Kiwanis News

Mamma Mia! sing-along raises US$8,500 for hospital

2012-02-06T15:02:00Z

By Comox Valley Echo
Published January 27, 2012, in canada.com
http://www.canada.com/Mamma+sing+along+raises+hospital/6060558/story.html

DON MILLS, ONTARIO, CANADA—A sell-out crowd at the Sid Williams Theatre on Saturday helped raise around $8,500 for new equipment at the maternity unit of St. Joseph's Hospital, including a warming table for newborns.

Five hundred people turned out to sing along with the many ABBA songs from the movie musical 'Mamma Mia!,' including Dancing Queen, Take a Chance on Me, I Have a Dream, Super Trooper, The Winner Takes it All, and Mamma Mia itself.

Many of them were dressed appropriately for the occasion. Prizes were awarded for the most impressive costumes - some theatergoers choosing the Greek theme, as the movie is set on a Greek island, others adopting the ABBA look from the 1970s.

Many paraded across the stage to enthusiastic reception from the stalls and balcony before the film was shown.

Courtenay Kiwanis staged the fundraising event as a follow-up to its previous sing-along nights at The Sid featuring the 1960s musical movie 'The Sound of Music.'

Past president Robin Giles said the latest evening had been such a success they had already booked the theatre for another sing-along event next year, but the movie to be shown would not be decided until nearer the time.

"We were sold out for Mamma Mia almost a month before the night, and the Sound of Music events were also extremely well received," he told the Echo.

"Kiwanis have hit a winning streak here, where people have a great time and lots of money can be raised for good causes, and we want that to continue."

Bradenton Christian tourney was way more than ping pong

2012-02-06T14:58:00Z

PLAYERS RAISE MONEY TO FIGHT NEONATAL ILLNESS

By Laura C. Morel
Published January 22, 2012, in the Bradenton Herald, Bradenton.com
http://www.bradenton.com/2012/01/22/3810129/this-was-way-more-than-just-ping.html

BRADENTON, FLORIDA—As a teenager, Richard Castiglione regularly played ping pong. He also keeps a ping pong table at his North Branford, Conn., home.

On Saturday, he won first place during the singles competition of the Ping Pong to Eliminate Tournament. Castiglione walked away with a trophy in one hand and his ping pong paddle tucked in the waist of his pants.

“Feels good,” Castiglione said, smiling.

But Saturday’s tournament was about more than just the glory.

Bradenton Christian School’s Key Club organized the event as part of The Eliminate Project. The initiative, launched in 2010, aims to eradicate maternal and neonatal tetanus -- an illness that kills thousands of babies every year -- by 2015 in the remaining 38 countries where women and babies are at high risk of contracting MNT. UNICEF and Kiwanis International launched the project.

All the proceeds from the tournament, including the $5 tickets and $2 blue and black bracelets promoting the cause, will go toward the project.

“All they need is a shot to prevent this,” said BCS’s Key Club adviser Bethany Gerber.

Maternal and neonatal tetanus is an illness that causes babies to suffer from convulsions and sensitivity to light and touch, according to the project’s website. Babies rarely survive tetanus, and the illness can affect mothers as well.

MNT kills one baby every nine minutes, according to the project’s website.

“They’re born and they suffer excruciating pain,” said Eric Riser, Key Club International’s Florida district treasurer.

Other Key Clubs throughout Florida also are fundraising. Riser said he’s heard of clubs organizing kickball tournaments, walkathons and car washes. “Anything they can think of,” he said.

All of the money goes toward purchasing the sets of three shots -- 60 cents each -- that prevent the disease.

On Saturday, six ping pong tables were set up in the school’s basketball court. About 30 students and residents participated.

“Everybody loves ping pong,” said the school’s Key Club president Kristen Truong.

The tournament also attracted seasoned players such as Tony Webb of Bradenton. He was the 1967 table tennis military champion during the Vietnam War, the table tennis champion at Harding University for three consecutive years, and has won several state championships in Alaska, where he lived for 30 years.

John Stetzel, who spends the winter months in Bradenton, played against him -- and lost.

“He killed me,” Stetzel said. “He’s got a great spin.”

