Kiwanis Club of the Helderbergs Information

Introducing the Kiwanis Club of the Helderbergs.

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

WHAT IS A KIWANIAN?

A Kiwanian is a person of good character who adheres to the standards of good conduct in his/her community and believes and subscribes to the Objects of Kiwanis International:

- giving primacy to the human and spiritual rather than the material values of life;
- treating other human beings as he/she would be treated in all human relationships;
- promoting the adoption and application of higher social, business and professional standards;
- developing, by precept and example, a more in-telligent, aggressive and serviceable citizenry;
- creating and maintaining that sound public opin-ion and high idealism which make possible the in-crease in righteousness, justice, patriotism and goodwill;
- providing through this club a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic ser-vice, and to build a better community.”

WHAT WE DO...

Kiwanis and its youth-oriented Service Lead-ership Programs (Builders Club, Key Club, and Circle K) serve communities in more than 70 countries and geographic areas.

Founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan, Ki-wanis International now comprises 600,000 members — men, women boys and girls — worldwide.

Kiwanians believe working hard and having fun together builds strong friendships as well as strong communities. Part of this philoso-phy involves sharing a meal together, so Ki-wanis meetings usually occur at meal times.

Kiwanis clubs serve their local communities with unique projects and by working with other community organizations to provide more and better service.

They also meet and work with other local Kiwanis clubs to ex-change ideas and collaborate on projects.

WHAT WE ASK....

Kiwanis members are asked to attend as many meetings and to help with as many projects as they can. They pay yearly dues (ours are $90 per year) to cover club expenses; our bylaws state that all monies raised from non-members MUST be spent on community projects.

HOW WE DO IT...

Back to School Project: Needy Berne-Knox-Westerlo School students get a new backpack stuffed with school supplies and new sneakers.
Bowl-a-thon: Club members solicit support from family and friends to raise funds to support the Club’s charitable activities.
Calculator Loan Program: The Club and indi-viduals have purchased graphing calculators for needy students taking advanced math at BKW.
Food Baskets: With the Hilltowns Community Resource Center, the Club purchases and assem-bles food for families at Thanksgiving and Easter.
Food Pantry Deliveries: Members pick up food from the Regional Food Bank and deliver it to the Hilltowns food pantry—fresher food, faster.
Fresh Air Picnic: The Club organizes a picnic for visiting Fresh Air Fund children and their host families. There’s food, games, and free pony rides and petting zoo, thanks to Sue Mason.
Green-Up, Roadside Beautification: The Club cleans 2 highways and plants flowers at helped by Mae Flowers of Knox.
Hilltowns Memorial Day Parade: Groups are contacted, flowers provided, judges recruited, awards purchased and presented, the march co-ordinated, reviewing stand built and flags distrib-uted by Club members. The Towns of Berne, Knox and Westerlo provide support. The Club President serves as Master of Ceremonies.
Interclubs: Club members visit other Kiwanis Clubs. sharing ideas for service and fundraising.
Kiwanis International Foundation: The Club makes donations to support world-wide projects of Kiwanis International, best known for the cam-paign to stamp out iodine deficiency disorder.
Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center at Albany Med: The Club raise funds for one of three facilities in NY State dedicated to serving children.
Leadership Training: The Club provides a scholarship to a BKW sophomore to attend a Kiwanis-approved leadership training seminar .
Little League: Club members built a Little League field in Knox, and continues support.
Maple Festival: Maple sugar producers give tours. Local organizations provide a mini-fair of wares and programs. Club members cook “Pancakes and Fixin’s”, while BKW Builders and Key Club members keep the food moving!
“Read Round the World”: The Club purchases books to give to needy children, local libraries and organizations that support young children.
Scholarships: Each year a BKW Senior is given a scholarship recognizing community service.
Schoolhouse: The Club restored a one-room schoolhouse in Knox, working with NYS Dept of Parks to rebuild and re-equip it as an educational facility for Thacher Park. It is now on the Regis-ter of Historic Places.
Senior Project: As part of the HCRC Christmas Project, a mailing is sent to needy seniors, and club members use their requests to “shop” at the HCRC Christmas Store. We deliver, too!
Sponsored Youth: Club members are proud of their the Builders Club for middle schoolers and the Key Club for high school students at Berne-Knox-Westerlo. These provide opportunities to do good works in school and community, teach-ing concern for others, self-confidence, leader-ship skills and responsibility towards self, home and others. We encourage and assist these young people by acting as club advisors, attend-ing meetings, providing leadership training and acting as chaperones on projects.
Young Children Priority One: The primary focus of Kiwanis service is CHILDREN. Under this KI slogan , the club has conducted many pro-jects, including those mentioned separately.

The Club meets every Wednesday at 6:00 PM.

For more information, please call or e-mail:

Zenie Gladieux 872-1469 [1]