Connecting the K's

By: Vamshi Voruganti

All Key Clubbers know that Key Club is a fun and exciting place to do service projects and develop leadership, but many don’t know that it is only one out of many community service organizations in the Kiwanis Family. Kiwanis Clubs are the “parent” branch of the K-Family, the adult equivalent to Key Club; they hold service projects, do community service, and build upon their already existing leadership skills. Kiwanis members also sponsor Key Clubs and act as advisors. However, Kiwanis isn’t the only separate branch of the K-Family. There are many others: K-Kids (for elementary school students), Builders Club (for middle school students), Circle K International (for college students), and Aktion Club (for adults with disabilities). Each Key Club should strive to have multiple events with other branches of the K-Family. Here are some ideas that can help you get involved with your K-Family members:

K-Kids or Builders Club

Co-sponsor a K-Kids or a Builders Club: your club will act as the advisor of the middle school or elementary school clubs. You will make sure that the club runs smoothly and that the children enjoy doing service, to prep them for the next step up: Key Club.

An event you can do with them:

Box-top (or spare change, empty Capri Sun pouch, book, and etc.) drive: either within the club itself or for the entire school. It can be a race to get the highest amount between grade levels in larger schools, or between different classrooms in smaller schools. Organize a prize for the winning team, and make sure your young leaders are participating, too. Have them spread the word and excitement for this project, and help

them collect and count the box-tops to decide the winner.

Circle K International

Usually, Circle K students have already been Key Clubbers. Often times they will lead the project. In addition, they will be trying to convince you to become a Circle K-er. These projects will be larger and will take more planning; this is the perfect time to put those leadership abilities to the test!

An event you can do with them:

Highway Road (park, building, etc) clean up: each team (your Key Club and the CKI Club you are working with) “adopts” a highway that is in need of upkeep, and your team helps to make it as good as new. The hard part is promoting and organizing this project; the fun part is being there with all your friends and working.

Kiwanis International

Often times, Key Clubbers have already worked with their sponsoring Kiwanis Club or Kiwanis members in a service event; if your club hasn’t, then make it a goal to work with them within the next year. The most important thing you can do when working with a Kiwanis Club is to bring with you the spunky energy that only a teenager can have!

An event you can do with them:

A charity golf (or baseball, or hockey, or any other sport) tournament: this is a personal favorite of mine that my sponsoring Kiwanis Club does every year. In one of these tournaments, each team that enters must pay an entry fee; some of this money is used to cover the fees to hold the tournament, and the rest is donated to charity. You can also collect donations and sell food and merchandise; the proceeds of which go to your cause. Key steps to successfully organizing this event: rent out a space for the tournament to happen, publicize and make sure a good amount of teams are participating, and ask businesses to sponsor the event to reduce fees. If executed correctly, this event raises a lot of money, is a lot of fun, and strengthens the K-Family bond!

Ronald McDonald House Charities

By: Manaswita Tappata

It all started with one. Just one 3-year old girl diagnosed with leukemia in 1969 was able to trigger an international charity. That child was Kim Hill whose parents worked with a local doctor, the Philadelphia Eagles, McDonald's, and their community to build the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia, PA. Today there are 300 RMHs and programs in 52 countries worldwide. 

The Ronald McDonald House Charities help stabilize and provide resources to the families of children who are ill. The Ronald McDonald Houses are built in close proximity to Children's Hospital and therefore are able to provide a home for the families of children. 

The houses relieve families of having to travel from their home to the hospital each time, wasting precious time and energy. This extra help often holds a family together and prevents division by keeping everyone close. Of course, especially for the children facing medical problems, always having their mom and dad close by is priceless. 

In addition to holding together families, RMHC also provides many services for them. They provide home-cooked meals, private bedrooms, playrooms for children, and usually have recreational activities. All of these services are of little or no cost to the families, and are possible with the aid of selfless volunteers and generous donations. 

