News

Top awards given in 2020 Signature Project Contest

| Jun 17, 2020

Thousands of Kiwanis clubs help millions of kids every year. Signature projects are the hallmarks of that Kiwanis service. They can be playgrounds, parks, festivals, literacy mentoring, health and wellness events, fundraisers and anything in between. Every year, Kiwanis International recognizes the best signature projects throughout the world.

This year, the Kiwanis International Board split the entries into two tiers to recognize the differences between small and large clubs. Tier I is for clubs with 27 or fewer members and Tier II for clubs with more than 28 members. The board made the changes based on feedback from members.

More than 350 clubs submitted their entries to the districts and the districts selected the entries for the Kiwanis International contest. This year, 155 Tier I projects and 212 Tier II projects were submitted.

The Kiwanis International Board of Trustees Committee on Service and Partnerships selected the top 10 in each tier. Additionally, the judges selected the gold, silver and bronze winners for each tier. These projects best meet the Signature Project criteria of being a recurring event; enhancing the Kiwanis image; making a significant impact on the community and strengthening membership and partnership opportunities.

GOLD — TIER I	Florida District, Kiwanis Club of Ormond Beach, Kiwanis READS! Summer Reading Challenge
	The Kiwanis Club of Ormond Beach is creating energetic and passionate readers by building home and classroom libraries. So far, the club has provided 2,319 books to students and teachers at a local elementary school. The club says the project engages students. The school finished third among all Florida schools in the number of minutes read in the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge.

SILVER — TIER I	Illinois-Eastern Iowa District, Kiwanis Club of Oak Lawn Area, Feed 6 Mega Event
	Along with the need for food assistance in greater Oak Lawn, Illinois, is an equal need to create a network of organizations working on hunger issues. The Kiwanis Club of Oak Lawn Area is working to fill those needs. The club co-chaired the Feed 6 Mega Event where 350 volunteers created 50,000 meals of enhanced macaroni and cheese for nearly 30 area food pantries.

BRONZE — TIER I	Australia District, Kiwanis Club of the Adelaide Hills, Kiwanis Book Shop
	The Kiwanis Book Shop, run by the Kiwanis Club of Adelaide Hills, is the soul of the community. Money raised in the shop funds services for children and adults from underserved communities. The club gives AUS$5 vouchers to students in the Terrific Kids program to purchase books at the shop.

GOLD — TIER II	Southwest District, Kiwanis Club of Prescott, Live Annual Auction
	Going once. Going twice. Gone! Every year, the Kiwanis Club of Prescott auctions thousands of items donated by local businesses. The auction is broadcast on the cable access channel and by live stream for three hours every weekday night for two weeks. The nearly US$175,000 raised every year is used to fund many community programs. This signature project has been going on for so long that some current members remember their grandparents participating.

SILVER — TIER II	Nebraska-Iowa District, Kiwanis Club of Ames-Town and Country, Teen Maze
	Choices have consequences — good and bad. It’s a lesson the Kiwanis Club of Ames-Town and Country are teaching through their signature project. Teen Maze, an interactive two-hour game, helps teens understand how to make intelligent, informed decisions.

BRONZE — TIER II	Ohio District, Kiwanis Club of Mansfield, Friendly House
	The Friendly House provides an affordable and safe afterschool program for families in Mansfield. To help kids get there, the Kiwanis Club of Mansfield celebrated its 100th anniversary by providing the center a bus, and it hopes to buy a second one. Since 1922, the club has donated US$3.3 million in funds and services to the program.