Grants enhance CKI partnerships

Grants enhance CKI partnerships

Mar 21, 2025 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Service Leadership Programs, Service projects | 0 comments

Eleven Circle K International projects get support from Tomorrow Fund grants.

By Erin Chandler 

    Members of Circle K International (CKI) are forming vital partnerships to find creative solutions in college and university communities around the world. The Kiwanis Children’s Fund established the Tomorrow Fund to help CKI clubs make the greatest possible positive impact as the next generation of servant leaders.  

    This February, the Children’s Fund awarded Tomorrow Fund grants to six CKI clubs and five districts that are teaming up with local organizations, schools and more to serve where they are needed most.  

    Baby Supplies for Families in Need
    Circle K International of Arizona State University, U.S.
    Arizona State University CKI’s support kits will help vulnerable members of the community — including those experiencing homelessness — cope with the stresses of new parenthood. A Tomorrow Fund grant will help the club purchase blankets, diapers, wipes and other essential items. CKI members, prospective members and members of the Kiwanis Club of Tempe will come together to pack the supplies into 20-40 kits, which will be distributed to those in need through House of Refuge. 

    CKI Gives
    Circle K International of the University of the Philippines Los Baños
    Each year since 2017, the University of the Philippines Los Baños CKI creates a special Christmas for community children in need. Club members hold a celebration that includes games and storytelling, and they give kids Christmas gifts, hygiene kits and Noche Buena meal packages. A Tomorrow Fund grant will go toward the purchase of gifts; hygiene items such as shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, bandages and nail clippers; and Noche Buena food items, including rice, rice noodles, soy sauce, fruits and biscuits. 

    The Present and Ready Project
    Circle K International of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
    The University of Cincinnati CKI is taking on the problem of chronic absenteeism in Cincinnati Public Schools. A Tomorrow Fund grant will help provide backpacks filled with school supplies — including scissors, folders, writing supplies and art supplies — for families that might not be able to afford them. The club also will provide resources for parents on mental health, transportation and other factors that can contribute to frequent school absences. Club members will provide handmade letters of encouragement and bookmarks to accompany books donated by Queen City Book Bank. 

    Boys and Girls Club Craft Class
    Circle K International of the University of Texas at Dallas, U.S.
    The University of Texas at Dallas CKI will continue last year’s Tomorrow Fund-grant-awarded project, hosting art classes for kids at the local Boys and Girls Club. Grant funds will go toward supplies for crafts such as yarn flowers, slime, bracelets, origami, decorated journals and more. Club members hope to serve as mentors to the children and give them a healthy emotional outlet through art. 

    Empower Her: Bridging the Gap in Menstrual Health
    Circle K International of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
    A Tomorrow Fund grant will help the University of the West Indies CKI purchase pads, menstrual cups and other menstrual hygiene products to reduce “period poverty” in the community. The supplies will go into menstrual kits for 200-plus students at UWI and Papine High School, plus permanent “period corners” that will be restocked regularly at both schools. Funds also will go toward resources and speakers for menstrual health education workshops, which will help eliminate myths and stigma around menstruation and provide information on lesser-known issues like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. 

    After School Soup Konnection
    Circle K International of the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
    The University of Windsor CKI will work with Feeding Windsor Essex on the After School Soup Konnection program, which provides meals to children in need every Friday after school. A Tomorrow Fund grant will help provide soup, granola bars, juice, applesauce, oatmeal and other nutritious foods — enough to provide food packs to over 150 kids every week throughout the school year. 

    Hygiene for Hope Program
    Circle K International Eastern Canada District
    The Eastern Canada District of CKI plans to expand a hygiene kit program — begun by the University of Windsor’s CKI club — across Ontario. A Tomorrow Fund grant will go toward enough shampoo, soap, hand sanitizer, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other essential hygiene items to assemble into 549 kits. Volunteers will distribute the kits to shelters across the province, where district leaders hope they will improve the health and dignity of people experiencing homelessness.  

