Aktion Clubs take center stage

Aktion Clubs take center stage

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

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 canapply for a grantto help kids in your community. 

Instant impact in Ironton

Instant impact in Ironton

A new club in Ohio, U.S., is gaining members and stature in its community. 

By Tony Knoderer

It’s been less than a year and a half since the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ironton, Ohio, U.S., held its first meeting, but its members have already figured out a few things about attracting new members — and becoming an integral part of the community. 

Rather than reinventing the wheel, the club relied on some tried-and-true concepts. An ambitious fundraising project. Community partnerships. Chartering and sponsorship of a local Kiwanis youth program. In general, an attention to needs and opportunities, and the ability to act on them. 

When the Ironton Kiwanians sought out members for the new club, they used local and online means to get people’s attention. But they also benefited from one of the simplest methods of all. 

“For me,” says club member Brad Bear, “it was because I was asked. Someone showed up. I had been sort of laterally involved with other groups, but no one actually asked me.”      

A simple pitch
While Bear joined because of what he calls the club’s “door-to-door” recruiting, he and his fellow members also credit Kathy Moylan, a Kiwanian and an area coordinator, for setting up a public meeting in September 2023 for people interested in volunteer service.  

“I saw a post on social media,” says Sasha Riley, now the club’s treasurer. “When I looked into Kiwanis, I saw it was about serving children. I have a teenager and a preteen, and there wasn’t a lot in Ironton at the time where you could give back to kids in the community.” 

In turn, Riley invited Stephan Harris — who is now the club’s president-elect.  

“I had moved here not long before I started (with the club),” Harris says. “I had been in a Kiwanis club about 10 to 12 miles down the (Ohio) river, so I wanted to get involved. And I didn’t know that many people here at the time.” 

He and Riley both smile when she recalls her pitch to him: “I said, ‘I know a great way for you to meet people.’” 

Raising funds for students
Another effective way to get people’s attention, of course, is to work with local schools and do big things for their students. Last year, the Ironton club made an impact by helping Open Door School, a local educational facility that offers services for students whose developmental disabilities are difficult for local schools to accommodate.  

Specifically, the club helped raise US$9,000 to help Open Door update its playground and add new swing sets. 

“The principal had been aware of Kiwanis, and she reached out,” says Sean Davis, current club president. “So we did an onsite visit and listened.” 

It was an especially memorable moment for Stephan Harris.  

“My first meeting was when we saw the plans and the pricing,” he says. “It’s an ongoing project, and we had a chance to help accomplish the first phase.” 

In addition, the club intends to help with the upkeep of the mulch around the new swing sets every year — with the club’s annual pancake-breakfast event to help with the cost. 

Personal connection
The Ironton club’s work with the local educational community didn’t stop there. Like many new clubs, they have used Kiwanis Service Leadership Programs to connect with kids and educators alike — and to serve in ways that expand the Kiwanis family. 

For instance, the club is currently working through the chartering process for a new Key Club at Ironton High School.  

“Our goal was to reach out to the school and get the ball rolling,” says club president Davis. “Sasha really took the reins. She educated herself and made it happen.” 

Riley herself says the potential for a local Key Club was “the reason I joined Kiwanis.” 

As so often with Kiwanians, a personal connection sparked the initial interest: Riley’s daughter is a student at Ironton High School. In fact, she’s a member of the school’s color guard. As a result, Riley became aware of a need — and that need became a club opportunity.  

When the Ironton High School football team was competing for the state championship, members of the marching band and the color guard got to go with them to Canton, where the finals were played. One catch: Arrangements had been made for the football team to be fed there, but not the others. The club helped fund their meals by raffling game tickets. 

For a new club, it was a small but effective way of getting members involved in the community and putting the club’s name into view. 

“Our club has done a lot of work getting members out there and networking,” Davis says. 

Quite a year
Club members have volunteered at traditional community events, such as a local farmers market, but last November they also showed up at the Ironton WizardFest — an event that attracts thousands of people.  

“It’s for the kind of people who love the Harry Potter books and movies,” says Brad Bear, whose involvement with the event made it a natural selling point to his club. “At some point I realized we had more people in our club than were volunteering at this 7,000-person event. You can make yourself visible really quickly. For us, it was a way to make people aware of Kiwanis and what we do. It was a win/win for everyone.” 

It was just one of the moments that made 2024 “quite a year,” says club president Davis. “We went from meeting once a month to weekly, and we talked about having a guest speaker every other meeting. It’s going pretty well.” 

One key, he adds, is to focus on speakers who are “geared toward serving youth, or at least civic-adjacent.” That includes guests who speak about topics such as food insecurity or work with local branches of programs such as Boys & Girls Clubs and Big Brothers Big Sisters. 

“We keep it topical,” Harris says. “It’s not just a new business selling its products.”  

A culture of engagement
Located in southern Ohio, near the Ohio River — and near the convergence of Ohio’s border with those of the U.S. states of Kentucky and West Virginia — Ironton offers access to a larger culture of civic engagement. For instance, the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ironton has participated in a quarterly meeting in which members of various volunteer organizations talk about themselves and what they do. The Ironton club even got two new members from the event in December, according to Davis. 

The club is particularly looking forward to a “megamixer” in the spring, when Kiwanians can discuss their collective potential impact with members of Lions Clubs, Rotary clubs and others. 

Ironton Kiwanians have already seen how powerfully that potential can turn into reality. In November 2024, they worked with two other Kiwanis clubs from Ashland, Kentucky, U.S., as part of a meal-packing project. In one night, the volunteers cumulatively packed 35,000 meals for kids. 

“That was a big thing for us,” says Harris. “It showed that our service doesn’t stop at the river.” 

Resources for your club
Looking for ways to increase your club’s visibility? Read how important it is to tell your club’s story — and to get the Kiwanis resources that help make it happen. You can also check out how a few Achieving Club Excellence tools can help.