Fun facts about our Rose Parade float 

Fun facts about our Rose Parade float 

Dec 22, 2025 | General interest, News, Service Leadership Programs, Service projects | 0 comments

Find out what it takes to get ready for the big event. 

By Tony Knoderer

During the annual Tournament of Roses Parade (aka “The Rose Parade”) in Pasadena, California, U.S., Kiwanis International’s float is always one of the most fun to see. But it takes a lot of work to be that creative! 

Our 2026 float is a hippo-themed design called “Happy Together.” (The theme of the Rose Parade itself is “The Magic of Teamwork.”) Built by the Phoenix Decorating Company, the float is being decorated by hundreds of volunteers — including many from throughout the Kiwanis family — to get it ready for the January 1 event. 

Volunteers aren’t assigned to just one parade float, however. This year, each volunteer helped decorate eight floats altogether.  

Facts and figures
So, how much work goes into decorating the Kiwanis International float — and others? Kiwanians Patricia Larrigan and Caesar Milch, cochairs of the District Rose Float Project, were kind enough to provide some facts:   

  • There are 113 decorating hours scheduled throughout December.  
  • Each shift normally includes 300 volunteers — in roles ranging from onsite decorators to feeding teams, registration check-in and more. 
  • An estimated 40,000 volunteer hours will be completed by the end of the month. 
  • About half of the volunteers are Key Club members. Members of Circle K International and Aktion Club also help. 
  • Volunteers serve an average of eight hours. Some occasionally serve as many as 12 hours. In years past, some people have worked for 15 hours to help complete floats in the final days before the parade.  
  • A couple of members from the Kiwanis Rose Float Club of Pasadena have volunteered to work on the float for 25 consecutive years. Another current volunteer started 36 years ago.  
  • Kiwanis members have gone to Pasadena from as far as Denver, Colorado, U.S., to help decorate.  

In addition to the hours required, here are some details about the Kiwanis float itself: 

  • The two front hippos have been named Harriett and Henrietta — with eyelashes and bows added by volunteers. Their big brother hippo is Henry. 
  • The large “mama hippo” has been named Hildie, and the blue bird on top of her is Sweet Tweets, as named by Eileen Geraci, first lady of the California-Nevada-Hawaii District. 
  • The float is being decorated with strawflower in various shades of pink, along with a large amount of sod with accents to make the ground appear like a marsh. Cochairs Larrigan and Milch also report “a crazy amount of lettuce seed this year — easily a 5- to 10-gallon bucket.” 

Past and present
Volunteers’ work on Kiwanis International’s Rose Parade floats has a history of being honored. In both 2023 and 2024, Kiwanis received the Tournament Volunteer Award for outstanding floral presentation of the parade’s theme among floats 35 feet or fewer in length. And in 2010, Isabella Coleman was honored for the most outstanding presentation of color and color harmony through floral design. 

We thank this year’s volunteers for keeping up a great tradition of volunteer spirit and creativity. And we encourage everyone to see their work — the float will be 77th in the parade lineup.  

The big event will be televised worldwide on multiple networks and streaming services beginning at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT on January 1. 

Hope and healing 

Hope and healing 

Dec 11, 2025 | General interest, Service projects | 0 comments

Kiwanis New Jersey District hosts conference on youth homelessness.

By Julie Saetre

Submitted by the Kiwanis New Jersey District 

In the 2023-24 school year, 17,315 students in the U.S. state of New Jersey were identified as experiencing homelessness. That’s why Kiwanis International’s New Jersey District created the New Jersey Kiwanis Youth Homelessness District Project, which works to create awareness of the issues faced by these students and provide support to organizations that are actively working to address them. 

As part of the project, the district held its inaugural statewide New Jersey Kiwanis Hope and Healing Conference on November 6. The conference brought together youth advocates, agency professionals and community partners from across the state for a full day of learning, empowerment and connection. 

 “Our goal has always been to elevate the voices of young people facing housing instability and bring every corner of New Jersey’s support network together,” says Michael Ellithorpe, New Jersey Kiwanis District project chair. “This conference demonstrated what is possible when service organizations, educators and advocates unite behind a shared mission.” 

