Grants help CKI take on new projects

Grants help CKI take on new projects

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

Eight 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 eight Tomorrow Fund grants — all to help launch brand-new projects with five CKI clubs and three districts. 

Happy Halloween Project
Circle K International of Baldwin Wallace University, Ohio, U.S.
Halloween is a Kiwanis family holiday for Baldwin Wallace University CKI. The club teams up with the Kiwanis Club of Middleburg Heights, the Berea-Midpark High School Key Club and the Berea-Midpark Middle School Builders Club to fill over 900 bags with candy and healthy treats. The Kiwanis club distributes 800 of the bags to local food pantries, while the CKI club takes 100 bags to the elderly residents of Generation Living Center. A Tomorrow Fund grant will help purchase the healthy Halloween treats for the bags and refreshments for volunteers. 

Six-Cycle K Program: Read. Lead. Succeed.
Circle K International of Maryhill College, Quezon Province, Philippines
A Tomorrow Fund grant will help Maryhill College CKI establish and equip a reading hub — an accessible learning space where children can practice reading, borrow books and engage in literacy-enriching classes and activities. The hub is part of the club’s larger literacy initiative, which aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for education and literacy.  

Care Without Conditions
Circle K International of Northern Arizona University, Arizona, U.S.
Members of Northern Arizona University CKI aim to help the unhoused population in their community — including fellow students — by assembling and distributing care packages containing hygiene products, nonperishable snacks, socks, bottled water and more. Each package also will include a handmade card and a guide to local resources like shelters, food banks and healthcare services. Club members hope the care packages will bridge the gap between people experiencing homelessness and the larger university community. 

Birthday in a Box
Circle K International of Stockton University, New Jersey, U.S.
Stockton University CKI wants to give everyone in the community a chance to celebrate their birthday. A Tomorrow Fund grant will help club members assemble at least 50 birthday kits containing cake mix, frosting, a disposable cake pan, balloons, ribbons, stickers and a handmade birthday card, all of which they will deliver to local food pantries. The project will ensure that those facing food insecurity do not have to choose between purchasing meals for the week and making a loved one’s birthday special. 

Mama & Me Literacy Lounge
Circle K International of the University of Technology, Jamaica
University of Technology CKI is establishing a reading nook for mothers and babies at Mary’s Child, a home for teenage moms in crisis. This “literacy lounge” will give approximately 25 teens and 25 children each year access to parenting and special needs resources, as well as books that will boost early childhood literacy and maternal mental health. The club also will support regular reading sessions and workshops to foster bonds between mothers and children. 

Governor’s Project
Circle K International Caribbean District
A Tomorrow Fund grant will help the Caribbean District of CKI set up a community library and computer resource center inside a school or community center in an underserved area of Jamaica. The district hopes that access to books and computers will promote and support lifelong learning for everyone from young children gaining basic literacy skills to adults seeking employment. If successful, the project will expand to more locations across the Caribbean. 

What’s In My Meal?
Circle K International Florida District
During the Florida District’s 2025 Leadership Training Conference, CKI and Kiwanis club members will come together to assemble 120 “healthy food kits.” A Tomorrow Fund grant will help fill the kits with toy foods, games, aprons, printed placemats and information sheets to help kids and families learn how to create balanced, healthy meals — even on a tight budget. Clubs will take the kits back to their communities to be distributed through schools to kids in low-income households. 

One Family
Circle K International New England District
Members of the CKI New England District connect with their communities by visiting the residents of local senior centers. At this year’s district convention, they will join Kiwanis club members in making care packages with items like tissues, lip balm and hand lotion — along with hand-written notes that they will take to seniors in their hometowns. A Tomorrow Fund grant will double the number of care packages that convention-goers can make from 1,200 to 2,400. 

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.    

Why sponsor a Kiwanis SLP club? 

Why sponsor a Kiwanis SLP club? 

Oct 15, 2025 | General interest, Service Leadership Programs | 0 comments

For Kiwanis clubs considering service and mentorship, check out these reasons to get started. 

