UNICEF announces MNT elimination in Guinea

UNICEF announces MNT elimination in Guinea

Jun 20, 2024 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund | 0 comments

With help from organizations including Kiwanis, Guinea is the latest country to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.

By Erin Chandler

Kiwanis International joins UNICEF and people around the world in celebrating the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) in Guinea. In May 2024, just one month after UNICEF confirmed MNT elimination in Mali, Guinea became the 49th country to achieve MNT elimination out of the priority countries identified in 1999. 

MNT is a painful and deadly disease that disproportionately affects areas where poverty, lack of education and inadequate health infrastructure make unhygienic birth practices more common. Kiwanis partnered with UNICEF in its global campaign to eliminate MNT in 2010, focusing on countries with more than one case of neonatal tetanus per 1,000 live births. Since then, twenty-nine priority countries have achieved MNT elimination status, significantly dropping the number of newborn deaths from tetanus. Now, MNT poses a significant threat in only 10 remaining priority countries. 

In 2023, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund granted US$275,000 to UNICEF USA to help facilitate mass tetanus vaccination campaigns for women of reproductive age in countries such as Guinea, Pakistan and Yemen. The grant also funded the assessments and surveys that validated the elimination of MNT in Guinea, and it will continue to strengthen the country’s health systems to ensure that MNT does not return in the future. 

Support for UNICEF’S fight against MNT is just one way Kiwanis has furthered the cause of children’s health around the world. Throughout the year, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awards grants to clubs across the globe — like the Kiwanis Club of Lalbandi, which is working to provide autism screenings and therapies for families in Nepal; the Kiwanis Club of Libertad, which is helping to create a nutrition program at a primary school in Panama; and the Kiwanis Club of Wentzville, which is part of a partnership to build beds for kids who need them in Missouri, U.S. 

You can make a gift to the Children’s Fund today to make a healthier world possible for kids everywhere.  

Tips for taking powerful photos 

Tips for taking powerful photos 

Jun 18, 2024 | General interest, News | 0 comments

To improve your images from ho-hum to high impact, use these five suggestions for your club’s next project or event. 

By Julie Saetre

Whether you want to boost the power of your club’s social media posts or spotlight its achievements through a showcase exhibit, well-composed photos make all the difference. Vibrant images show what Kiwanis club members do and who they serve. To take your photos from ho-hum to high impact, incorporate these five tips into your next snapshot session: 

  • Plan ahead. What story do you want your photo to tell? How do you want viewers to react? 
  • Be polite. Don’t just start snapping photos of someone. Talk to your subject in a conversational tone and ask if you can take the photo. 
  • Think active, not passive. If your club is hosting an event to shop with kids or distribute school supplies, photograph a child trying on a new coat or exploring the contents of a backpack. A photo of club members lined up before the event won’t be meaningful to your audience. 
  • Experiment with angles. Take a wide view of the room or event space, then try a few closeups of faces. Get down to eye view by kneeling. Move closer to your subject and avoid shooting down at them — you’re more likely to get a genuine expression. Play with perspectives and see which images you like best. 
  • Keep it simple. If you’re shooting a portrait, choose an uncluttered background. Avoid trees or items that appear to “grow” from behind a subject’s head. Don’t use the flash function if possible. Seek natural light and avoid shadows. Ask your subject to move forward from a backdrop, banner or poster. Don’t have a person stand straight against a wall. You want a memorable image, not a mug shot.
Service and cheesecake forge an international friendship 

Service and cheesecake forge an international friendship 

Jun 17, 2024 | Fundraising, General interest | 0 comments

The Kiwanis name brings a German club and an American-style café together to serve their community.

By Erin Chandler

Kiwanis is a truly international organization — and it brings people together all over the world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in a small New York-style cheesecake café in the city of Hamburg, Germany. 

It all began when Peter Keller, then president-elect of the Kiwanis Club of Hamburg, walked into Jeff’s Cheesecake one day in 2023 and struck up a conversation with the owner, Jeff Alpert.  

When Keller mentioned his involvement with Kiwanis, he says, “Jeff laughed — he knew Kiwanis.” 

Alpert, who is from New York, U.S., has fond memories of being invited to play at the local Kiwanis club’s meetings as a student at the New York State Music Camp. “Other than that,” he says, “Kiwanis has a sign upon entering many city and town limits in the U.S. I guess it’s impossible to live in the U.S. and not have heard of Kiwanis.” 

At the time, the Kiwanis Club of Hamburg was looking for a new place to meet on Saturday mornings. Jeff’s Cheesecake is usually closed at that time, but Alpert quickly agreed to open the café and outdoor pavilion for the meeting — which concluded with two cheesecakes topped with the word “Kiwanis.” 

“This was the beginning of a friendship between the Kiwanis Club of Hamburg and Jeff,” Keller says. 

The friendship between the club and the café grew in January. Because of its location in a city park where business often hinges on the weather, Jeff’s Cheesecake usually closes for a “winter break.” Keller proposed that the Kiwanians take over the space to run a mulled wine stand, and Alpert responded with what Keller calls his “typical reaction: ‘Of course, for a good cause, always.’” 

The stand was a success, serving as a perfect opportunity to raise funds for local children’s programs and spread the word about Kiwanis in the community. 

“Peter now has a set of keys to the café and has become part of our café family. And through him, Kiwanis,” Alpert says. “With the current state of the world as it is, we are happy to do our part to help children who are in need in any way we can. I’m sure this is only the beginning of a long-lasting relationship.” 

In fact, the Kiwanis Club of Hamburg and Jeff’s Cheesecake already have their next joint event planned: a jam session for the club and Alpert’s jazz trio. 

Who would have thought that an American fulfilling his dream of selling delicious cheesecake in Germany and a German helping kids in his community through a U.S.-based service organization would make such great music together? But that’s the power of Kiwanis to form international bonds.