Microgrants jumpstart kids’ futures

Microgrants jumpstart kids’ futures

From April through June, smaller clubs made a big impact through the Kiwanis Children’s Fund.

By Erin Chandler

In April, May and June, Kiwanis clubs around the world received Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants for small projects that make a big impact on kids and families. The following three projects highlight some of the ways Kiwanis clubs are using microgrants to give young people of all ages a promising start in the Kiwanis cause areas of education and literacy, health and nutrition, and youth leadership development. 

Youth leadership development
Anchor House New Jersey Furniture Need
Kiwanis Club of Greater Monroe, New Jersey, U.S.
In 2024, Anchor House reached out to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Monroe for help upgrading the furnishings in its shelters, which provide safe housing and supportive services for children and young adults who are or are at risk of experiencing abuse, neglect or homelessness. A comfortable, welcoming environment bolsters residents’ sense of self-worth and ability to reach their potential. A Children’s Fund microgrant will help the club replace pieces that are damaged or worn with new chairs and couches for the therapy room, recreation room and library.  

Education and literacy
Full STEAM Ahead!
Kiwanis Club of Clintwood, Virginia, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Clintwood and the Ridgeview High School Key Club will work together to get local kids ages 5-16 interested in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) with a monthly hands-on program. A Children’s Fund microgrant will help fund subscriptions to three age-appropriate KiwiCo kits, which contain projects that help kids build, learn and have fun at the same time. Club volunteers will take the kits to community after-school and summer programs that are struggling to fund enrichment activities for kids. They will also guide the children through each month’s activity, sparking the creativity and inventiveness of tomorrow’s scientists, artists and engineers. 

Health and nutrition
Kiwanis Stuff the Strand 2025
Kiwanis Club of Plattsburgh, New York, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Plattsburgh brings a touch of drama to its annual food drive. The goal of this 2025 Signature Project Contest Top 10 event is to fill each of the 901 seats in the local Strand Theatre (see photo) with an increased weight of food each year. In 2024, the goal was to collect 7 pounds of food per seat, and members collected 20 pounds! Corporate and seat sponsorships increase the amount of food the club can contribute. This year, a Children’s Fund microgrant will help purchase baby food and baby formula, which are expensive and rarely in stock at local food pantries. Baby items also will be worth more points in the contest to see who can contribute the most donations. 

How you can help
To learn more about Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants, visitkiwanis.org/microgrant-program.    

If you want to help the Children’s Fund provide grants like these that reach children around the world, you canmake a giftto The Possibility Project. Your club alsocanapply for a grantto help kids in your community today.

 

Key Club projects bring proms, plants and paint

Key Club projects bring proms, plants and paint

The Kiwanis Children’s Fund awarded 31 Youth Opportunities Fund grants to Key Clubs in April. 

By Erin Chandler 

This year, Key Club International is celebrating 100 years of making a difference in schools and communities around the world. The Kiwanis Children’s Fund established the Youth Opportunities Fund so Key Club leaders can continue taking action for the next 100 years and beyond.   

In April, the Children’s Fund awarded Youth Opportunities Fund grants for 31 Key Club projects that combat food insecurity, create memorable experiences for kids with disabilities, bolster mental health and more. Here are the top 10 projects (in alphabetical order by club name) as determined by the Key Club International Board committee and Children’s Fund representatives: 

Painting Palooza
Beckman High School Key Club, California, U.S.
Last year, with help from a Youth Opportunities Fund grant, Beckman High School Key Club’s adaptive, step-by-step art event was so successful that it’s coming back by popular demand — and with another YOF grant! The two-hour Painting Palooza is tailored to kids with autism and other special needs, with trained volunteers to assist, calm and guide young artists through creating their own paintings to take home. This year, the club hopes to make Painting Palooza bigger and better than ever, including additional side activities for the kids and an area where parents can socialize.  

