Winter: Read and Lead 

The Read & Lead" program is a one-on-one reading improvement program conducted by high school students to teach young emergent readers in the early years of elementary school to love and enjoy books.

Key Club members are asked to mentor a child by donating one hour of their time a week to read stories and books to an elementary school child who is struggling with the task of reading. By reading books and becoming the child's reading friend, the Key Club member becomes a positive role model and mentor.

Twenty percent of adults in the United States are illiterate. The number is growing. These adults can't even read to their own children. Educators tell us reading to children is the first step in learning to read. Key Club members are asked to help end this cycle by demonstrating the joy of reading as a "reading friend."  

The Key Club motto is "Caring - Our Way of Life." What better way to show that Key Club cares than by helping a young child love and enjoy books and reading!

 

Spring: March of Dimes

 The March of Dimes was founded in 1938 by U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to help fight polio. Within only 12 years, the March of Dimes had amassed more than $1 million in funds that helped researchers identify all three polio viruses. In 1954, the March of Dimes ran field trials of the polio vaccine with more than 1.8 million school children participating. This began what would become their concerted effort to save babies from birth defects. 

Key Club International began partnering with the March of Dimes in the 1960s by holding dances, carwashes, and bake sales to raise funds to further research in the medical field to help reduce birth defects. Key Club members around the world remember collecting dimes in hopes that someday children would be born free of birth defects. 

Though times have changed since the inception of this organization, one thing remains the same: Each day young children are being born with birth defects. Some are easily prevented while others still remain a mystery to modern medicine. Key Club is proud to partner with the March of Dimes as we join together to save babies.

Each year 750,000 corporations and individuals participate in WalkAmerica to benefit the March of Dimes. Key Club members can form teams and join their local March of Dimes Chapter in this endeavor. All contributions will remain at the local level to help with the fight against birth defects. 

The March of Dimes also is promotes a Folic Acid/Vitamin B Campaign to help educate mothers and mothers-to-be about the importance of a daily dose of folic acid/vitamin B.  

Together we can make a difference. Together we can ensure that babies are born healthy. Together we can reach out around the world and know that we are ensuring a safe tomorrow for children everywhere.

 

Summer: Children's Miracle Network

To check out our work with CMN, check out our page here.

Hospitalized infants and children need special pharmaceuticals and equipment engineered to work with their small stature. From the tiniest tube or milliliter of medication to ECMO, a formidable device that acts as an artificial lung outside the body, medicines and machines that help sick kids get well are specialized - and high priced. Skilled pediatric professionals armed with evolving treatments and expensive tools  work  to  save   more  than  14  million  children  annually  from  life-threatening injuries, birth defects, cancer, and numerous other ailments.

In order to afford treatment, children's hospitals require funding. Children's Miracle Network (CMN) is a nonprofit organization that raises money to benefit hospitalized kids and increases awareness of its member hospitals. All CMN contributions directly benefit hospitals, helping to purchase up-to-date equipment, train staff, conduct life-saving research, implement outreach programs, and provide healthcare for children whose parents can't afford to pay.

In 1996, Key Club International decided to partner with CMN. Clubs participate in Service of Champions Day (a service-a-thon that raises money for hospitals and benefits communities simultaneously), sponsor dance marathons, and stage other fund-raising events. In addition to raising funds, Key Club members also can participate in service projects at their local children's hospital in the following ways: 

  • Provide toys and dolls for kids going through trauma

  • Contribute to or create video, toy, or book lending libraries or playrooms

  • Help staff information booths or surgery waiting rooms

  • Assist families with children who require long-term care or who live great distances from hospitals

  • Support safety campaigns or parent education programs

  • Purchase specific pieces of equipment

 

Fall: UNICEF

Coming soon: a report on our work with UNICEF

UNICEF, the only organization of the United Nations dedicated exclusively to children, works with other United Nations bodies, governments, and non-governmental organizations to assist in children's needs through community-based-services in primary health care, basic education, and safe water and sanitation in more than 140 developing countries. UNICEF shares the Kiwanis family's global commitment to children and has provided its extensive resources and leadership to assist in the Worldwide Service Project to virtually eliminate Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) from the globe. 

Key Club members will now tackle the spread of HIV/AIDS through the education and enrichment of young girls in Kenya. The U.S. $500,000 goal to be raised by Key Club International members for this year’s Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign will go towards Kicking HIV Out of Kenya , a soccer program which through recreation teaches life skills, bolsters confidence, promotes leadership, strengthens decision making skills and raises awareness about HIV/AIDS. 

Recently, Key Club delegates visited Kenya with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF on a fact-finding mission. While there, they observed first-hand just how Kick HIV/Aids Out Of Kenya is making inroads. After spending time with the girls and hearing what the program means to them, it became clear why Kick HIV/Aids Out Of Kenya is not just fun and games but a life-saving measure.

To learn more about these programs and how issues facing children are being addressed, contact UNICEF and learn more. Key Clubs can actively participate in a wide assortment of programs and projects to help educate their communities and the world about issues facing children.