Kiwanis News

Extra fruit on trees to be put to good use

Scott Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:08:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:05:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:02:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:08:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:04:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:59:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:02:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:00:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:57:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:10:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:06:00 GMT

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

Scott Smith — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:04:00 GMT

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.

Book bank gives teachers options

Scott Smith — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:15:00 GMT

HUNDREDS OF DONATED TITLES AVAILABLE FOR CHILDREN

By Lisa Leinberger, The Spokesman-Review
Published December 10, 2011, in the Washington Voices
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/dec/10/book-bank-gives-teachers-options/

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON—There is a room on the old University High School campus stuffed with boxes of books lining the walls to the ceiling. There are also shelves arranged and organized throughout the room with books just waiting for a child to take home and read.

“These books aren’t doing us any good sitting here in boxes, I’ll tell you that,” said volunteer Mike Frucci.

The Children’s Book Bank was founded in 1997 by John and Jean Frucci, retired educators in the Central Valley School District. They have distributed more than 100,000 books to children in Spokane County since then. In the last year, their son and his wife, Mike and Vicki Frucci, have taken over the book bank.

It’s a partnership between Spokane-area Kiwanis clubs and Success by Six. Teachers can make an appointment to come and pick out books for their students to take home and keep. Mike Frucci said they often take two books for students.

He said he is always amazed “how much effort a teacher will put into picking out a book for their kids.

“They know what they’re looking for, for their students,” he said.

Teachers and anyone else who works with children can come to the book bank. Mike Frucci said they have given books to people as far away as Republic, Wash.

“We go through a lot of books,” he said.

The Fruccis both work for the Washington State Department of Transportation, so they usually make appointments in the late afternoon or weekends, which works well for teachers who are in class during business hours.

The books come from Success by Six, book drives put on by local Kiwanis clubs or through donations at local Hastings bookstores. The Fruccis sort through the gently used books when they receive them, organizing them into stacks according to age group. They usually collect books appropriate for infants through the third grade.

The books they can’t use go to Spokane Valley Partners, and many books are sent to that organization for the holiday baskets their clients take home.

Vicki Frucci said it is not just the 16 adult Kiwanis groups that collect books for the bank. There are also members of Circle K, the college level of Kiwanis and high school Key Clubs that contribute. She said Lincoln Heights Elementary School on the South Hill has an active K-Kids program with a dropbox on the school campus to collect book donations.

Sometimes books come in that are too beat up to give to the teachers. When this happens, the Fruccis send the books to St. Mary’s Church to be recycled.

“Nothing that comes in is thrown away,” Mike Frucci said.

Giving back, despite disabilities

Scott Smith — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:11:00 GMT

By Sara Smith, Wheaton Leader
Published December 8, 2011, in mysuburbanlife.com, Glen Ellyn News
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/glenellyn/features/x1904471608/Giving-back-despite-disabilities

WHEATON, ILLINOIS—Anna Maggio likely is busier than most 28-year-olds.

Some of her favorite activities include horseback riding, painting, track and field, volleyball and volunteering at an animal shelter.

In the past Maggio, of Wheaton, also was president of the Aktion Club, a Kiwanis program for adults with disabilities.

In October, she was named the national winner of this year’s Kiwanis International Aktion Club Speech Contest. In her speech, which was about how the club made her a leader, Maggio wrote, "Before joining Aktion Club, it was harder for me to be around others, I was anti-social … . With more self-confidence, I’m able to do more things for others, and step up to the plate. I have overcome a lot of challenges that once felt like roadblocks."

Since age 2, Maggio’s been in special education classes. She attended the Bartlett Learning Center, now known as the Clare Woods Academy, until she was 21.

Although Maggio has learning disabilities, she’s not letting that get in the way of giving back to the community.

And she’s giving back in many ways.

She collects soda can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House at Loyola and donates supplies to DuPage County Animal Care and Control. She takes her neighbor’s dogs for walks and participates in several activities at the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association.

Maggio also has about 50 medals from participating in gymnastics, track and field and volleyball with Special Olympics.

"Just because I have developmental problems doesn't mean I can’t compete,” she said. “I give others more self-confidence so I can reach out and give them self-esteem."

Maggio's father, Sam Maggio, said she always keeps herself busy.

"She doesn't waste an hour. She's a constant blur all day," he said. "She's a competitor … and has a drive I can't believe."

But in order to be involved in so many activities, Maggio, who also suffers from depression, had to learn to manage her feelings. When she’s in a social situation and becomes frustrated, she steps into the hall and does yoga breathing to calm herself down.

When she was the president of Aktion Club in 2009, she said it was sometimes frustrating to control everyone at meetings, but the experience gave her the confidence she needed to be a leader.

Dayell Muchowicz, support services supervisor at WDSRA, said Maggio really speaks up for what she supports and feels passionate about.

"She's really positive and gets everyone excited," Muchowicz said.

Now, Maggio's list of ways she's giving back to the community could go on for days, whether its picking up garbage at a local forest preserve or sorting crayons for a recycling/composting education program.

And her excitement for life is inspiring those around her.

"I think I've really stepped up to the plate to do more for others," she said. "I take it one day at a time and think more positive so I can build skills that I will need later."

Kiwanians and Tome School students help sick children

Scott Smith — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:06:00 GMT

By Lisa Broadt
Published December 8, 2011, in Cecil Whig
http://www.cecilwhig.com/news/local_news/article_22461e74-2124-11e1-90af-001871e3ce6c.html

ELKTON, MARYLAND—High school students at the Tome School in North East, under the direction of the Kiwanis Club of Elkton, recently sewed several hundred dolls intended for distribution to children in local hospitals.

Beth Gerrish, a Spanish teacher and activity adviser, said Tome's 160 high school-aged students worked on the doll project on a recent "Day of Service," during which students replaced classes with service projects.

Joy Braley, Tome School senior and president of the Kiwanis-sponsored Key Club, said she enjoyed rotating through the different service stations, which featured activities such as baking Rice Krispie treats for the homeless and designing cards for military veterans.

"It was really awesome and really successful," Braley said. "I can't speak for everyone, but it seemed like we all liked it and thought it was beneficial. It felt like we were actually making a difference."

Students spent the majority of their time at the doll-making table where they drew cardboard templates, cut cloth pieces, stuffed and sewed the dolls.

The project required students to hand-sew, a challenge for the many Tome School students who had never even threaded a needle.

To help the novice sewers, members of the Kiwanis club taught hand-sewing skills to a small group of students on the day prior to the Day of Service. That group, in turn, tutored their classmates, Braley said.

Dale Collins, president of the Kiwanis Club of Elkton, said he was pleased to receive help with the doll project from the students.

"Many willing and enthusiastic young students, led by their teacher Beth Gerrish, worked in blocks of time to assemble dolls through the various steps of completion," Collins said. "Their assistance helped immeasurably to provide us hundreds of dolls to have for distribution to the local areas."

Some of the dolls have already been distributed to Union Hospital of Cecil County, but for the Kiwanis Club, the project is ongoing. The dolls, made of plain, un-patterned cloth, are intended to soothe children in the hospital who may be scared or confused, Collins said.

"They can be drawn on by the child or a doctor trying to explain a procedure to be done," Collins said. "They are small and soft and can be very comforting to someone in pain or frightened by a doctor's presence."

The Kiwanis Club is an international organization dedicated to helping children. The Elkton chapter, in existence since 1932, partners with a number of local schools including the Tome School, Elkton High School and Bohemia Manor High School.

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