Microgrants touch lives with art and learning
From April through June, smaller clubs made a big impact through the Kiwanis Children’s Fund.
Por Erin Chandler
In April, May and June, 12 Kiwanis clubs received microgrants thanks to a Kiwanis Children’s Fund program that awards grants of US$250-$1,000 to clubs with 35 or fewer members. The following three projects highlight some of the ways Kiwanis clubs are using microgrants to touch kids’ lives through learning and self-expression in each of the Kiwanis cause areas: education and literacy, health and nutrition, and youth leadership development.
Health and nutrition
Healing HeARTS
Kiwanis Club of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, U.S.
Members of the Kiwanis Club of Cherry Hill plan to personally source, sort and assemble “therapeutic comfort care kits” for patients at Jefferson Hospital’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit (CAPU). The contents of the kits — including high-quality art supplies like washable paints, sketch pads and clay; coloring supplies; guided journals; sensory items and games — will be based on a “wish list” provided by CAPU’s clinical staff. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant, the club’s fundraising budget, community partners and an annual “Art & Joy” community drive will continually replenish the supplies. The goal is for every young person admitted or waiting for admission to CAPU to have immediate and ongoing access to healthy tools for emotional processing, stress and anxiety reduction, social connection and self-expression. In just six months, the project aims to help over 200 children in their recovery and transition back into their communities.
Education and literacy
Backpacks of Hope
Kiwanis Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle, Illinois, U.S.
A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant helped the Kiwanis Club of Bloomingdale-Roselle fill 48 backpacks with school supplies. The club holds an annual packing event to fill the backpacks ahead of each new school year. To distribute the backpacks to kids who will need them most, the club partnered with Fill a Heart 4 Kids, a nonprofit organization that works with teachers and social workers across 85 schools and social service agencies in the Chicago area. In this way, the Bloomingdale-Roselle Kiwanians contributed to Fill A Heart 4 Kids’ effort to deliver over 50,000 backpacks to kids experiencing homelessness, foster care or extreme poverty. Club members even placed colorful, encouraging notes into each backpack.
Youth leadership development
Project Aktion in Action
Kiwanis Club of Athens, Georgia, U.S.
With help from a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant — and partnership with the Aktion Club it sponsors — the Kiwanis Club of Athens will bring books focused on social-emotional learning to 150 children in elementary school special education classrooms across the county. The first book, which is written by a special education teacher, helps kids recognize and label emotions, use coping strategies, and develop empathy and problem-solving skills. Members of the Athens Kiwanis club and Aktion Club will join the author in visiting schools to read the book to students. Each student will then get a copy of the book. The club hopes the project will encourage literacy while building confidence, self-expression and the ability to navigate challenges.
How you can help
To learn more about Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants, visit kiwanis.org/microgrant-program.
Si quieres ayudar al Fondo para la Infancia a proporcionar subvenciones estas que llegan a niños de todo el mundo, puedes hacer una donación al Proyecto Posibilidad de Kiwanis. Su club también puede solicitar una subvención para ayudar a los niños de su comunidad hoy mismo.
