Helping the Homeless

Here is a very inspiring story about a Builders Club in the New York District that I wanted to share with all of you. I'm very touched by their passion for this cause and hope it inspires you to see what your local Builders Club has to offer!

At Thanksgiving time, a local Radio Disk Jockey would take a paper box, a sleeping bag and some food up onto a flat roof of a restaurant and stay there for the weekend, asking people to contribute money for the homeless.  My Builders Club (at a City School that had the highest poverty level in the city) Kids wanted to raise money to contribute to the DJ's efforts for the homeless.  They decided on a "Walk for the Homeless".  Our school was exactly a mile from Lake Ontario.  They planned a two mile (pre-paid) walk, from the school, down to the Beach and back.  They picked the Monday before Thanksgiving to do it.  The kids were all bussed into this school so they would have to start the walk the last period of the school day and then take a late bus home (one usually set aside for those doing sports, or having detention or needing extra help). The school agreed to this but said in order for a student to get out of 8th period to do the walk, he/she had to have brought in at least $5.00 (these kids were all poor, so that meant really getting a lot of small donations) and get written permission from their 8th period teachers.   The day of the walk, 22 of my 35 Builders Club members had turned in at least $5.00 and had written permission from their teacher.  Earlier that day,the temperature had plummeted to 20 degrees with a wind-chill index of about 5 degrees, it was snowing and we had about 5 inches of snow on the ground.  The 22 kids still wanted to do the walk, so off we went.  When we got to the beach, we stopped for a minute to get a picture to give to the DJ with the money raised.  I was so proud of the kids for insisting they do the walk, not just turn in the money, that I told them I would buy them all a cup of hot chocolate at a local burger place about a block away from the beach, but on the way back to the school.  The kids started off walking faster, knowing this, while I followed up the rear with the slower students.  When I got to the restaurant, all the kids were outside waiting, and very upset.  They had gone in, to use the bathrooms and wait for me.  The management had told them the restrooms were for "Paying Customers Only."  They explained they walk and that I was bringing up the rear with the slower walkers, but were still told, to use the bathroom or even be in the restaurant they had to buy something first!  When I arrived, they indignantly explained the situation.  I went in, placed and paid for 23 cups of Hot Chocolate and the kids were allowed in. On the way back to school, they ALL talked about how hard it must be really to be homeless, if people wouldn't even let you come in to go to the restroom!  It was not only a wonderful project for them to do (they turned in almost $500.00, much of it being brought in after the walk was over, when they told everyone how cold they had been, and their experience being turned away by the restaurant) but my Builders Club Members had a real passion to collect even more because of their experience. The experience had made the project very personal!

Making Tie-Blankets with Builders Club

A few months ago, my home club (University of Wisconsin-Madison Circle K) visited a local Builders Club that we've never met before at one of their meetings. This club was extremely energetic with an equally passionate faculty member for all things service and Kiwanis! 

Four members from my club (including myself) brought huge sheets of fleece to their meeting and was able to bond together over cutting and tying the fleece into blankets to be donated. We were able to learn a lot about them; we watched a video advertisement they filmed themselves to promote the huge food drive they hosted at their middle school and played a ton of fun games with them. We also taught them a lot about Circle K during a Q&A session where they asked us seemingly endless questions about what college was like, how we joined Circle K, what it was like and so much more.

These kids were incredible and I cannot wait to see them join Key Club, Circle K and Kiwanis when they grow older. I hope the rest of you can do something similar with the Builders Clubs nearest you as well!

Get Ready for Builders Club Month!

Hello Builders Club Month!

Who’s ready for month TWO of our Circle K International Kiwanis Family Relations Committee’s promotion for all the branches of the Kiwanis Family? Well you better get ready because here’s some fast facts about Builders Club coming right at you!

What is Builders Club?

Builders Club is the largest service organization for middle school and junior high students in the world! They have over 45,000 members… What? That’s even bigger than Circle K! The very first Builders Club was chartered in 1975 and today, there’s more than 1,600 clubs in countries all over the world, including Aruba, Australia, Barbados, Canada, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Philippines, the United States and so much more!

How Can I get more involved with Builders Club?

Volunteering and helping out at your local Builders Club is super easy! They do projects just like us and I’m sure they would love to have some older K-Family role models to serve with them. If you need help finding Builders Clubs in your area, please e-mail me at monica.wang23@gmail.com and I can help put you in touch with your district’s Builders Club Administrator.

You can also help co-sponsor a local Builders Club alongside a Kiwanis club! The Kiwanis club can help the Builders Club financially while Circle Kers can act more as the faculty advisers by attending meetings, going to their events and being any support they need.

Learn the Builders Club Pledge!

“I pledge on my honor to uphold the objects of Builders club. To better my school, my community, my nation, and myself. To aid those in need while enhancing leadership capabilities, and to encourage the fellowship of all mankind.”

Need more information? Check out their website at www.buildersclub.org! Builders Club is just like us so let’s show some love for this amazing branch of our family! If you have any specific questions about Builders Club, please don't hesitate to contact me at monica.wang23@gmail.com.

Forever Yours in Service,

Monica Wang

Builders Club Ambassador

BUG- Bring Up Grades!

A great program to get involved with through K-Kids or even without K-Kids, is the BUG or Bring Up Grades Program!

What is BUG?

BUG is a recognition program for elementary students who raise their grades and maintain them from one grading period to the next.

How can YOU get involved?