    Making No-Sew Fleece Blankets at Georgia CKI District Convention
    Circle K International Georgia District, U.S.
    A Tomorrow Fund grant will help provide enough fleece and scissors for members of the CKI Georgia District to make 50 no-sew blankets at their annual convention. The blankets will go to Simple Needs GA’s My Birthday Matters program, which provides toys, books and supplies to children celebrating birthdays while experiencing homelessness in Cobb County, Georgia. The blankets made at the convention will supply 10% of the program’s annual need. 

    Sojourn Shelter Survivors Self-Care Project
    Circle K International Illinois-Eastern Iowa District, U.S.
    Members of the CKI Illinois-Eastern Iowa District will spend part of their district convention making supply kits to support the dignity and recovery of survivors of domestic violence at Sojourn Shelter. A Tomorrow Fund grant will help purchase personal hygiene items like shampoo, conditioner and body wash; self-care items like nail polish and lip oil; notebooks and coloring books; and underwear for the shelter’s general supply. Altogether, the supplies will go into 30 kits for women, two for men and 20 for children. 

    New England CKI District Convention Meal Packing
    Circle K International New England District, U.S.
    A Tomorrow Fund grant will help the New England District of CKI purchase supplies needed for members to pack over 10,000 shelf-stable, nutritious meals at their annual convention. Through a collaboration with End Hunger New England, the meals will go to families in need, children’s backpack programs and food cupboards in vulnerable communities. District leaders hope that members who participate in the project will be inspired to learn and do more to combat food insecurity with their clubs. 

    Ronald McDonald House Charities Care Kits
    Circle K International Wisconsin-Upper Michigan District, U.S.
    A Tomorrow Fund grant will help the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan District of CKI put together approximately 48 activity kits for children and families staying in Ronald McDonald Houses in Eastern Wisconsin. The kits will contain coloring books, fidget toys and other items to provide distraction or comfort to kids of all ages undergoing medical treatment. CKI members hope these kits will elevate the mental and emotional wellbeing of Ronald McDonald House families during difficult times.  

    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.   

    Aktion Clubs take center stage

    Aktion Clubs take center stage

    Mar 3, 2025 | General interest, Service Leadership Programs | 0 comments

    In Minnesota, U.S., Kiwanis family members with disabilities share their talents and an inclusive message. 

    By Erin Chandler 

    In the summer of 2024, residents of Mankato, Minnesota, U.S., attended a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. Partially scripted and partially improvised, “The Welcoming Table: Relevance and Stories that Matter” featured performers telling their own stories in their own ways.  

    One woman dressed as a cheerleader to tell the audience about being excluded from activities like cheerleading when she was growing up because of her disability. A man with a visual disability explained how he discovered a love for woodworking despite people telling him, “You can’t do that because you’re blind.” 

    Some of the actors sang, some performed original poems, some served as narrators. One held up signs with messages like, “Our stories matter.” And as they shared their stories, each actor placed a tile to make up the surface of a table that, when complete, represented inclusion.  

    Every performer was a member of the Mankato Aktion Club Theatre. 

    “People want to be accepted for who they are and invited to the table,” director Wilbur Neuschwander-Frink explains.  

    “Check out what we can do”
    Neuschwander-Frink was introduced to inclusive theatre through decades of work with the self-advocacy movement for people with disabilities. When the Kiwanis Club of Mankato approached her in 2006 about forming an Aktion Club, she proposed making it a group for people who wanted to do theatre but never got the opportunity. Since then, Neuschwander-Frink has started three other Aktion Clubs — including the Fairmont Aktion Club Theatre, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Fairmont Early Risers. 

    “In the beginning,” Neuschwander-Frink recalls, “I had people who said to me, ‘Wilbur, I don’t see how you could even do a play.’ I had someone ask me, ‘Aren’t you embarrassed that people are going to fall all over each other or not know what they’re doing?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, you know what, why don’t you just come and check out what we do, and then we can have a conversation.’” 

    Neuschwander-Frink writes the plays based on brainstorming sessions with club members about what they want to share with the world. Past topics have included bullying, community life and other issues surrounding disability. There are no auditions — actors craft their own roles — and memorization is not required. Some actors have volunteers shadowing them during performances to help with lines and movement around the stage.   