But during the single competition, Webb, 69, played against Castiglione. The orange ball zoomed left and right. Spectators’ heads bobbed back and forth as they watched the ball. The score: 21-7.

But for Castiglione, 74, the win was “just fun.”

“I like to play,” he said. “It’s good exercise. That’s the most important thing.”

Cade Gilchrist, 9, was the youngest player. At age 5, he was already playing ping pong, his mom, Donita Gilchrist, said. He and his dad constantly play table tennis in their Bradenton home.

When asked why he likes ping pong so much, Cade shrugged. “It’s similar to my favorite sport (tennis).”

Although Cade didn’t make it to final singles round, he and Webb teamed up and placed second in the doubles competition. They lost first place, 21-19.

The winners were Graham Courter and Jordan Moss. The best friends play table tennis regularly.

Each first-place winner received a $25 gift card to Outback Steakhouse.

Key Club also raised $375 on Saturday for The Eliminate Project.

At Bradenton Christian School, Gerber said, “we have a heart for service.”

Families explore medieval faire in south Fort Myers

2012-02-06T14:56:00Z

EVENT AT LAKES PARK BENEFITS PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

By Michael Braun
Published January 22, 2012, in the news-press.com
http://www.news-press.com/article/20120122/ENT/301220066/1001/BUSINESS/Families-explore-medieval-faire-south-Fort-Myers?odyssey=nav|head

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA—Children in Lee County will reap benefits from the work of wenches, swordsmen, blacksmiths, knights, fair maidens and a whole slew of other medieval characters from the past two weekends.

The Riverdale Kiwanis Medieval Faire concluded its 16th annual gathering at Lakes Regional Park on Sunday with the proceeds of the two-weekend, four-day affair going to assist children in Lee County.

Terry Shore, chairman of the event, said crowd estimates pegged visitors at about 18,000 and the expected profit from the event should come to about $170,000, with about half of that going to Kiwanis programs to assist children.

“The only people who get paid are the performers,” Shore said. “We have 16 members in the club and they all participate in the festival.” In addition he said there are about 140 volunteers who lend a hand including high school students from Fort Myers, Lehigh, Dunbar and Cape Coral.

“We try to offer a real family affair,” he said. “We want them to come out and have a good time and not have to pay an arm and a leg.”

The show takes the club about 10 months to organize, Shore said, adding that since the club is small and the event important, many of the acts featured don’t ask for full price for their talents.

“A lot of the entertainers give us a discount because of the charity aspect,” he said.

Those entertainers come from all over the United States, said Sandy Wheeler, another Kiwanis club member.

The performers dress in period costume, mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries, with a smattering of other eras.

The 21 acts performing ranged from the Washing Well Wenches, a pair of exuberant lasses who combine ribald humor with audience participation, to the New Riders of the Golden Age who present jousting contests including real horses.

Ken Silkie, part of the DaVinci Brothers act, said he loves the give and take with the audience and bills himself as the “dumb” DaVinci. He performs two-act parody operas.

“We have Go Figaro, Making Meatballs — The Opera, Bubba of Seville and Don Chipotle —Man of La Nacho,” Silkie said.

Shore was gratified by the weather this weekend. “We had a fairly decent last weekend, despite the cold,” he said. “But this weekend was fantastic.”

Some of the programs that will benefit include Shots for Tots, school scholarships and the School Closet Program.

Shore said the Closet program provides supplies, books and clothing for the less fortunate. “We have some fourth and fifth graders that can’t even afford socks and underwear,” he said. “That isn’t right.”

Extra fruit on trees to be put to good use

2012-01-30T15:08:00Z

By Meredith Garofalo
Published January 19, 2012, in MySuncoast.com | ABC-7
http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/story/Extra-fruit-on-trees-to-be-put-to-good-use/2xjsXh2QSUeW0WEVB9czzA.cspx

SARASOTA, FLORIDA—Florida has many perks, including being able to grow fruit right in your own backyard. But at times, it gets to a point where you may have too much, and nowhere to put it but in the garbage. That's why for the past 6 years, one Suncoast organization has come up with a way for you to put that fruit to good use, while benefiting the community.