Your Kiwanis Family group can provide financial assistance, youth/adult mentors, or even start a program! You can provide tutoring at a local elementary school or community center and provide incentives such as the "BUG Honor Roll!"


For more information check out the BUG website at: http://kiwaniskids.org/en/BUG/Home.aspx

Announcing K-Kids Month!

To further promote the Kiwanis Family within Circle K International, the Kiwanis Family Relations Committee has decided that January will be K-Kids promotional month!

What is K-Kids?

K-Kids is an international elementary school service organization sponsored through Kiwanis International. Their motto is "We Build" and they focus on working together to serve their schools/communities, developing leadership skills, moral character, and encouraging loyalty to school, community and nation.

My favorite K-Kids Memory:

During my term as a Key Club Lieutenant Governor, I had the privilege of a personal connection with a local K-Kids member. One could say, a Kiwanis "family" connection. My little brother was a member of the Hillside K-Kids Club in Ashburn, Virginia. My favorite memory of K-Kids was the Liver Life Walk that encouraged my brother to join K-Kids! We got to work together in a Kiwanis Family "two-fold" with our parents and our local Kiwanis Family members to raise money for the American Liver Foundation! 

Our Kiwanis Family members and my biological family members at the Liver Life Walk! 

Learn their pledge!

As A K-Kid, I promise to serve my neighborhood and my school

I will show respect toward my environment 

And I will try to make the world a better place in which to live 

How does my club get involved?

-Your club can co-sponsor a club with your local Kiwanis Club 

-You can start a BUG program at a local elementary school (BUG information coming later this month)

-Start a Terrific Kids program at a local elementary school (Terrific Kids also coming later this month!)

Look out for more info on the youngest branch of the Kiwanis Family throughout the rest of the month of January! Questions? Contact K-Kids Ambassador Nicole Tardif at nltardif@gmail.com OR check out the website at kiwaniskids.org. 

Kiwanis Family Luau!

Cal State Fullerton's Annual Kiwanis Family turned into a luau this year! Every year, our Circle K plans a picnic-like social to which we invite our Kiwanis Family. The purpose of it all is for our Circle K'ers and Kiwanians to get to know each other better in a safe, yet fun environment! This year I wanted to make it a huge event going from a full-on mocktail to a lunch to even a set of fun relays! We wanted it all, and with a lot of planning and help we achieved our goal!

The entire planning process of the Kiwanis Family Luau was much like a roller coaster. Sometimes things seemed all right, and others everything just felt like it would fall apart. But, in the end, and with the help of some very involved and helpful friends we pulled off a very successful event. Let me tell you a bit about the crazy planning.

When this idea was initially presented to me by my predecessor, it was meant to be a small scale barbecue with our sponsoring Kiwanis Club and our Key Clubs, but I wanted something bigger. Being a KIWIN'S alma mater, and having a deep passion for our family, I wanted as many of our branches to have the opportunity to interact and have the opportunity to get rid of the crazy biases some clubs may have about other branches. So in the quest for this I attemped to request the high school branches of our family, but was immediately shut down due to regulations of which I was not aware (high school branches and Circle K clubs cannot attend each other's social events). After having spent a week on a meticulously written Event Request Form, waivers, and heavy advertising (to Kiwanis Clubs and Circle K clubs all over my division) I was crushed. Soon after I had to overcome the challenge and move forward with the planning.

Kiwanis Family Committee members and I trued to attend as many Kiwanis meetings in the area as we possible. Our club sent out digital invitations, but also made crafty and tangible invitations to give to each club (because sometimes something classic just works better!). We had set a date two months in advanced, and had started advertising since before the invitations had even been made. We asked each club to invite their sponsoring Kiwanis club if they wished, to be ready for some fun, to be ready to eat, and we also asked them to be prepared for some friendly competition among our division.

I planned it all in parts. I started with the mocktail party, which was a completly new concept to me. I researched various nonalcoholic beverages, as wel, as snacks that could pass as fun and tasty and most importanly low in cost. Once I had the mocktail menu I looked into the real food menu, which was very easy because although it was luau theme the food was basic (cheeseburgers with pineapple slices, hot dogs, veggie burgers, and plenty of donated desserts). In regards to the food and a lot of our drinks, we were very fortunate to have such supportive Kiwanis Clubs in our division who were willing to donate their extra supplies from past service projects. Our Kiwanis Clubs covered most of our drink and food costs with their donations and CSUF Circle K wanted to thank them with an amazing time! So the planning continued with our relay planning. Because I had some background in relay events this came easily, but when things wouldn't just pop into my head I researched new ideas. By this point I had three independent ideas and "projects" and I just needed to find a way to put them all together.

Let's keep in mind that so far most of the ideas I had down were word vomit. I had just jotted everything down and I needed to tie everything together and make sure everything would work. So, as I began to slightly panic at the fear of failure, I took a deep breath and went through the entire event in my head. I thought of the serving utensils, of the props needed for the relay, of the small details such as where we would store food, who would help me cut veggies and mix drinks. It all just came together.

At the event, I tried to be at as many places as possible, but at one point I realized that one of the most important things about the event was for everyone to let lose and have fun. I had planned ice breakers and games for us to play alongside our Kiwanis Clubs,  all of which were very fun. Everyone took a chance, and with just a little push in the right direction, our family came together like peas in a pod.

The event was a great experience and a great warm-up tool for the rest of the year and the upcoming kiwanis family events. It also offered new opportunities and new friendships. I think every club should attempt this in some way! It is all worth it!!

-April Rios