    “Really our main goal is to make sure that people are included in the way that they want to be included, and so we work hard as a team,” Neuschwander-Frink says. “It has definitely created a community of care. We have to come together as a whole group of people to make it happen. And they always rise to the challenge.” 

    “You can be a star!”
    In the beginning, some of the actors suffered from stage fright, lingering in the lobby. Neuschwander-Frink wasn’t sure they were going to come in and act with the rest of the group. But Aktion Club Theatre rehearsals are built around improvisation games and centering practices that help develop skills and build confidence. Over time, the actors blossomed.  

    In the Fairmont Aktion Club Theatre’s first performance in 2023, “there were people who were so shy, they didn’t want to say any words,” Neuschwander-Frink says. “But when they got onstage for our big production, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is like a whole new person!’”  

    She recalls one actor who was reluctant to speak in front of an audience, “but when he came out onstage, it was like pure joy, because he finally, in his life, was going to play a Ghostbuster. That was his dream in life.” 

    Neuschwander-Frink says the Aktion Club Theatre is “a great way for people to express their voice, to learn about their voice, to learn about the things that they have inside of them, those gifts and talents.” 

    The actors themselves agree. 

    Nate C., a member of the Aktion Club of Mankato, says he loves “that I get [to] learn new plays and have acting parts, and [it’s] lots of fun. Oh, also I enjoy meeting new people at practice.” 

    Amy Jo P. appreciates that “you can be yourself with your friends. You can share your gifts and talents with people.” 

    Mary Sue H. agrees: “You can be a star! I love it when my friends come and watch me act.” 

    “Our service to the world”
    Their enthusiasm and commitment are catching on. Neuschwander-Frink estimates that the Fairmont Aktion Club gained 10-12 new members after its last play. 

    The larger community has caught on as well — including those who took up Neuschwander-Frink on her offer back in 2008 to see what the Aktion Club members were doing. Now they have the answer: acting, singing, dancing, cheerleading, woodworking, ghostbusting and so much more. 

    They also see the advantage of finding what’s possible rather than presuming to know what isn’t.  

    “I think it’s really taught our community, the people who have seen our shows, about what people can do. Instead of always focusing on the things that people cannot do, what can people do together?” Neuschwander-Frink says. “So we really think of that as our service to the world.” 

    Collaborating with Kiwanis on Aktion Club Theatre, she adds, has been “wonderful.” Kiwanians have been engaged throughout the process, attending and advertising shows as well as providing a yearly donation.  

    “In Fairmont, we actually have a Kiwanian who comes to every single rehearsal,” she says. “They don’t ever miss. And it’s not like they have to come to every one of our rehearsals — but she chooses to do that.” 

    Get involved
    For Kiwanis clubs interested in sponsoring or supporting an Aktion Club Theatre group, Neuschwander-Frink recommends a first step: Look for a rehearsal and performance space that is fully accessible to people of all abilities. The second step is to find community partners — particularly disability advocacy organizations — to collaborate with.  

    The Mankato and Fairmont Aktion Club Theatres work with a nonprofit Neuschwander-Frink started called Open Arts Minnesota, which, she says, would be happy to provide resources to anyone interested.  

    Is your Kiwanis club interested in starting or sponsoring an Aktion Club? Learn more at aktionclub.org. 

    STEAM Fair sparks creativity and leadership

    STEAM Fair sparks creativity and leadership

    Feb 20, 2025 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Service Leadership Programs, Service projects | 0 comments

    A California Kiwanis club inspires students to pursue their dream careers in the sciences and arts 

    By Erin Chandler

    On September 28, 2024, the gymnasium of Diamond Bar High School in California, U.S., was science and technology central, with robotics and 3D printing demonstrations, drones, introductions to coding and more. Outside were performances from bands, the local Hawaiian School and a K-Pop dance cover crew. Booths from organizations like Mathnasium, the Society of Women Engineers, the Department of Public Works, and Curtiss-Wright Nuclear stood alongside those from the LA County Library and the Literacy Guild.  

    The Kiwanis Club of Diamond Bar Young Professionals’ second annual STEAM Fair was a true celebration of science, technology, engineering, the arts and math. 