Managers at organizations like All Faiths Food Bank know what role fruit plays in their daily distribution. "Fresh produce is very important to a food bank. Obviously it's the healthier choice for everyone," said executive director Sandra Frank.

But by being "fresh" and "healthy," Frank said it runs out very fast. "Stock is very low right now, and it's so intriguing and it's so inconsistent because it's that time of year," she said.

If you have a fruit tree, you sometimes get to the point where you have too much extra fruit. Instead of throwing it away, you can instead give back to the community through an event on February 25 hosted by the Siesta Key Kiwanis Club. "We came up with the idea of gathering the fruit from people's yards, with their permission of course, and then we donate all of this fruit to the food bank to be used," said Fred Scheerle, a member of the Siesta Key Kiwanis Club.

Once signed up, Sarasota County residents would let a team of volunteers pick the fruit from the donated tree or choose the option to bag it themselves. "They can gather the fruit and just leave it there for us and we'll pick it up," Scheerle said.

It's a simple decision that Scheerle said helps out the food bank on many levels. "Providing them with fresh citrus, one, it keeps their costs down and it's a necessary item for them too to give out to the people."

Food bank managers also add that it's a way residents can give back to the community without giving anything out of their wallet. "It's not a loss to them financially, and they can make such a difference in the lives of the needy families here," Frank said.

Copley comes together to help families in need

2012-01-30T15:05:00Z

By Letter to the Editor
Published January 5, 2012, in the West Side Leader on Akron.com
http://www.akron.com/akron-ohio-opinions.asp?aID=14873

AKRON, OHIO—On Dec. 17, 108 families (275 children and 196 adults) residing within the Copley-Fairlawn City Schools district were given enough food, toys and winter outerwear items to ensure a merry Christmas, thanks to a massive donation drive undertaken by several community organizations.

Each year the Copley-Fairlawn Kiwanis Club takes the lead in collecting food, while the Copley Police Department heads up the toy drive and the Outreach Center at Copley United Methodist Church gathers donations of coats, hats and gloves.

When the three groups came together that morning at Copley Community Center with their truckloads of donations and scores of volunteers to sort and organize items for distribution, the generosity of area residents was on full display.

The holiday drive held for nearly 30 years represents a heartwarming coming together of groups and individuals for a common purpose.

Every school within the Copley-Fairlawn district participates in the drive. Copley-Fairlawn Middle School held its holiday food drive before Thanksgiving, resulting in the collection of more than 5,000 canned and boxed food items, as well as cash donations. On Dec. 16, items were picked up from Copley High School, Fort Island Elementary and Arrowhead and Herberich primary schools.

At the high school, Student Council spearheaded the food drive. Incentives were in place at the high school to spur donations, which were collected each day during first-period classes. The class that gathered the highest number of items won a bagel or donut party. The school’s four students who brought in the most items will receive a donated gift card from either Laser Quest, Menchie’s, Five Guys Burgers and Fries or Chick-fil-A.

Others who pitched in to make the event a success include Jim Parker, of Parker Trucking in Copley, who has donated 100 bags each of apples, oranges, potatoes, onions and carrots. The PTA at Fort Island Elementary raised funds to purchase 120-plus pies for the families, and Schwan’s donated an additional 20 pies.

The Kiwanis Club used the monetary donations combined with funds they raised during the club’s annual Mother’s Day flower sale to buy boneless half-hams, as well as Acme gift cards for each recipient family.

Copley Police divided up the toys based on age and gender. Monetary donations collected were used to purchase gift cards from local retailers for additional holiday gifts.

Additionally, canned goods and a monetary donation from Herberich went to Copley United Methodist Church Outreach Center to help others in the community.

From 8 to 11 a.m. at Copley Community Center, the volunteer groups sorted and boxed the collected canned goods that were picked up as each recipient family visited between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The families in need of holiday assistance were identified through the school district, area churches and social service organizations. Each applicant family was screened for eligibility and interviewed in order to determine their holiday needs.

There were 30 Kiwanians, a number of Key Club members from the high school, Builder Club members from the middle school and at least one Boy Scout troop, and 20 parents and students that just liked to come and help with the community project.

