Kiwanis Public News

K-Kids and Builders Club greeting card art contest winners announced

2012-02-08T14:29:00Z

Congratulations to all who participated! See the list of winners and their artwork.

Get the grand tour of New Orleans during international convention

2012-02-08T14:27:00Z

Kiwanis International once again will offer official tours around the host city during the international convention.

Explore New Orleans during the 2012 Kiwanis International Convention, which runs June 28–July 1, and discover its famous architecture, rich history, legendary music ... and more.

Food. Swamps. Mansions. Gardens. From the French Quarter to the Ninth Ward—you name it, we've got it covered in our 11 official Kiwanis tours. But don’t delay—deadline for online tour registration is June 13.

Not registered for the convention yet? Sign up today!

Build your personal convention schedule with new online tool

2012-02-06T14:15:00Z

We’ve made it easy for you to create your own personal schedule for the 2012 Kiwanis International Convention in New Orleans.

“My Convention Schedule” offers a list of all convention events at www.KiwanisOne.org/convention/myschedule. Here you’ll find a list of sessions, ticketed events and workshops, along with descriptions for most events.

If you’ve already registered for convention, log in (using your KiwanisOne email and password) from the schedule dashboard and access additional features to customize your itinerary. First-time users will be given an option to register.

For registered attendees, once logged in, ticketed events you paid for will populate your personal schedule. You can then browse and add the sessions and workshops you plan to attend, note any guests attending with you and create additional events, such as district dinners or New Orleans tours.

Your schedule can be printed or exported to your personal calendar.

The schedule is subject to change at any time, so please check back and update your itinerary close to the convention start date in order to capture any changes in time, presenter and location.

Discount extended for the 2012 convention in New Orleans

2012-02-06T14:11:00Z

The early bird is extending its time! Now until March 20, you can receive a discounted price on the 2012 Kiwanis International Convention in New Orleans! The online registration process is easy to use at www.KiwanisOne.org/convention/registration.

Step 1: Have at hand your:

district name
club key number
member ID
credit card

Step 2: Decide which—if not all—ticketed events you want to attend.

Step 3: Review and book tour packages, then make travel arrangements and hotel accommodations.

Step 4: Encourage your Kiwanis friends to join you!

Did you know? Gant Travel and Kiwanis International have worked together to provide special fares for travel to the 2012 convention. While you’re at it, get trip planning tips to make your time in New Orleans special.

Discover the top 25 fundraising ideas

2012-02-06T14:09:00Z

Need some fresh, new ideas for fundraising? Join us on February 7 at 8 p.m. ET for a webinar all about fundraising. We’ll reveal the top 25 fundraising ideas from around the Kiwanis family. From mini to mighty, your club will be on its way to raising money, sharing your story, and putting the FUN back in FUNdraising!

Register now, or see our entire listing of webinars offered at www.kiwanisone.org/webinars. If you miss a webinar or need to watch them again, visit the webinar archives at www.KiwanisOne.org/webinararchives.

Your Club Management System subscription is transferable

2012-01-30T14:51:00Z

Webmasters go on vacation. Club secretaries retire from duties. It happens. No worries. Transferring responsibility for your club website and club administrative tasks in the online Club Management System (full version) is easy. The subscription belongs to the club so all you have to do is share or transfer responsibility using Members Admin > Assign Roles. As long as the subscription is kept current, your member records and website content will be retained. Even club content from a lapsed subscription might be recoverable.

Please contact support@clubresource.com for help transferring system access to a new club leader or for links to the system tutorials to help the new person get up to speed. Also be sure the new person subscribes to the KiwanisOne Club Management newsletter! www.KiwanisOne.org/subscribe

Not using the full version yet? Upgrading is quick and easy: www.KiwanisOne.org/upgradeCMS.

