Three quarters down and one to go. This year is moving by fast. We are Building Bridges left and right. We have over 5 new Kiwanis Clubs with 2 to 3 more to come. Not counting the new clubs, we, the Florida District, are up 351 new members. The top three Divisions are Division 9 with 49 new members, Division 23 with 44, and Division 16 with 41. This is not the time to stop bringing in new members. More Kiwanians mean more service.

The SLPs are being added all over the state. We have one new CKI with 60 members and more being worked on. More than 10 new Key Clubs, new Builders Club +4, K-Kids +5, and a new Aktion Club increase the tally.

We had an exciting time at the International Convention in Indianapolis. The Florida District was represented by more than 20 Kiwanians. For the second year in a row the Florida District won a Signature Project Contest award out of 415 contest entries! Congratulations to the Kiwanis Club of North Port, which won Silver in Tier One (clubs with 27 or fewer members) for Children’s Community Clothing Closet.

Hope to see everyone at the Florida District Convention in Naples in August. Governor-Elect Sharon and her Educational Chair, Roxanna Brown, have put a lot of effort into developing the workshops. Vice-Governor Prairy and Jeremy are planning a great Caring Corner.

See everyone in Naples.

CLE

Attention: Incoming Officers

The new Kiwanis year is nearly upon us. Are you ready? Local trainers are hosting Club Leadership Education (CLE) sessions across the Florida District throughout July. In these sessions, the club officers will learn best practices to make your club successful as well as put pen to paper in planning for the new year. Everyone is welcome to attend so you can work together to make your club successful in the coming year.

If you missed the CLE Training in your division, please plan to attend the make-up session at a nearby division (see list here) or on Thursday, August 4 at 2:15pm at the District Convention in Naples, FL. Virtual CLE make-up sessions for anyone who was unable to attend CLE in person will be held on September 13th and 15th from 7pm to 9pm EST. Members must attend BOTH virtual sessions to receive credit for attending CLE. Please use this zoom link for both sessions. All Presidents and Secretaries are required to attend the Florida District CLE training session for their club to be eligible for Club of the Year and Distinguished Club Recognitions.

In addition to the local CLE sessions, Kiwanis International is once again hosting position-specific training the first week of August. These sessions are open to any Kiwanian that is interested in learning more about the position. They are separate from the District CLE training and only required for incoming officers that have not held that position in the past 3 years. You must register to attend live or receive the recording. Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Registration will close one hour before the start of the session.

A recording will be made available within one week to all who register. 

               Aug 1, 8 pm EST: Presidents

               Aug 2, 8 pm EST: Secretary

               Aug 3, 8 pm EST: Treasurer

               Aug 4, 8 pm EST: Membership Chair

For more information, you can reach out to your local trainer (listed here) or contact the District Leadership Development Coordinators Jeremy Riehl at JeremyRiehl777@gmail.com or 407-625-3254 or Prairy Riehl at Prairy.Riehl@gmail.com or 407-900-7779.

HA

HAPPENINGS AROUND THE

FLORIDA DISTRICT OF KIWANIS

KIWANIS CLUB OF TAMPA

Kiwanis StoryWalk is an initiative from The Kiwanis Club of Tampa to encourage literacy and exercise for children. A StoryWalk is a sign installation that displays a storybook along a walking path page-by-page. In order to read the story, families will walk along the path and read along. This is the first StoryWalk in Tampa and is located at Al Lopez Park.

The Kiwanis StoryWalk is donated, installed, and maintained by The Kiwanis Club of Tampa and volunteers change out the stories monthly.

StoryWalk will be bilingual, with stories displayed in both English and Spanish, and will also include an audio version to make the program accessible to the visually impaired.

The Kiwanis StoryWalk is funded by The Tampa Kiwanis Foundation. Their two annual fundraisers, The Incredible Duck Race and Chicken Barbecue, fund their many projects for children including the new Kiwanis StoryWalk.