Dan Konvolinka, Fairlawn

Students restore Key Club

2012-01-30T15:02:00Z

By Rebecca Haines, The Carthage Press
Published January 16, 2012, in the CarthagePress.com
http://www.carthagepress.com/sports/highschool/x58616323/Students-restore-Key-Club

CARTHAGE, MISSOURI—After 25 years of disbandment, the Carthage High School Key Club is back and stronger than ever.

CHS advisor Brandi Shoemaker said when the community-service-oriented club first met in September there were two students. By the second meeting 28 students attended, and by October the club flourished to 45 members.

“I'm very pleased and shocked at the same time,” Shoemaker said. “I'm really impressed because our student council does a lot of community service and we've had some of them join us too … We have some really good kids.”

A 1986 CHS Yearbook stated: “A popular club in the past, Key Club, after having three no show meetings was abolished due a lack of interest.” The Key Club is one of the several branches of the Kiwanis Club, and this school year, the cards fell the right way to revitalize the high school organization. Kiwanis Club President Lee Carlson said the adult members are expressing enthusiasm for the young group, and look forward to their achievements. Carlson said the most exciting aspect of the Key Club will be the students' summer involvement with Kiddieland in the Municipal Park.

“It's becoming a challenge for some of our members to run Kiddieland, so that's going to be a big help,” Carlson said. “We're adding a carousel that should be open in May, so we're hoping, with the help of the Key Club, Kiddieland will get bigger and run more often.”

Shoemaker agreed the students were ready to get their hands dirty.

“I think the kids are excited to get out there and help,” she said. “I like that community service seems to be important to them – and not just something that will look good on a college resumé.”

Dale Looney, Kiwanis member and grandfather of a Key Club member, said he was glad to see the high school welcome the new group.

“They are a very fine group of kids,” Looney said. “They're doing a great job.”

To follow the activities of the CHS Key Club, the students are formulating a website (which will link from the CHS website), Facebook and newsletter.

XO laptops for children in Cainta and Antipolo

2012-01-23T15:08:00Z

Published January 8, 2011, in the philSTAR.com
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=765831&publicationSubCategoryId=473

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—As the country strives to move up in the value chain of the global economy, our grassroots education should be upgraded to include advancements in the digital world.

The Kiwanis Club of Antipolo West realizes the need of our children to embrace the digital world of education and communication, and will launch this year a project known as the “Kiwanis Child Computer Literacy Program” using the XO Laptop designed by Nicolas Negroponte of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. The project, supported by CHILD Foundation OLPC Philippines, will be pilot tested from January to March 2012 in Antipolo City and Cainta, Rizal public schools.

The XO Laptop is ideal for children, even those with zero knowledge of computers. It is being used by children in developing countries like Haiti, Poland, Mexico, Pakistan, and Spain, for various purposes to include cultural games, to raise awareness for kids on the importance of cultural understanding, language and communication enhancement program, among others. Its operating system, images, symbols, graphics, etc. are simple and easy to understand, and the appearance of the computer is quite attractive for kids from nine to 12 years old. It is also very sturdy.

In addition the XO Laptop encourages class participation and topic discussion, thereby resulting in competitive skills development of children in and out of the classroom.

The project aims to provide basic computer literacy education to selected pupils in the marginalized sector of our society in the hope of augmenting their basic knowledge in primary education, particularly in the areas of writing, reading and comprehension, mathematical computation, games and artwork and online Internet research. It will focus on the additional skills acquired by the pupils on computers throughout the program.

Two assessment tests will be conducted before and after the roll out of the program to evaluate the impact of the training. This child computer literacy program will not interfere with the basic curriculum designed for primary education using traditional methods of teaching required by the Department of Education.

The Kiwanis Club of Antipolo West is composed of 23 members and headed by incumbent president Armand Adame and project chairman Willie Pertubal.

Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child, one community at a time.

CHILD Foundation OLPC Philippines, on the other hand, is composed of volunteers, mainly young professionals like doctors, nurses, architects, engineers who donate their time and talent to teach young children, particularly the less privileged. It is headed by chairman Charles Antonio Chen and executive director Gabriel Pertubal.