There are five RMHC locations in Pennsylvania and as the Youth Serving Youth (YSY) Project for this year, Key Clubbers are starting to get involved with their local houses by volunteering their time, talents, or cooking abilities. However, not all of these locations are easy to reach for some, so one way to contribute and do your part is by collecting soda tabs. In addition, some houses collect glossy paper for recycling. All of the profits from these collections go to sustaining the houses and helping the children. Remember, all it takes is one person and one action to make a difference.

Recruiting

By: Drew Cooper

We’ve all been there before; recruiting new Key Club members can be an absolute nightmare! In my own home club we used to have issues, but some simple things helped us through it. First of all, make sure you make your club seem fun, nobody wants to join another boring club just to put on a college application; they want something that will help them in the future and they can enjoy right now.  Make it a point that service projects are fun and beneficial for a lot of people, not just busy work that your advisor comes up with. Finally, even when you have members, make sure to listen to them and fix things accordingly; if people think meetings are boring, spruce them up; if people think service projects are lacking; ask for new, fresh ideas.  In the end it’s really just a group effort!

In my own experience, I’ve seen people join Key Club just to look good for a college application, I’ve seen people join it for friends, and I’ve seen people join it just to help others.  For me, I joined because it looked fun, and nothing will attract teenagers more than that.  If someone comes to your meeting as a guest and sees ice breakers and maybe even food at your meetings, they’ll be thinking this is way better than most clubs.  Another thing that has been successful for us is to have your club host fun things for the school’s general public like dances and such just to keep everyone’s spirits up throughout the year. Remember, being fun is one of the best parts of Key Club, and you should advertise it!

Service projects are a huge part of Key Club, and without them it wouldn’t be what it is.  I’ve had people ask me about Key Club and they always say the service projects make them weary of joining, but I tell them it’s the best part.  Most people think of it as taking their free time to do more things for school, but you should tell them it’s an excuse to see your friends and have fun while helping the community in any way possible. A lot of Key Club recruitment is making people understand what it’s all about, and service projects are the biggest thing you need to make clear.

Last, but not least, make sure things don’t get mundane and boring, or you will lose your newly recruited!  Meetings can be a boring task sometimes, so try to spruce them up with a great icebreaker or pizza every once in a while.  Nobody likes doing the same service projects every year either, so make sure you have new and innovative ideas.  Surely, between your members, friends, and community members, you can find some new ideas every time your club needs some projects to do. While you’re at it, do things like a picnic or group project with Kiwanis, and get the adults involved too. What you do means a lot to them, and it’s a refreshing thing for all of your members.

As you can see, a few simple things will make your club’s membership problems simply go away.  Go out there and get Key Club’s name out, and emphasize all the fun there is to be had!  There are plenty of new service projects out there for many new Key Club members to do and have fun with.  Key Club is the perfect example of having fun while you work and change lives; keep that in mind while you’re out there getting members. Come on, who doesn’t love to help out others?

Distinguished

By: Max Mazurowski

Many Key Clubbers are elected as officers for their clubs to help organize and run events and meetings. These people are generally good speakers, helpful, dedicated, and responsible. It is an accomplishment to be elected for one of these positions, but there is another step after this that is an even bigger achievement. Every year at the District Convention/Leadership Conference, officers that work hard throughout the year and perform certain requirements are rewarded as distinguished officers. Each official position has different requirements to achieve distinguished status due to the different duties of the position, but all must show dedication and enthusiasm.

Club Webmasters are responsible for managing any possible web pages for their club. To achieve distinguished status, this person must first be officially trained at a zone or divisional training conference led by either a Zone Administrator or Lieutenant Governor (under the permission of the Zone Administrator). This must be done by December 1^st in order for the officer to be a candidate for distinguished. This person must also submit a section in their club’s monthly report and ensure that at least six of these reports are sent in to the district by the deadline.

The Club Editor for each club is responsible for any printed materials including advertising, communications, and general publicity. Ranging from making newsletters to contacting local press, the editor has many duties to be completed throughout the year. On top of these, they must also attend a training conference by December 1^st and submit at least six portions of the club’s monthly report to the district by the deadline.