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Learn more about the Kiwanis StoryWalk® at TampaKiwanis.org

Click for StoryWalk Video

~ Amanda Malinowski

ANNA MARIA ISLAND KIWANIS CLUB

(L to R) Sandy Haas-Martens, Kiwanis Secretary; David Nguyen, Erika Nguyen, Chris Waldin, Rayline Waldin, Gabriella Reich, Barry Reich, Darrel Shinn, Kiwanis Scholarship Committee. (Picture by John Chappie)

On Saturday, May 14, 2022, the Anna Maria Island Kiwanis presented three $1,000.00 scholarships to three Kiwanis sponsored Key Club Members Erika Nguyen, Rayline Waldin & Gabriella Reich, who attended the State College of Florida Collegiate Schools, Bradenton Campus (SCFCS). The SCFCS are tuition-free public charter schools, with the Bradenton campus sponsored by Manatee County District Schools. 

Erika Nguyen will be studying at the University of South Florida and will be majoring in biomedical sciences. She plans to apply for medical school and become a doctor as a diagnostic radiologist.

Rayline Waldin will be attending Florida State in Tallahassee. Her major is information systems management & her ultimate goal is to work for a large corporation in the technology field.

Gabriella Reich will be attending the University of Florida while pursuing a biology degree with a premed concentration. She hopes to go on to medical school and become a doctor.  

~ Barbara Baker

KIWANIS CLUB of DAVIE & WEST HOLLYWOOD

Key Club Faculty Advisors Ms. Denise Lewis and Ms. Nicole Poulin were named the Key Club Faculty Advisors of the Year! 

Additionally, we have worked this year to build a strong partnership with our Key Club family organizations: The Middle School Builders Club and Lower School K-Kids. Ms. Jennifer Stahl (Builders Club Advisor) and Ms. Megan Joyce (K-Kids Advisor) were named the Builders Club and K-Kids Advisors of the Year, respectively. 

It is an incredible honor that NSU University School Advisors won this Kiwanis International recognition in all three divisions: Upper School, Middle School, and Lower School.

Special thank you to Mr. David Roth, President of the Kiwanis Club and our Kiwanis Advisor at USchool for presenting the awards. 

~ Sinan Kassim

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Kiwanis Club of Miami 

Donates $135,000 

To 12 South Florida Charities

       The Kiwanis Club of Miami, one of the oldest Kiwanis clubs in Florida, recently donated $135,000 to 12 charities for sports and recreational programs throughout South Florida in a ceremony at the South Dade YMCA Family Center, 9355 SW 134^th street. 

            Over the past 23 years the Kiwanis Club of Miami has distributed—through its Miami Kiwanis Youth Foundation—more than $2 million.   

      “We are keenly aware of the challenges the charitable community faces, particularly coming out of the pandemic,” said Kiwanis Club of Miami Treasurer Chuck Little.  “We’re blessed to be able to do our part to jump help their efforts to provide the best recreational activities we can for our youth.  Simply put, this is an investment in our youth and our South Florida community.” 

ALL SMILES. South Florida charities receiving donations from the Kiwanis Club of Miami are all smiles as they reveal their checks during a recent ceremony. The Kiwanis Club of Miami, one of the oldest Kiwanis clubs in Florida, distributed $135,000 to 12 charities for sports and recreational programs throughout the area. In the past 23 years the organization, through its Miami Kiwanis Youth Foundation, has distributed more than $2 million.

Founded in 1921, Kendall-based Kiwanis Club of Miami has been distributing funds for youth sports and recreational activities since 2000. Paul Zee, a South Florida contractor and longtime member of the club, left money in his will to fund the Miami Kiwanis Youth Foundation.

Organizations receiving grants this year were: YMCA, Junior Orange Bowl Committee, Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs of Miami-Dade, Optimist Foundation of Greater Goulds, Peace Education Foundation, Kiwanis Club of Little Havana Foundation, Children’s Resource Center, Richmond Perrine Optimist Club, Community Habilitation WOW Center, Optimist Club of Ives Estates, Coral Estates Soccer Club & Cutler Ridge Soccer Club.

The Kiwanis Club of Miami is part of Kiwanis International, a global community of clubs, members and partners dedicated to improving the lives of children one community at a time. With more than 7,000 clubs in 80 countries representing more than 550,000 members, Kiwanis clubs host nearly 150,000 service projects each year.