By Tony Knoderer

Now that the 2025-26 Kiwanis year is underway, you and your fellow club members may be discussing whether to sponsor one of our Service Leadership Programs (SLPs). There’s no shortage of great reasons to do so — whether for the first time or as a way of expanding your mentorship to new age groups and locations.

Need help convincing fellow members? According to multiple studies — and Kiwanians’ own experiences — students who volunteer: 

  • Tend to get higher grades. 
  • Improve their social and emotional health. 
  • Strengthen their ties to other youth and adults. 
  • Feel connected to the larger community — and motivated to contribute to it. 
  • Develop leadership abilities that lead to better employment opportunities. 
  • Have better awareness and understanding of public issues. 
  • Get more first-hand experience of diverse cultures and communities. 

By sponsoring and working with Kiwanis SLPs, clubs and members help fulfill a Kiwanis cause: youth leadership development. As members of SLP clubs, students make an impact in the lives of others — and develop skills and self-discipline alongside like-minded peers.

Kiwanis SLPs include K-Kids for students ages 6-12, Builders Club for students ages 11-14, and Key Club for students ages 14-19. Our SLP members also include adults: Circle K International for university and college students, as well as Aktion Club for adults with disabilities. 

 From elementary school to young adulthood, service matters — and so do mentors. Advisors to SLP clubs are models for the benefits of service and fellowship throughout a person’s life. Learn more and find links to each SLP on the Kiwanis website. 

5 things to discover in the new Key Club book

5 things to discover in the new Key Club book

Aug 13, 2025 | General interest, News, Service Leadership Programs | 0 comments

Find out what’s inside “A Century of Service,” the new book celebrating Key Club’s 100th anniversary.

By Erin Chandler 

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Key Club in 2025, we decided to create something big: a hardcover “coffee-table” book full of pictures and fun facts spanning Key Club’s entire first century! “A Century of Service” is available for purchase now in the Kiwanis Family Store. 

Here are five things you can look forward to seeing in the Key Club centennial book: 

  • Key Club history. Have you ever wondered exactly when and how Key Club got started? Who the Nininger Award was named for? When women first joined Key Club — and how they participated in service projects and conventions before that? All those answers and more can be found in the book’s timeline, profiles of Key Club heroes, lists of award recipients and tons of photos that give glimpses into Key Club history. 
  • Evolving fashion. You only have to look at the gallery of past Key Club presidents to see how trends have come and gone. Behold how the excessive use of hair products in the 1940s gives way to the crew cuts of the 1950s, only to return in the first decade of the 2000s. Judge which era boasted the snazziest neckties. Compare the style of a 1978 dance marathon to one in 2012. Photos of vintage Key Club pins, sweaters and hats also appear throughout the book. In Chapter 4, you can even count the cowboy hats that have appeared at Key Club conventions — the one accessory that spans the decades! 
  • Interesting service projects. In our collection of photographs, you’ll see which Key Club projects are truly timeless — clothing, food and book drives, for example — and which are rooted in a specific time and place — like participating in telethons. You’ll even find some unusual projects, such as cleaning a decommissioned battleship or dressing like superheroes for a holiday party. Maybe you’ll get inspiration for your next big Key Club or Kiwanis family project! 
  • Celebrity cameos. Key Club’s dedication to service has drawn its share of celebrity attention over the years. In addition to notable Key Club alumni, including two U.S. Senators and current “Today” cohost Craig Melvin, the eagle-eyed reader will spot photos of comedians Soupy Sales and Jerry Lewis, actresses Kim Novak and Ginny Sims, First Lady Nancy Reagan, singer Pat Boone, astronaut John Glenn, boxer Jack Dempsey and gymnast Laurie Hernandez. See if you can find them all! 
  • YOU? Paging through photos from 100 years of service, conventions, chartering ceremonies and more, it’s just possible that you might see yourself, a friend or a family member! There’s only one way to find out: Purchase your copy of “A Century of Service.”