Wyoming area Kiwanis makes kits for ill children

2012-01-23T15:04:00Z

Published November 24, 2011, in The Times Leader
http://www.timesleader.com/community/Wyoming_Area_Kiwanis_makes_kits_for_ill_children_11-24-2011.html

WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA—Members of the Wyoming Area Kiwanis Club recently made activity kits for hospitalized children for the Caitlyn Smiles organization. The club purchased materials for the packets, including books, play dough, stickers, markers and crayons. The activity kits were distributed through Caitlyn Smiles to hospitals throughout the state, including the Geisinger Children’s Hospital. Some of the participating Kiwanis members were Tony Orlando, Sandy Touw, Jackie Kasa, Carl Worthington and Dave Barnousky.

Kiwanis Club of Easton to form mentoring program for children of deployed service members

2012-01-23T14:59:00Z

By Colin McEvoy, The Express-Times
Published November 14, 2011, in lehighvalleylive.com
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/easton/index.ssf/2011/11/kiwanis_club_of_easton_to_form.html

EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA—There are more than 32,000 men and women with children in Pennsylvania serving in the military on active duty, Reserves or the National Guard.

In the face of statistics like those, members of the Kiwanis Club of Easton are hoping they can give something back to some of those families when it's time for them to be deployed.

They plan to start a mentoring program — called Operation: Peace of Mind — for the children of men and women who have been deployed.

Kiwanis members would volunteer their services to these children at no cost to the families, said Williams Township resident Christopher Paltz, who is leading the program.

Kiwanis members said the program will provide emotional support to the children and give much-needed relief to the spouse of the deployed service member.

"Particularly with younger children, the spouses have a lot to deal with that they probably would not have had to deal with if their partner was still at home," said Walter Howell, of Easton, a Kiwanis member who served on the program's organizing committee. "This would be one less thing they have to deal with."

Robin Edwards, state youth coordinator for the Pennsylvania National Guard, said the program will help keep children involved and connected to their community while also supporting their parents.

"That's extremely important because sometimes some of our families begin to get caught up with the day-to-day activities," Edwards said. "It's a phenomenal program that has great benefits."

Once Operation: Peace of Mind starts, Edwards said, the National Guard will advertise the service for servicemen and women with children between the ages 4 and 18 who want to participate.

Paltz said the volunteers would serve one to two hours every other week with the children, providing mentoring along the same lines as the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

Volunteers would spend time with the kids engaged in parent-approved activities such as visits to restaurants, book reading, sporting events or writing letters to their deployed parent.

"They will not be a substitute mother or father or anything like that," Paltz said. "They will just be a pal, a mentor, someone to spend time with them."

Kiwanis members would not be allowed to volunteer until they have been in the club at least six months and have gone through a background check, he said.

The club submitted the program proposal to the Kiwanis International headquarters in Indiana, Howell said. Final approval to start the program is pending.

If approved, Paltz said, he hopes the idea will spread beyond the Easton club not only throughout the Lehigh Valley but also throughout the country.

Howell said the program serves the overall Kiwanis mission, which is to help children and improve their communities around the world. Paltz said it also gives their volunteers who might not otherwise have the opportunity to serve in the military the chance to give back and help them.

"By serving the deployed soldier and their children, you're actually serving your country, and not everybody has that chance," he said.

The Kiwanis Club chose the National Guard due to the high rate of rotations. Guard deployments typically last 12 to 18 months, Paltz said.

Children read to Rupert Kiwanis

2012-01-16T18:02:00Z

By Terri Johnson, The Voice
Published December, 2011, in The Voice
http://minicassiavoice.com/featured/children-read-to-rupert-kiwanis/

RUPERT, IDAHO—As part of a promotion for the Mini-Cassia Reading Foundation and to thank the Rupert Kiwanis for their support, three children were selected to present their feelings about reading on November 8 during the regular Kiwanis meeting at the Rupert Elks.

“We always seem to do a slide show or a video,” said Helen Almanza, administrative assistant for the Foundation.

“We wanted to do something different and more interesting this time.”