Foundation grants add some power to your project

2012-01-30T14:12:00Z

Kiwanis International Foundation grants help clubs meet the needs of children. Sometimes those children are in your same Kiwanis district and sometimes in the opposite hemisphere. These grants help clubs reach their service-project goals that may otherwise be beyond their financial ability.

Does your club have a project that could use additional funding? Consider applying for a Kiwanis International Foundation grant.

Here’s what you need to know:

Grant applications are accepted year-round.
Applications postmarked by November 15, 2011 are reviewed at the January Board meeting, and applications postmarked by April 15, 2012 are reviewed at the June Board meeting each year.
Applicants are notified of the Board’s decision by letter within 30 days of the meeting.

In order to be considered for a grant, your project should follow certain guidelines. Learn more about these grants and the amazing work that’s been funded on the Foundation website.

Reaching recruits: Attract alumni with a good story

2012-01-30T14:09:00Z

If you’re looking to recruit new members, don’t forget a group with rich recruiting potential: the Key Club and Circle K International alumni associations. Alumni association members are service-minded people. They’re familiar with Kiwanis. They’re looking to do more. Privacy policies prevent Kiwanis and its alumni associations from distributing contact lists—but you can still reach members.

Here’s an idea: Write about your club or district for the alumni associations’ blogs. The blogs are a combination of news articles and alumni stories, updated several times a week. They’re perfect for telling alumni about your club’s service projects, social events and recruiting drives.

It’s easy to get your stories posted—just send them to Sherri McKeen at smckeen@kiwanis.org. She’ll put them up on the associations’ blogs.

But how can you make sure your posts get read? Here are six tips:

Stick to the point. The more concise your post, the better you’ll retain interest in your message.
Ask alumni to write. Does your club have Key Club or CKI alumni? Have one write the posts and share an alumnus perspective.
Emphasize your impact. Key Club and CKI alumni join the associations to extend their service and fellowship. Show how club membership can also help them achieve that goal.
Post pictures. Add visual interest, and give readers an idea what service and membership look like in your club.
Respond quickly. Keep an eye on your post for responses. Follow up with anyone who comments. Responsiveness is a good sign for the reader of how efficiently your club operates.
Keep sending stories. You can’t control when people see (or don’t see) your posts. The more you share, the more likely the right people will find you. Remember, both alumni associations are in the early stages, with 3,500 members worldwide. If you don’t get a response, your community might not have alumni association members—yet.

Again, submit your blog posts to Sherri McKeen at smckeen@kiwanis.org. Once you send them in, we’ll schedule the post and link to it on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Blimp pilot gives his life to save passengers

2012-01-23T14:23:00Z

The odor of fuel and a loud whirring noise, and Michael Nerandzic knew instantly that his airship was only moments away from disaster. What the blimp pilot did in those few moments earned him the Kiwanis International Foundation's Robert P. Connelly Medal for Heroism.

Nerandzic, from Balgownie, Australia, was flying three journalist from a music festival in Germany, when he made the heroic decision that would save the passengers but end his life. Realizing the ship had caught fire during a descent over an airfield in Reichelsheim, Germany, the pilot hovered near the ground and told the passengers to jump from the gondola.

As they did, the ship shot up into the air and exploded, killing Nerandzic.

He was nominated for the medal by the Kiwanis Club of Glenelg, South Australia.

The foundation medal honors individuals who, like Nerandzic, risk physical harm or death to save another person.

Nominate a hero for the Connelly Medal of Heroism.

What a difference your gifts make!

2012-01-23T14:20:00Z

What do you know about Kiwanis International Foundation? Find out what a difference clubs like yours are making for children in their communities and around the world, through their service and through their gifts. Come away educated and excited to be a part of Kiwanis!

Kiwanis philanthropy: The impact of charitable giving

January 31, 8:00 p.m., EST

This webinar will provide an overview of Kiwanis International Foundation and also explore how charitable giving can make a difference locally and globally.

See our entire listing of webinars offered in the next few months at www.kiwanisone.org/webinars.