Courtyard Renovation and Revitalization
Haslett High School Key Club, Michigan, U.S.
Haslett High School’s overgrown courtyard will get a new lease on life as an outdoor classroom thanks to the Key Club and a Youth Opportunities Fund grant. Working with Haslett High School’s Sustainability Club and National Honors Society, as well as Haslett Middle School’s Builders Club and Conservation Club, Key Club members will level the area, fill in a pond, cultivate a native plant and pollinator garden, and install seating so students and teachers can use the courtyard to hold classes, study and socialize. Grant funds will help purchase grass seed, mulch, picnic table kits and plants. 

Teens Toward Zero Deaths
Lincoln Senior High School Key Club, Minnesota, U.S.
The Lincoln Senior High School Key Club works with the local chapter of Toward Zero Deaths to get teens involved in promoting traffic safety and eliminating mental health stigmas. The club hosts an annual conference where hundreds of teens actively participate in discussions with law enforcement, drug task forces, first responders, healthcare workers, engineers, funeral directors and mental health professionals to help shape policies and strategies to reduce fatalities in the community. A Youth Opportunities Fund grant will support this growing conference, expanded programming for fifth- and eighth-grade students, and stickers and signs to help spread safety awareness. 

Cotton Candy for Mental Health Awareness
Los Alamos High School Key Club, New Mexico, U.S.
The Los Alamos High School Key Club — with help from the Los Alamos Middle School Builders Club — is known in the community for spinning and selling cotton candy at Friday night concerts in the summer. Members have already raised thousands of dollars in recent years for a fentanyl harm reduction event, distribution of overdose-reversing medication and wildfire relief. This year, a Youth Opportunities Fund grant will go toward the purchase of new candy machines, floss sugar and other supplies so the club can sell their sugary wares at more events. Next they will raise money for mental health and stress awareness programs for middle and high school students. 

Tiny Seeds, Big Impact
Metro Early College High School Key Club, Ohio, U.S.
Members of the Metro Early College High School Key Club will work to address food insecurity in their own community with their “Tiny Seeds, Big Impact” project. A Youth Opportunities Fund grant will go toward the purchase of enough seeds and pots to grow approximately 144 tomato plants. Club members will be responsible for potting, watering and transplanting the growing plants, as well as providing written instructions for continued care. At the end of the school year, local food pantry Neighborhood Services, Inc. will distribute the plants to people facing food insecurity, giving hundreds access to fresh tomatoes.  

Rise Against Hunger Event
Monsignor Kelly High School Key Club, Texas, U.S.
A Youth Opportunities Fund grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund will help cover the fees for a Rise Against Hunger event in the Monsignor Kelly High School gym, hosted by the school’s Key Club. In February, volunteers from the school and community will gather to package 10,000 meals of rice, soy, vegetables and vitamins for those experiencing food insecurity around the world. Over several hours, the volunteers will race to see who can package the most meals while facilitators from Rise Against Hunger educate them about the effects of global hunger and malnutrition. 

Special Needs Prom
Pell City High School Key Club, Alabama, U.S.
Once again, the Pell City High School Key Club is holding a prom for students with disabilities who might not be able to attend a traditional prom. And once again, a Youth Opportunities Fund grant will help make it bigger and better than ever — expanding to include students from other area schools; increasing accessibility with noise-canceling headphones and sensory-friendly spaces; and providing more decorations, refreshments and photo opportunities. Volunteers from Key Club and Circle K International also will be trained to offer support as “peer buddies” for attendees, ensuring a fun evening where everyone belongs. 

Senior Prom for Seniors
Saint Joseph High School Key Club, Michigan, U.S.
No, that project name isn’t redundant — every spring, the Saint Joseph High School Key Club gives residents at a local retirement home the chance to relive their high school proms. A Youth Opportunities Fund grant will help the club bring in a band, dance floor, refreshments, door prizes, pictures and a chocolate fountain. Then it’s time for intergenerational bonding as senior citizens and Key Club volunteers don their finest, dance the night away and, of course, crown a prom king and queen. The project has been so successful that Key Club members have gone on to be regular volunteers at the retirement home and launched a project to record residents’ life stories. 

