Kiwanis clubs across three continents are empowering thousands of children and young people to become leaders thanks to club grants from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. This September’s club grant recipients know that the three Kiwanis causes — health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development — go hand in hand when it comes to serving children.  

The Kiwanis Children’s Fund makes grants that improve the lives of children around the world by identifying the projects that create a continuum of impact in a child’s life — one that spans their entire childhood and sets them up for a bright future. By funding projects that target the Kiwanis causes, whether through a Kiwanis club’s local service project or through a club’s partner, the Children’s Fund ensures that its grantmaking has the greatest possible impact.  

If you are interested in extending your and your club’s impact beyond your community by giving to the Children’s Fund or applying for a club grant, visit the Kiwanis Children’s Fund page.  

The five clubs that received club grants in September have tailored their projects to the specific needs of kids in their communities. By addressing the causes that affect them most — education, nutrition and physical fitness, and mental health — these clubs are helping kids grow into skilled and confident leaders.  

The Kiwanis clubs of Baños de Agua Santa in Tungurahua, Ecuador; Chu Chien City in Hsinchu, Taiwan; and Chuquiragua-Quito in Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador, will use their grants to pay for local students’ school supplies, including backpacks, books, notebooks and uniforms where necessary. All three clubs emphasize that, in a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact families’ livelihoods, these projects help keep vulnerable children and adolescents in school and ensure their future success in life.  
For all their similarities, each club is putting its own spin on its project. According to the Kiwanis Club of Chu Chien City, many of the elementary school students who benefit from their Talented Student Grant Schema also deal with food insecurity, especially those living in remote areas. For this reason, the students’ families can use a portion of their award money for food and other basic needs. As the project enters its second year, the club will use its grant from the Children’s Fund to expand its reach to support older students and their families as well.  

The Kiwanis Club of Chuquiragua-Quito focuses its support on girls in 15 high schools across the city of Quito. In addition to the scholarships that pay for school supplies, the club offers workshops led by professional psychologists who help the girls and their parents build self-esteem, leadership and communication skills, and prevent drug and alcohol abuse. The club is currently funding 71 scholarships for girls who show good academic performance and leadership skills but face unstable financial or family situations. The Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will finance five additional three-year scholarships, as well as three workshops — two for students and one for parents.  

The Kiwanis Club of Baños de Agua Santa is supplementing its project by addressing the physical and mental health of the students whose education they support. They are working with psychologists and the canton’s Council for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents to provide Training in Values workshops and mental health support as well as with the Red Cross for a food health program. The club says the project has been successful, as children who might have had to stay home to help their parents work in the fields or take care of younger siblings have been able to continue with their education.  

Like the club grant recipients in Ecuador and Taiwan, the Kiwanis Club of Florence in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., understands that children’s health — particularly mental health — is vital to their growth and their development as leaders. The club will use its grant from the Children’s Fund to hold a communitywide conference on the prevention of cyberbullying. Kids in the community will enter essay and poster contests, and guest speakers will raise awareness of the dangers of cyberbullying for young people at several local venues.  

In Taiwan, the Kiwanis Club of Inn Sing, Hsinchu, aims to help adolescents develop into leaders in a particularly innovative way — through a unicycle camp. The club is helping hundreds of young people in special education classes build their focus and concentration skills as they learn to control their body movements on unicycles. The club received so much positive feedback on their first unicycle camp last year that they are expanding the experience and hope to track children’s growth and progress over the years.  

HOW YOU CAN HELP  
 
The Kiwanis Children’s Fund amplifies Kiwanians' impact to reach children around the world through the Kiwanis causes of health and nutrition, education and literacy and youth leadership development. Make a gift or learn how your club can apply for a grant to help kids in your community.