For more information on the Kiwanis Club of Miami, contact Little at (786) 546-3386 or email him at ChuckBig@bellsouth.net.

CHILD CARE DESERTS

Did you know that nearly 40% of the residents of our state live in a childcare desert? This is defined as any area where there at least three times as many children as there are available licensed childcare slots.

How does this impact our work through YC:PO? How can we assist with the staggering need of our young children throughout the State? What does it mean if children in these areas are not able to acquire quality early learning before they begin kindergarten?

How has the COVID-19 Pandemic impacted the childcare industry, especially the thousands of small business owners in this industry?

The above are some of the items that will be discussed at the YC:PO workshops at DCON in August. The workshops are scheduled for Friday and Saturday. I hope your schedule at DCON will allow you to attend one of our workshops so together we can explore opportunities to assist the children of our state become “ready” for kindergarten.

Kids need Kiwanis! Let’s work on this opportunity together! See you soon.

SERVICE

Service is at the heart of what Kiwanis does. There are several projects that your club can do. Think outside of the box and get inspired by others! If you have a service project that your club does, let me know and I'll be happy to share it with others! 

A big congratulations goes out to the Division 18 North Port Kiwanis Club for achieving the Tier 1 Signature Project Silver Award at International Convention for their Children's Community Clothing Closet!! North Port Kiwanis is one to admire as they are constantly doing more for their community. No obstacle can get in their way of serving!

Interested in serving as a Service committee member? Please contact me via email at linp2martin@gmail.com. Responsibilities are primarily to help gather and share information on impactful service projects that can be shared with others. 

The Kiwanis year is almost over! I can’t believe how time flies.

I am excited to share that our first K-Kids Play Workshop was a success! With the help of the Florida Kiwanis Foundation and Dr. Walter Drew, we had several schools participate in the live event, which took place on May 17^th.

The children used materials they had on hand as well as materials they received as part of the program to let their imaginations soar as they made their own creations. They were then given the opportunity to journal about the experience. Some words they used were fun, freedom, relaxing, and calming.

We plan to conduct a similar event next year. Watch your inboxes for more news!

I’m also excited to be attending the convention this year in Naples. I will be conducting a workshop that will be all about K-Kids. If you want to learn more about opening a new K-Kids club, or if you are curious about how to include your K-Kids clubs with your Kiwanis club’s projects, come on by!

While you are at the convention, please visit me at my booth, which I will be sharing with Builder’s Club. I would love to meet you!

See you at convention!

Aktion Conference is LIVE 2022

Greeting My Fellow Kiwanians!

Since COVID 19 there has not been a live Aktion Conference in the Florida District. The plan this year is to hold our Aktion conference in Sarasota, FL which has really cool places to serve as our venue and many options for neat excursions.

The plan is to have it September 3-5 Labor Day weekend. On Sunday we plan to have a banquet for our awards ceremony and service celebration. We plan to have a band for our dance party and service event(s) on Sunday as well.

So far we anticipate the following clubs to participate: Highlands Co., WOW center, Lady Lake, Celebration, and Hendry County. Key , CKI, and Kiwanis clubs leadership/ members are welcomed to assist with decorating, projects, and dancing that weekend at the Embassy Suites by Hilton.

A huge thank you to the Florida Kiwanis Foundation for their support and guidance! Let’s grow and develop as one big K Family to serve each other with love and kindness. Contact me if you would like to participate in some form or fashion.

Grateful and Hopeful,

Gavin W Boone

Aktion Club District Chair

Celebrate Builder’s Club!

Florida Builders club has been very active as we wrapped up the school year. Clubs had the opportunity to apply for distinguished club and distinguished officer awards and recognitions.

Our distinguished clubs are: Imagine North Manatee Middle School, and Corner Lake Middle School. Cypress Lake Middle School, Merritt Brown Middle School, and an honor mention went to Braden River Middle School. 2 students won distinguished club officer awards: Alexa Ross from Corner Lake Middle School, and Caylyn Mathis from Merritt Brown Middle School!