Bundles of Joy
St. Joseph’s Convent Key Club, Saint Lucia
More babies will have a healthy start in life thanks to the Key Club of St. Joseph’s Convent. A Youth Opportunities Fund grant will help the club purchase essential newborn care supplies — diapers, wipes, blankets, onesies, bottles, formula and more — that will go into care packages for new parents at the hospital. In a time when Saint Lucia’s hospitals are facing financial constraints, club members hope their care packages will ensure babies get the care they need, support new parents and reduce stress on healthcare workers. 

Empowerment Through Care — Strathmore Children’s Home Initiative
York Castle High School Key Club, Saint Ann, Jamaica
The members of York Castle High School Key Club are reaching out to help vulnerable children in their community with support from a Youth Opportunities Fund grant. The club pledges to revitalize Strathmore Children’s Home with new security gates, paint, tiles and a community garden. Members also will provide essential supplies such as food and hygiene products. Altogether, this initiative will make Strathmore Children’s Home a safer and more welcoming place for residents and staff for years to come. 

How to get involved
Does your Key Club have a project idea that could benefit from a Youth Opportunities Fund grant?Learn more about the grantand how to apply. If your club does not yet sponsor a Key Club,discover the advantages of chartering one. 

Grants support therapeutic care for kids

Grants support therapeutic care for kids

Kiwanis Children’s Fund grants for pediatric medicine will help two clubs aid hospital renovations.

By Erin Chandler 

This year, the Kiwanis Children’s Fund awarded pediatric medicine support grants to two Kiwanis clubs that are helping local hospitals better serve their communities’ children. The support these grants provide allows Kiwanis clubs and medical centers to unite in making sure all kids get the best possible care for their physical, mental and emotional health. 

Harrison Kiwanis Pediatric Therapy Sensory Gym
Kiwanis Club of Harrison, Arkansas, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Harrison will use its pediatric medicine support grant to create a pediatric therapy sensory gym that will allow thousands of kids across five counties to develop physical and emotional resilience in a safe environment. North Arkansas Regional Medical Center’s current pediatric therapy service area is a former employee gym with only flimsy, makeshift barriers to divide the room and large exterior-facing windows that compromise privacy. It is also too small to accommodate the growing need for its vital therapeutic services. The club will equip a new sensory gym with swings, climbing structures, balance beams, trampolines, tactile stations, sensory play areas and padded flooring. The whole gym will be accessible to kids of all abilities. The equipment is designed to help children who have sensory processing disorders, autism, ADHD and developmental disorders hone their coordination and motor skills, regulate stress, foster independence and communicate with others — and, of course, have fun. 

Broomfield Pediatric Mental Health Project
Kiwanis Club of Anthem Ranch, Colorado, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Anthem Ranch may be based in a community built for those 55 and older, but club members’ focus is on improving mental healthcare for children and teens. The club consulted with staff at Children’s Hospital Colorado North Campus in Broomfield to determine how they could help efforts already underway to move past a dated model of mental healthcare — one that can increase patients’ fear and stress — to a more humane, individualized and effective one. A pediatric medicine support grant will help to create a positive, therapeutic environment in the renovated mental health unit, with murals, rocking bouncy chairs, weighted blankets, stuffed animals and sensory toys, and “psych safe” handles, windows, ceilings and other fixtures designed to prevent self-harm. In the past 10 years, 80% of Colorado’s mental health facilities have closed, but the redesigned Children’s Hospital will accommodate hundreds more children. And they’ll be helped by volunteers from the Anthem Ranch Kiwanis Club, who are dedicated to serving this worthy cause in any way they can. 

How do I apply for a pediatric medicine support grant?
The Pediatric Medicine Support Grant Program offers onetime grants for clubs to fund projects that specifically support local children’s medical centers. Grant money can be used to purchase products or supplies for patients’ hospital stays or to support a capital improvement project.  

You can learn more and apply for a Pediatric Medicine Support Grant on the Kiwanis website. For more information about the Kiwanis Children’s Fund, visit kiwanis.org/childrensfund.