Be part of the parade: Enter the shoebox float contest!

2012-01-23T14:18:00Z

Here’s a fun idea for all your creative and inspired K-Kids: Create a shoebox float.

Decorated in themes associated with The Eliminate Project, these floats will be presented at the Kiwanis International Convention in New Orleans in June where they’ll compete for recognition as 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. But all entries will be winning efforts because working on these floats will help educate K-Kids and others about maternal and neonatal tetanus and our effort to eliminate it from the face of the Earth.

With the help of faculty and Kiwanis advisors, K-Kids can follow the contest rules and use theme ideas to design fabulous floats.

Encourage your clubs to participate, promoting The Eliminate Project message and maybe even winning a cash prize!

Happy 97th birthday, Kiwanis!

2012-01-16T14:34:00Z

We are 97 years strong—and still going. On January 21, the Kiwanis International organization celebrates our official birthday, which is the day the Detroit No. 1 Club chartered in 1915.

It’s a good time to reflect on and celebrate all that’s been accomplished in our 97 years of serving children around the world. Where would children in your community be without Kiwanis?

Here are some ideas on how to mark the date.

Social: Serve birthday cake at one of your club’s January meetings or to your SLP club meetings.

Philanthropic: Send $97 to The Eliminate Project.

PR: Cover the costs for the local ice cream shop to give away a “Kiwanis sundae” to its next 97 customers.

Service: Plant 97 bulbs around a neighborhood playground.

Make it special!

Numbers never lie: What truths are your website analytics telling you?

2012-01-16T14:29:00Z

“Web analytics is like accounting for the Internet,” according to Reid Carr, founder of San Diego’s Red Door Interactive. Just as your club hears the treasurer’s report regularly so should it be with your website’s analytics. These numbers should give you enough feedback to determine if your club website is truly a useful tool.

According to the latest research, Web visitors decide whether to stay or to move on in 10 seconds or less. What does that mean for your website? It means that you don’t have long to make a good first impression.

Access your Web analytics to find out if your site is passing the 10-second test. Let those numbers tell you the truth about which pages of your club or district website are getting the longest look and which ones could use some improvements.

You’ve invested time and effort in your website. Use Web analytics to find out how your investment is performing.

Need help setting up or adding fresh content for your site? Get ready-to-run content at www.KiwanisOne.org/readytorun. Check out an ideal club website at www.KiwanisOne.org/idealsite.

[Sources: “The 10-second test” on http://freewritingtips.wyliecomm.com/2011/11/pass-the-10-second-test/; and How to Jazz Up Your Website by Max Chafkin and Ryan McCarthy at http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080201/how-to-jazz-up-your-site.html]

Be part of Key Leader in 2012

2012-01-16T14:27:00Z

Make a difference in a young person’s life through Key Leader. Key Leader is a Kiwanis-sponsored weekend experience that teaches high school–age students about leading by serving, developing their confidence in their own leadership abilities.

Start by finding events near you: You’ll find the Key Leader schedule for 2012 online. Then add some of those dates to your brand-new 2012 calendar.

As a Kiwanian, you can support Key Leader by:

Serving as a volunteer at an event
Sponsoring young people on their weekend
Promoting an event in your region at the nearby high schools

Snag a custom website domain name from our preferred vendor

2012-01-09T21:54:00Z

Does your club have a website, or are you thinking about creating one? In conjunction with Club Resource, the Kiwanis International Web team has hand-picked Hover as the domain vendor of choice for Kiwanis-family clubs and districts.

Hover offers a clean, simple, and easy-to-use interface free of popups and high-pressure add-ons. Hover only sells domains, which means they aren't going to try to get you to buy other things you may not really need through the checkout process.

The checkout process is simple. Pick the name you want, add it to your cart, create a basic username and password, pay and that's it. You now own the domain.

View the Hover video tutorial for more information on how to register for a domain.