“The children were chosen because they love reading and love books,” explained Almanza.

“They each shared an excitement about books and had a cute way of telling about their book.”

The children each noted that their parents and other family members read to them every day and that their teachers read to them. They seemed to like most the books that had lots of pictures and bright colors.

Anthony Jensen, 5 year old son of Mark and Laura Jensen of Burley and a Kindergarten student at Dworshak Elementary shared a Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat.

“I like this book because it is my new one I got from the Book Fair,” he said.

“I like the pictures and I like it because they learned about night animals.”

“This is where the hammer is,” said Kaden Bliss, 4 year old son of Gary and Tiffany Bliss of Rupert, who attends the Minidoka County Preschool Center in Rupert.

His book was one with lots of textures and pictures. The book has built in windows to open where things are hidden.

“This is kind of tricky,” he said as he turned the last page and lifted the flap to show where the hammer was located in his book.

“It has a lot of different stories, “said Julissa Lopez, 6 year old daughter of Francisco and Marta Lopez of Burley and a second grader at Dworshak .

Her book was Disney’s Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales.

“My mom reads to me before I go to bed and then she can read a different story every night,” Lopez said.

Almanza reported that the Reading Foundation has given over 41,000 free books to low income families over the past six years, and over 7,000 baby packs. The baby packs contain a baby bib, a new book and support material on the importance of reading to your newborn child.

“(The children’s presentation) was received very well,” said Almanza.

“We had members (of the Kiwanis) commenting after the lunch how much they enjoyed the kids sharing in their own words how they love books and reading.”

Youngsters roll out their best for annual bowling tournament

2012-01-16T18:00:00Z

By John Huthmacher
Published January 16, 2012, in the hastingstribune.com
http://www.hastingstribune.com/january/news0102bowling.php

HASTINGS, NEBRASKA—An estimated 100 children gathered at Pastime Lanes in Hastings Saturday to end the New Year on a roll at the annual Kiwanis Bowling Tournament.

Hosted by the local Kiwanis club, the free event gave youngsters ages 4-10 the opportunity to meet other children their age in a friendly, social environment. Participants received free bowling, along with participation ribbons and trophies for the winners.

Afterward, they recounted their lane accomplishments over hot dogs and soda.

Maureen Mohlman and Susan Price co-hosted the tournament, with an estimated 25 Kiwanis volunteers assisting in various duties.

"Our vision is to help children," Mohlman said. "So this is something to give them something to do during the holiday break."

Christmas tree becomes a recycling lesson for Eastside K-Kids

2012-01-16T17:57:00Z

By Paulette Lash Ritchie, Times Correspondent
Published December 22, 2011, in the Tampa Bay Times
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/christmas-tree-becomes-a-recycling-lesson-for-eastside-k-kids/1207256

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA—The plastic bottles were turned into colorful curlicues. The plastic cups became misshapen, but bright and pretty blobs. The packing peanuts were transformed into a draping, white winter garland.

The Eastside Elementary School K-Kids, the elementary school-level group associated with the Kiwanis Club, have associated their name with recycling and care for the environment. They won the Hernando County School Board 2010-11 Excellence in Recycling award.

It was fitting, then, that the group developed a Christmas project that carried that theme. Through the efforts of the Eastside K-Kids Kiwanis adviser Bill Rodriguez, a giant 12-foot tree that touched the stage rafters was donated by Walmart; then it was decorated with ornaments made of recycled goods.

The students, known as the Green Team, made the ornaments out of computer disks, old Christmas cards, pine cones and fabric pieces.

Fifth-grader Kate Telford, 10, is the K-Kids president. Fourth-grader Starla Genberg, 10, is the vice president. They explained how some of the ornaments were made.

The pine cones, Kate explained, were squirted with glue and had sparkles sprinkled on them.

The plastic cups were colored with markers and heated by art teacher Stephanie Hembd (at 250 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes, a process, Hembd said, was determined by trial and error).

As for the curlicues made from bottles, "We painted them and cut them into spirals," Kate said.

"Everything we used was either donated or found," Starla said.