The Club Treasurer holds an important role in the club; any financial matters go through them. They must maintain the club’s financial account, ensure that dues are collected, and much more, all while following their school’s financial policy. These must be done without error, and therefore it takes a very organized person to accept the role of treasurer. To attain distinguished status, they must attend a trainer and submit their share of the monthly reports on time. On top of this, they must also ensure that club dues are submitted by November 1^st.

Club Secretaries have one of the more demanding roles in Key Club. They are responsible for keeping record of all events and files, as well as submitting monthly reports. This role also takes a very organized and dedicated person to be successful. This person must attend a trainer, submit at least six monthly reports (including their section) on time, and submit an election report form by September 30^th.

Club Vice Presidents have a strong leadership role in their club, and should be considered as a second president. Running many club matters, they need to be extremely dedicated to their clubs and always be there to help. Along with this responsibility, this person must also attend a trainer and submit at least 6 sections in monthly reports on time.

Club Presidents are responsible for the well being of the club. They must ensure that everything runs smoothly, and that every aspect of their club is productive. With tasks including running meetings and planning events, this person must be very well rounded with organizational and creative skills. Just like the other officers, they must attend a trainer and submit at least 6 sections in monthly reports on time. However, presidents are given extra responsibility to become distinguished. First, they must make sure that all other officers in their club attain distinguished status. On top of this, they must also conduct a Key Club event that benefits the current YSY Project and complete the YSY Project Completion form by a certain date given by the District Secretary/Treasurer.

When all is said and done, officers that stand out above the rest are recognized as distinguished at the end of the year. Officers, remember to stay organized and dedicated, but also work as a team. Achieving goals is much easier when you have others to help you. Work hard and good luck!

Meetings 101

By: Elizabeth Smolinski

Are you always having trouble thinking about what to do at your next meeting? Is it a constant battle to keep you meetings organized and efficient? Following a few of these easy tips can help improve your meetings and keep your Key Clubbers coming back.

Before the meeting:  

Set an agenda.

It keeps your officers on task and allows the meeting to flow nicely. Consider making a sheet that can be a template of how your meeting will run. Start off right with an icebreaker. Include old service projects for your clubs to reflect on. (Perhaps have a member discuss a past project they attended.) As always, update your clubs about upcoming events.

Consider getting a guest speaker.

Guest speakers can help motivate members.

Remind your advisor and Kiwanis club.

                  Don’t forget to let your Kiwanians and dedicated advisors

know when club meetings are. Kiwanians are always looking to attend key club meetings. Reach out! Let me them see how great your club is!

Assign someone to greet new members.

                  Inform, get to know, and become friends with new members.

                  Pick someone new every week to greet!

      Stick to the regular day and time.

Make your meetings the same day and time so your members will always remember when the next meeting is. Don’t fret if this is not possible but try your best to have a system.

Don’t fear your advisor(s).

They are there to ADVISE you. Ask questions! Review your agenda with them and make sure everyone is on the same page.

At the meeting:

Officers should run the meeting.

Don’t rely on your advisors, let them sit back and relax. Key Club is a student led organization! Be that leading student.

Stay on track.

                  Keep your meetings moving and engaging.

Start out with a short icebreaker or quote.

It engages your members. It makes for a fun start to your meetings, and members can meet other members.

Host guest speakers.

Guest speakers can increase member attendance at meetings. They can also help motivate and encourage members to attend service projects.

Discuss upcoming projects.

Inform members by giving them time, place and what the project is doing for members of your community.           

Participate in a service projects.

Make cards for the elderly. Wrap presents for Toys for Tots. Make blankets for the homeless.

Evaluate your last project.

Reflection on projects can help find the needs of your members. They will express to you if they liked the project or if they want new projects. Listen to your members; they are the voice.

     Thank everyone for attending.

After the meeting:

Clean up.

Send greetings to members who could not attend.

Try your best to reach out to members that missed the meeting. Maybe they just forgot.

Ask members who did attend to let those that didn’t attend  know what happened.