Attendees participated in workshop sessions and networking opportunities designed for transitionally housed youth, youth homelessness agency staff, community partners and Kiwanis members. The event underscored New Jersey’s statewide commitment to addressing youth homelessness through shared purpose and coordinated action. 

“This conference proved exactly what Kiwanis stands for — hope, action and partnership,” says Frank Cahill, New Jersey District governor. “Seeing so many agencies, advocates and young people in one room reminded us why we remain committed to this project. Youth experiencing homelessness deserve stability, opportunity and community, and Kiwanis will continue to stand beside them every step of the way.” 

Emily Scharf, president of the New Jersey Kiwanis Foundation, also praised the shared commitment that shaped the conference. 

“The Hope and Healing Conference was the culmination of years of work, collaboration and compassion across New Jersey. Every attendee — from youth to agency leaders — played a part in creating a space of empowerment and healing. This is only the beginning of what we can accomplishtogether.” 

To date, the New Jersey Kiwanis Youth Homelessness District Project has generated nearly US$40,000 in donations and thousands of volunteer hours.  

Learn more about Kiwanis clubs addressing youth homelessness and get inspiration for your own project. 

Grants create opportunities for all

Grants create opportunities for all

Dec 3, 2025 | General interest, Kiwanis Children's Fund, Service projects | 0 comments

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

By Erin Chandler

In July, August and September, Kiwanis clubs around the world received Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants for projects that found creative ways to give more kids and families access to services, opportunities and enrichment. The following four 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.  

Education and Literacy 

Orange City Public Library E-Bike Project
Kiwanis Club of Floyd Valley, Iowa, U.S.
In its first year since chartering, the Kiwanis Club of Floyd Valley is already forming strong community partnerships to expand literacy. When the club heard that the local library was raising funds for a new e-bike program that will increase access to books and library programming in underserved areas, they decided to pitch in and purchase a safety and accessory package. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund grant will go toward a helmet, umbrellas, a first aid kit, lights, a horn or bell, a tire pump and repair kit, a phone mount, a basket, safety vests and more supplies to make the library’s e-bike safer. With the bike, library staff will be able to host remote story hours and even remotely check out materials to library patrons. 

Pencil Case Project
Kiwanis Club of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The Kiwanis Club of Brisbane discovered a simple way to reduce barriers to learning and participation in school. Every January for the past four years, club members have purchased pencils, colored pencils, erasers, rulers and highlighters. They then pack these supplies into durable, zip-up cases for teachers to distribute to kids who arrive without them for their first day at area schools. The project can set the tone for the year, enabling kids whose families might not be able to provide school supplies to feel included and prepared from the start. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant will help stock up to 150 cases for the upcoming school year. 

 

Health and Nutrition 

Pediatric Medical Equipment
Kiwanis Club of Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
The Kiwanis Club of Tallahassee has a longstanding relationship with Bond Community Health Center, assisting in community outreach and providing chaperones for special events. Now members are teaming up with the Kiwanis Clubs of Southside Tallahassee, Tallahassee Northside, and Tallahassee-Killearn to provide new screening equipment for the clinic’s pediatric patients, many of whom attend Title I schools or are on Medicaid. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant will help purchase equipment for hearing screenings, benefiting thousands of children.  

 

Youth Leadership Development 

Building a Disc Golf Program for Students in Chugwater
Kiwanis Club of Wheatland, Wyoming, U.S.
In the small, rural community of Chugwater, there are limited opportunities for kids and families to engage in outdoor activities. The Kiwanis Club of Wheatland is stepping in to fix that by purchasing a portable disc golf kit for the town’s only elementary school — with help from a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant and the Prairie View Charter School K-Kids. The 12 K-Kids club members have committed to raising US$500 for the equipment, giving them the chance to develop as leaders in the community and be personally and financially invested in the disc golf course. The club is excited to help, and working with them is the Kiwanians’ favorite part of the project. Once Kiwanis members have installed the equipment, they plan to provide initial instruction to students and teachers on how to use it. 

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

If you want to help the Children’s Fund provide grants like these that reach children around the world, you can make a gift to The Kiwanis Possibility Project. Your club also can apply for a grant to help kids in your community today.