A corporate member helps reach young people with vision impairments.

By Julie Saetre

In Florida, U.S., the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis Club has long supported Lighthouse of Southwest Florida, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering people of all ages who live with visual impairments or blindness. In fact, Lighthouse is a corporate member of the club — which means that a representative of its choice attends club meetings, service projects and fundraisers. 

“We have been partners with Lighthouse for many years,” says Rachel Toomey, public relations chair for the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor club. “One of our club members, Kate Smiley, has been inspired through that work to also serve on the Lighthouse board of directors.” 

This year, Smiley led a club effort to provide Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which incorporate artificial-intelligence (AI) technology, to the young people whom Lighthouse serves. Initial users of these high-tech accessories were consumers who embraced the opportunity to take photos, record videos and stream music without a cell phone in hand. But it quickly became apparent that the glasses — equipped with a built-in camera and multi-microphone array — could be even more impactful for people with visual impairments or blindness. 

The AI component of the glasses can describe surroundings, read text, identify objects and more. As a result, the glasses can help a visually impaired or blind person read mail and email, menus, clothing labels, expiration dates and other components of daily life that others take for granted. The glasses also can identify objects, describe surroundings, help users navigate a room and more. 

Seeing possibilities
As the prices of Ray-Ban Meta glasses became more affordable — core entry-level versions now start around US$299 — Smiley saw possibilities for a collaboration. A $3,5000 grant from the Florida Kiwanis Foundation enabled the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor club to purchase 10 Ray-Ban Meta glasses. 

Teens at Lighthouse who use the glasses report that they have become more connected to family and friends — in part because the technology helps them take and post photos and videos for social media and communicate more easily through phone calls. 

“One teen previously could only read one side of a book because of her low vision,” explains Toomey. “But with the glasses, she can now read independently.” 

With a simple voice command, young people using the glasses also have the opportunity to connect with a live volunteer 24/7 through the Be My Eyes app. Calls through the app are unlimited, anonymous and available in over 150 countries, offering more personalization when AI isn’t sufficient. 

After Lighthouse distributed the glasses, an organization representative visited the Kiwanis club to share recipients’ reactions via a video and describe the immediate impact. Some club members were so inspired that they donated personal funds for the purchase of additional glasses. 

“This agency doesn’t just scratch the surface when it comes to helping those that are visually impaired and/or blind,” says Kim Berghs, secretary/treasurer of the Metro-McGregor club. “They’re always finding new and innovative ways to help this population. It’s been a wonderful partnership, and we love having the agency as a corporate member of our club.” 

About corporate membership
Does your club have a corporate member that creates partnerships that expand your impact? Let us know by emailing [email protected].  

No corporate members yet? Learn more — and find out how to get your free “Join Us” brochure and insert.

These Kiwanis club initiatives offer ideas and inspiration. 

By Julie Saetre

For many Kiwanis clubs, service to children starts at the very beginning of life. After all, the first months and years set the tone for all that follows. And helping new parents is one way of helping newborns. If your club is looking for ways to support babies and their families, here are a few ways that other clubs have done it: 

• Provide safe sleep or host a diaper drive. Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit organization working to reduce preventable injuries to infants, children and youth up to 19, reports that nearly 3,500 infants die each year in the United States alone from sleep-related incidents. Florida Kiwanis members purchase and donate portable cribs, fitted crib sheets and wearable blankets to provide families with safe sleeping options for their babies. And because diapers and other supplies can pose a significant financial burden to families of young children, Florida Kiwanians hold diaper drives for Healthy Families Florida, a nationally accredited home visiting program for expectant parents and parents of newborns experiencing stressful life situations. 
• Donate at a maternity ward. On Christmas Day each year, members of Kiwanis International Division 23 East in Jamaica visit moms and new babies in the maternity ward of a local hospital. It’s all part of the division’s Baby Love project, which has been praised by Jamaica’s minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Christopher Tufton. In 2025, the Kiwanians delivered 61 gift baskets to Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston — one for each mom in the ward.  
• Collect baby wipes. In February 2026, the Kiwanis Clubs of Bend and Redmond engaged in the Battle of the Buns — a friendly competition to collect baby wipes for families in need. All collected wipes were donated to Central Oregon Baby Resources, which distributes essential items to families throughout a three-county area.“The biggest concern is always going to be for [their] children and making sure they have what they need,” Central Oregon Baby Resources founder and director Kiersten Moen-Wertheimer told Central Oregon Daily News during the drive. “Once we get that taken care of, then they can focus on what they really need to focus on, whether it’s getting a job [or] going to school.” 
• Host a community baby shower. For the past 11 years, the Kiwanis Club of Newburgh in New York, U.S., has held its Warm Beginnings baby shower. The club asks for donations of diapers, wipes, baby blankets and clothing — as well as items such as toys, books, bathing items, breast pumps and baby monitors. All donated items are given to a local hospital’s maternity and neonatal intensive care units. By relieving some of the financial stress of having a newborn, the Newburgh club allows families to focus on what’s really important: bonding with their babies. 

Looking for more ideas? Explore one of these:  

• Knit baby blankets or booties for newborns at an area hospital. 
• Interview parenting experts and distribute parenting-tip worksheets to organizations helping inexperienced moms and dads. 
• Provide new slow cookers, healthful recipes and pantry staples to families in need. 
• Donate new or gently used board books for babies to groups supporting new moms. 

And don’t forget about The Possibility Project. Many projects and initiatives like the ones above happen because people give to the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. See what’s possible when you and your club join our fundraising campaign to help Kiwanis reach 10 million kids around the world.