There are more than 60 students in K-Kids, and many were on hand for the after-school tree decorating. They worked in shifts, some placing ornaments on the tree, while others colored Christmas cards destined for a local retirement home.

"The kids have just been so excited," said K-Kids adviser and teacher Cindy Kinner, who is assisted by fifth-grade teacher Jane Langenberg.

Since the tree is on the stage in the school cafeteria, all of the students will see it, and Kate and Starla hope they will learn from it.

"I hope they'll learn that if you recycle, the world can be a better place for you, and you can have a better place to live," Kate said.

"I hope that they learn that recycling is important and you should always do it instead of throwing it all away," Starla said.

Kingsland students offer tech help

2012-01-10T21:10:00Z

Published January 5, 2012, in the PostBulletin.com
http://www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1481298

SPRING VALLEY, m—Got an electronic gadget you don't know how to use? Bring it to Kingsland High School in Spring Valley on Saturday for advice from some experts — tech-savvy students.

Students will be in the high school computer lab and library from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to help people with their cellphones, digital cameras, laptops, iPods, MP3 players or Kindles, or even to help set up a Facebook page.

The service is free and provided through the Kingsland Builders Club, a sponsored club of the Spring Valley Kiwanis. Refreshments will be served.

Local Kiwanis Club collecting used cell phones to raise money for free phone calls home for military

2012-01-10T21:06:00Z

Published November 29, 2011, in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_19433865

ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA—It's a long way from Euclid Avenue to American military bases around the world, but members of the Ontario Parkway Kiwanis Club have a way to sharply reduce that distance.

Club members have joined with the nonprofit Cell Phones for Soldiers Inc. to collect used cellular phones that can be converted into free telephone time for military members serving around the world.

On Saturday morning, there will be a Kiwanis booth collecting cell phones at the corner of D Street and Euclid Avenue as part of the Christmas on Euclid celebration, said Ken Morse, community service chairman for the club.

Each cell phone, working or not, will be shipped to AT&T which in turn will provide the Cell Phone for Soldiers group gift cards that military members can use to phone loved ones at home.

"And we've gotten FedEx to ship as many as 30 or 40 pounds of the cell phones to AT&T for free," said Morse.

Morse learned about the cell phone program while attending a Kiwanis convention in San Diego earlier this year.

Since then, he and the Ontario club, joining the 10 Kiwanis clubs in the group's Division 15, began serving as collectors for the used phones.

Morse said the program originated in 2004 when two young teens heard about a soldier, worried about a sick child, who ran up a huge phone bill calling home. The two -- Robbie and Brittany Bergquest of Norwell, Mass. -- raised money with friends by holding yard sales and other means to pay off his $1,500 phone bill.

From that start, Cell Phones for Soldiers Inc. has collected 8.3 million cell phones and provided troops more than 114 million minutes of free phone time.

He said the club will have its usual booth Saturday in which they give out free children's books to kids up to age 13 as part of its program to promoting reading to young people.

Information about the club is available from President Doug Cogan.

Kiwanis Club of Aruba traffic safety flyers distribution with new license plates

2012-01-10T21:04:00Z

Published December 12, 2011, in The Aruba Herald.com
http://arubaherald.com/local/1804-kiwanis-club-of-aruba-traffic-safety-flyers-distribution-with-new-license-plates-.html

ARUBA—Kiwanis Club of Aruba has introduced a flyer with traffic safety messages recently. The club's president Ryan Kock announced last week that this flyer will be distributed to tax payers together with their new license plates at the tax offices.

Kock explained that during the first ten months this year, there were five traffic casualties recorded. Although each death is one too many, this was considered a very low statistic, considering that over the past ten years the annual average has been of 16 traffic casualties per year. Unfortunately, during November unsafe traffic claimed five victims, suddenly increasing the casualties to ten. Kiwanis Club of Aruba in an attempt to have the community refocus on the importance of maintaining good habits when participating in traffic, has joined the Ministry of Justice and Education in an awareness campaign and taken their efforts a little further by producing and distributing their awareness messages on a flyer.

Don't drink and drive, designate a driver, don't use your mobile phone while driving, respect the speed limit and use your seatbelt, are their four main messages.