autism spectrum disorder are being diagnosed each day in one Kathmandu health clinic alone. Some children stop attending school as a result. Seeing the clear need in its community, the club is partnering with local autism centers to support kids dealing with this often-misunderstood condition. Club members will receive training to help screen for autism spectrum disorder and assist at therapy centers that provide speech-language, play-based, physical, occupational and nutritional therapies. A grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund will help purchase medications and food supplements for those who can’t afford them, as well as software to track patients’ progress. 

A new dining room for a healthy start
Kiwanis Club of Libertad, Coclé, Panama
The Kiwanis Club of Libertad will use a Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant to purchase tables, chairs, eating and kitchen utensils, a refrigerator, an industrial sink, paint and food for the remodeled dining room at Boca de Chiguirí Primary School. Children in the area suffer from food insecurity and often come to school without receiving meals at home. The club is partnering with various government ministries, local companies and others to create a self-sustaining nutrition program that will include vegetable gardens and poultry farming at the school. Once the dining room is structurally safe and furnished, students, parents and teachers will collaborate to bring the program to life. 

Children’s gardens for kindergartens
Kiwanis Club of Mühlviertel, Schwertberg, Austria
The word “kindergarten” means “children garden” — and the Kiwanis Club of Mühlviertel is taking it literally, installing raised-bed gardens at 19 kindergartens in the Perg district of Austria. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will help cover the cost of the aluminum beds. Once the gardens are installed, the “little researchers” will learn how vegetables grow and thrive, how insects pollinate flowers and how fruits and blossoms form — and they will develop a sense of responsibility from caring for the garden. 

A soft room in a safe house
Kiwanis Club of Gallarte, Varese, Italy
A Kiwanis Children’s Fund club grant will help the Kiwanis Club of Gallarte build a Montessori room for children ages six and under living in “protected houses” after leaving dangerous home environments. These children often arrive experiencing severe physical and emotional complications. The room will be painted in “soft colors” to promote tranquility and filled with child-size furnishings, sensory panels, carpets, games, “work” surfaces and more. The club hopes this room will help develop the children’s creativity, intelligence and sensory awareness, setting them on a path for healthy growth. 

Reading in the rain
Kiwanis Club of Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.
Since 2016, the Kiwanis Club of Malden has provided free books to hundreds of local children at its Bubbles and Books event. (It also features a bubble magician for extra fun.) A puppeteer storyteller even takes part to enhance a love of literacy for all kids in this very diverse community, where over 50 languages are spoken in the public schools. Recently, however, the club has had to cancel or reschedule Bubbles and Books due to rain or extreme heat. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will help the club purchase tents for shade and shelter, so kids can choose new books to take home in rain or shine.  

More books, playgrounds and essential supplies
Other projects that received club grants in March include: 

  • Book giveaways from the Kiwanis clubs of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, U.S.; Cicero, Indiana, U.S.; and Literacy in Salinas CA, California, U.S. 
  • A book vending machine from the Kiwanis Club of Lincoln, California, U.S. 
  • Inclusive playgrounds from the Kiwanis clubs of Portsmouth, Ohio, U.S. and Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. 
  • A supply closet for students in need from the Kiwanis Club of Olmsted Falls, Ohio, U.S.  

Apply for a club grant   
The upcoming deadline to complete the first application step for a Kiwanis Children’s Fund club grant has been extended to April 15, 2024! Learn how your club canapply for a grant to help kids in your community. If you have any questions, contact grants@kiwanis.org

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. By funding 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, the Children’s Fund ensures that its grantmaking has the greatest possible impact.

If you are interested in extending your and your club’s impact beyond your community, make a gift to the Children’s Fund.