Make sure your club is accessible

Make sure your club is accessible

Mar 1, 2024 | Club building, General interest | 0 comments

The answers to a few questions can help create a positive experience for current and potential members.

By Tony Knoderer

For any Kiwanis club, retaining current members and appealing to potential members involve certain key elements. But for each group, one of the most important is accessibility.  

How easy is it for people to attend your club’s meetings and events, or even to find the information they need? Here are a few questions to consider:   

  • Do you meet in a location that’s convenient for everyone — whether physically, geographically or in other ways? If not, make adjustments when possible or consider an alternate venue. 
  • Does your club meet at a convenient time for everyone? If not, consider alternating or changing meeting times. In addition, alternative meeting options — such as a virtual option or satellite membership — can allow all members to participate.  
  • Can members easily find meeting minutes if they are unable to attend?  
  • Do your meetings and service projects accommodate members’ family commitments, career constraints or religious practices?  
  • Does your meeting include a meal? The cost and/or time required may deter a potential new member. Consider making the meal optional.  
  • Can a potential member find current information about the club on a website or social media page?  
  • Are potential members included in club service projects? How is this advertised? 

If you want more tips and information about inclusiveness, we have a webpage with links to resources — including the “3 ways to make your club more inclusive” flyer, which features the above tips and much more. 

29 ways to serve in one day 

29 ways to serve in one day 

Feb 23, 2024 | Club building, General interest, Leadership | 0 comments

Since it’s a leap year, we’re offering ideas for doing good with our extra day in 2024. 

By Sarah Moreland

Have you ever thought, “If only I had an extra day to…?”   

To sleep. To complete a to-do list. To visit a loved one. Here’s another possibility: to make the world a better place! 

Since 2024 is a leap year, we have that extra day. Whether you’re sharing kindness with a stranger or preparing a big event with fellow club members, it’s an additional 24 hours to do — or plan for — something good. 

Need a little inspiration? In honor of Leap Day, here are 29 ideas to get you started: 

  1. Write cards of encouragement for a school or children’s hospital. 
  1. Ask your local library if you can volunteer as a group reader. 
  1. Check with local organizations that may need extra help (e.g., Boys & Girls Clubs, a children’s hospital, etc.). 
  1. Help at a soup kitchen or local shelter. 
  1. Sort donations at a food pantry. 
  1. Team up with club members to pick up trash at a park or playground. 
  1. Set up a clothing or book drive. 
  1. Join an outdoor beautification project in your community.  
  1. Get members of K-Kids, Builders Club, Key Club, CKI and Aktion Club in a joint service project — then celebrate with a fun social hour. 
  1. Write congratulatory notes to give to Key Club and CKI seniors in the spring.  
  1. Drop off treats or small gifts of thanks to first responders in your community who keep families safe and healthy.  
  1. Host a resume-writing and interviewing practice session for students preparing for college and work life.  
  1. If you have crafting skills, knit hats for babies. 
  1. Train kids how to safely ride a bike. 
  1. Donate gently used items (clothing, electronics, eyeglasses, etc.) to an organization that can reuse or recycle them for those in need. 
  1. Build a Little Free Library for your community. 
  1. Host a game day for kids — whether it’s outdoor sports or an indoor board-game tournament. 
  1. Spread the word about a favorite charity. 
  1. Write a positive online review of an organization you or your club has collaborated with. 
  1. Teach kids how to grow their own food. 
  1. Host a diaper and baby formula donation drive to collect supplies for mothers and newborns in need. 
  1. Pack and distribute first-aid kits to families for their homes and vehicles. 
  1. Help families in need celebrate birthdays and milestones by creating a “party in a box” with balloons, streamers and signs. 
  1. Devote a day to mentorship. Speak to or meet with younger members of the Kiwanis family about an area of professional or personal expertise. 
  1. “Upcycle” plastic bags into waterproof blankets for those in need. 
  1. Set up a fundraising challenge for charity. 
  1. Sponsor a family in need to attend a museum, theater or attraction. 
  1. Provide kids with supplies to create puppets and perform their own puppet show. 
  1. Start planning an end-of-year ceremony to recognize your club’s BUG and Terrific Kids students’ achievements.  

 

Think outside the meeting box 

Think outside the meeting box 

Feb 23, 2024 | Club building, General interest | 0 comments

To build the kind of fellowship that makes your club and its service stronger, here are a few ideas. 

By Tony Knoderer

The strongest Kiwanis clubs grow because people want to join — and then keep coming back. The fellowship of the club experience is a big part of that success.  

 Does your club go beyond its normal meeting format to build camaraderie? If not, here are a few ideas for fun activities:  

  • Rent space at a local sports venue for pregame snacks, drinks and appetizers. Then share a seating block to cheer on the home team.  
  • Try a team-building activity such as a ropes course or escape room.  
  • Schedule activities around the seasons: a hayride or bonfire in the fall, hot cocoa and cookies in the winter, a nature walk in the spring, an ice cream social or outdoor concert in the summer.   
  • Host an annual thank-you event in a casual setting. Whether it’s brunch at a local restaurant or an outdoor picnic or barbecue, members will appreciate a time and place to relax and converse. 

 However you build fellowship, make sure potential members are welcome too — so they can see that Kiwanis can be about fun as well as service!