We also had 3 amazing distinguished advisors! From Corner Lake Middle School- Alexis Reul, from Cypress Lake Middle School, Fort Myers- Farwa Ahmed, and from Merritt Brown Middle School- Susan Granberg! Congratulations to all of our award winners!

If any clubs are interested in learning more about how to apply for any of the distinguished recognition‘s, please visit the website and share with your advisors: https://www.buildersclub.org/club-and-member-recognition/.

The Florida Kiwanis foundation has had a huge impact on Builders club this year as we have been working closely on developing a virtual lead and play workshop. More information on this will be sent to faculty and Kiwanis advisors. If you would like more information, please see the flyer below. We are excited to get our middle school students starting off the year right! 

As in person events are starting to become more regular, we plan to include Builders club in as many Key Club events as we can to help that transition run smoothly and increase interclub action! 

Please let me know if you have any questions or want to share your Builders Club(s) achievements!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7DYYLdoVb5DdVNSU2rn-6zYyTmH83VooowR4CS8fshJe8fA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thank you!

Krystal Laudicina

Builders Club District Administrator

DR. WIL BLECHMAN FELLOWSHIP UNVEILED

ERIN CHANDLER | JUN 09, 2022

Dr. Wil Blechman had a profound impact on Kiwanis International and on the lives of young children around the world. At the opening session of the 2022 Kiwanis International Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., the organization unveiled the Dr. Wil Blechman Fellowship in honor of the 1990-91 president, who died in September 2021.

Dr. Wil Blechman Fellowships will be awarded to donors who make an unrestricted gift of US$2,500 to the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. This new fellowship is a way to recognize Kiwanians’ generosity while remembering Dr. Wil’s passion for childhood development.

In fact, gifts support the Kiwanis causes:

• Health and nutrition.
• Education and literacy.
• Youth leadership development. 

Clubs and individuals may also make a donation for a Dr. Wil Fellowship to honor a special Kiwanian whose values and service emulate Dr. Wil’s work.

“There is no more fitting honor for a dedicated Kiwanian than one bearing Dr. Wil Blechman’s name,” said Pam Norman, chief philanthropy officer at Kiwanis International.

“As a global leader, Dr. Wil inspired members worldwide to take action on behalf of young children, and Kiwanis International is a better organization due to his visionary thinking.”

Following his term as president of Kiwanis International in 1990-91, Wil Blechman retired from his medical practice to advocate tirelessly on behalf of the world’s children. He researched and developed many projects for the Young Children: Priority One program (projects that are still popular with Kiwanis clubs today), and he spoke publicly about how to support early childhood development.

The inaugural recipient of the Dr. Wil Blechman Fellowship was Blechman’s widow, Rachel Blechman. Mrs. Blechman’s study of child development at Cornell University made her a vital advisor for Dr. Wil in his work, and she advocated alongside him for children’s health and well-being.  

At Thursday’s opening session, Mrs. Blechman said, “When the idea of a Dr. Wil Blechman Fellowship was presented to Wil and me last summer, we were honored, surprised and delighted to lend his name. Our family shares Wil’s belief in the importance of the earliest years, and we are happy to provide a lead gift in support of the Kiwanis Children’s Fund to carry on his values and vision.” 

More information about the Dr. Wil Blechman Fellowship, including recognition options and the donation form, is available at kiwanis.org/blechman-fellow.

JULY

24-27:2022 Circle K International Convention in Austin, Texas, USA

AUGUST

10: Legacy of Play Contest opens

SEPTEMBER

1: Deadline to submit Kiwanis Children's Fund club grant Letter of Inquiry (LOI) for January 2023 funding consideration

11-17: Celebrate Community with Lions International, Optimist International and Rotary International

OCTOBER

1: First day of the new Kiwanis year

10-14: Youth Protection Week

17-21: CKI Week

22: Kiwanis One Day

FUTURE KIWANIS INTERNATIONAL

CONVENTIONS

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA    June 21-24, 2023

Denver, Colorado, USA    July 3-6, 2024

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA    June 25-28, 2025