    “I always stress STEAM,” says club president Roseangeli Ayson. “Because the ‘A,’ the arts, are just as important, and I think a lot of time people lose sight of that. I just think it makes the world better when all of those aspects are embraced.” 

    Clearly, the community agrees. Hundreds of kids flocked to the book giveaway; the reading/Lego corner; the stations for making bookmarks, slime and K-Pop photocards; the poetry readings; the face painting; and the sessions on professional development and college applications.  

    The event, Ayson says, is all about “exposing the kids to things that are of interest to them and sparking their creativity.” 

    A big idea
    Only a few years ago, the project seemed impossible. The club was about six years old and had fewer than 20 members.  

    “It was one of those things, like, ‘Maybe in the future that could be something,’” Ayson says. “‘One day when the club gets bigger.’” 

    Then, at a fundraising event, she was introduced to Gabe Aguilar, now an instructional dean at Diamond Bar High School and advisor for the school’s robotics club, Team Sprocket. Once they agreed that Team Sprocket would cohost the event, with the high school serving as a free venue, the whole endeavor seemed much more possible. 

    In the end, the first STEAM Fair came together in just six months. Members of the Kiwans Club of Diamond Bar Young Professionals called on family, college friends and coworkers to serve on the professional panels.  

    Students step up
    The real stars of the event were the high school students from Team Sprocket and other school clubs, plus members of Key Club Divisions 35 East and 35 West, and the Kiwin’s Goldstone Division of the Kiwanis California-Nevada-Hawaii District. 

    “A lot of times, we can’t hold our events without SLPs [Service Leadership Programs],” Ayson says. “I don’t have 50-60 Kiwanians to help me pull it off.” 

    The STEAM Fair offers its student volunteers all kinds of opportunities to grow as leaders. In the STEAM Fair’s second year, Ayson says, the students even joined the Kiwanians as leaders in organizing the project. 

    “With another year under their belt, some of the juniors, who are seniors this year, were a lot more involved in the planning, which is, I think, probably why the gym was better coordinated and had a lot more activities than last year.” 

    Among the new activities was a gallery of art made by local middle school students, a collaboration that highlighted another benefit of having Key Club members volunteer at events. They don’t just develop their own leadership skills — they also inspire younger attendees to follow in their footsteps.  

    “When the kids come and they see all the high schoolers helping out, it’s more fun,” Ayson says. “They’re a lot more interactive than us old-fogey Kiwanians.” 

    Inspiration and connection
    Ayson made sure to leave time in the teen volunteers’ shifts to enjoy the booths, performances and panels that interested them. While most of the STEAM Fair targets younger children who are still discovering their interests, it also offers career panels for high school students. 

    For some students, the fair was a chance to find mentors from their own communities who had “made good” in their chosen fields. For others, it was an opportunity for networking. One Key Club member who performed at the fair was scouted by a Friends of the Library board member to sing the national anthem at their annual toy drive. 

    Another student approached Ayson after a career panel that featured Academy Award-winning documentary director Martin Desmond Rowe and an author who had written about how to make money in a creative career. The student said she had been struggling with whether she could pursue her interest in photography professionally, but after the panel she felt more confident. 

    “Even if it was just that one person, we helped her see that her dream actually could happen,” Ayson says. 

    Looking to the future
    After its first year, the Kiwanis Club of Diamond Bar Young Professionals’ STEAM Fair was a top 10 finalist in the Kiwanis International Signature Project Contest and received a club grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. For other clubs looking to host similar events, Ayson recommends partnering with local high schools and extracurricular clubs.  

    Because the students are interested in and impacted by what the fair represents, Ayson says, “you get the buy-in right away.” 

    Ayson hopes to get a panelist from the Grammy Museum next year. The past two years have taught her that when the members want to do something, they can make it happen. 

    “We’re a small club,” she says, “but I feel like we’re a small-but-mighty club.”  

    How you can help
    If you want to support projects like the Kiwanis Club of Diamond Bar Young Professionals’ STEAM Fair, you can make a gift in support of The Possibilty Project.  

    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 can apply for a grant to help kids in your community.