THE GOVERNOR'S QUACKER
2019-2020 Governor Allen Yergovich
Kiwanis Family:
Congratulations! We’ve made it into June. These past three months have seemed like years to many of us.
Congratulations to all the Graduates in our lives! Graduates from each level of our Service Leadership Programs and those in our more immediate and extended families: Never stop learning and chasing your dreams. We believe in you!
Congratulations also to our Florida District clubs that made the latest issue of the Kiwanis Magazine! Great job! (
click to read
)
I am very excited that the planning for the premiere Florida District Virtual Convention are taking shape. We expect there will be:
- many great educational workshops
- a compelling key-note speaker
- 2018-19 Club of the Year award
- parting words from your outgoing Governor
- encouraging words from your incoming Governor and our International Trustee
- a Council session to ratify our uncontested election
- the presentation of your district officers, especially your new Vice-Governor
- virtual fellowship opportunities
- a creative Caring Corner
- a large-scale service project
- no registration fee, no travel hassles, more opportunity for everyone to participate.
We obviously can’t have an in-person large-scale service project like we did last year, packaging over 50,000 meals. Instead, I am hoping that every club will plan some sort of service project for that Sunday, August 16, no matter how big or small, we can all share in the knowledge that we are working together for the children. I am also hoping that clubs will use those funds budgeted to send people to DCon and to buy program ads for the Caring Corner or the large-scale service project. And please send your budgeted Caring Corner checks in as always.
Let’s all make the best of this VCon and we will celebrate doubly in Boca next year!
Kids need Kiwanis, more than ever.
So many of our community partners’ services and future funding are allocated by the Census numbers. It is critical that we help make the public aware of how important a “full count” in the 2020 Census is to our communities - for the next ten years. Schools, hospitals, fire departments, roads, early-learning and other child services will all be impacted. Please spread the word however you can.
Hopes and Dreams
I hope every club leader participated in the virtual CLE last week. It will be available if you missed it.
I hope every club has filed their 990 and their Florida renewals.
I hope every club has reported their 2020-21 officers on their club dashboard.
My dream is that every club is meeting virtually, or safely in person, or at least keeping in frequent contact with all of their members.
I hope every club has adapted their fundraisers and service projects to the new reality, we don’t know how long it’ll be.
My dream is that Florida Kiwanis doesn’t lose a single member because of Covid. Nor because they just lost interest or found other priorities during the crisis.
I hope every club is taking advantage of the “free” membership for the rest of this year to get lots of new members for their clubs.
Keep Kiwanis service and friendship alive.
Be creative. Have fun. Stay optimistic.
#GetQuacking!
Allen Yergovich
Governor - Florida District of Kiwanis International
#KidsNeedKiwanis #FLKiwanis #GetQuacking
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From Your District Chairs
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Redivisioning
Has your club ever felt out of place in your division? Do you feel you would connect better with the clubs in a neighboring division that may be closer? Kiwanis recognizes that communities change over time, which may result in better synergy among clubs. Therefore, the bylaws mandate that the District formally evaluate the make-up of the Divisions every four years. Most of the time, no changes are made. However, re-divisioning could lead to improvements by moving a club from one division to another; splitting a division in two; or combining neighboring divisions into one.
If you have any suggestions for shifting the borders of any of the Divisions, please contact your Lieutenant Governor and district chair Jeremy Riehl (
JeremyRiehl777@gmail.com
) with your ideas no later than July 15, 2020. This will allow us time to talk with the affected clubs and divisions prior to presenting the idea to the District Board in August.
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Young Children Priority One
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No Small Matter: Host a Virtual Screening
Kids Need Kiwanis, now more than ever. High quality education for all isn’t just powerful — it’s possible. This powerful film will motivate you and your members to get involved in promoting positive experiences for all children in your community.
Don't let physical distancing keep you from sharing this important film. Host a virtual screening! Our “digital screening kit” can help you plan and promote your event, from getting the word out to setting up the technology to inspiring action after the film. Invite partners and friends; a virtual screening is a great member recruitment activity!
And don’t forget to apply for a grant to cover the cost of your screening! Florida Kiwanis has partnered with the Florida Grade Level Reading campaign, the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and other partners to provide funds to support virtual screenings. Clubs can apply for a grant to receive a free license to view the full film or shorter versions, depending on your needs.
For information about the film, the grants and the digital screening kit, contact Jennifer Ohlsen, Young Children Priority One Chair at
johlsen@ounce.org
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Sign-Up to Be a Florida Kiwanis CKI Mentor for Fall 2020!
Did you know in the United States there are nearly 6 million youth, ages 16 to 24, who feel disconnected from both work and school? And one in three young people will reach the age of 19 without having an adult mentor of any kind. That’s where Kiwanians can play an important role in filling the mentoring gap with our CKI members. If you’re not familiar with CKI or Circle K International, it’s the branch of the Kiwanis family for college students. In fact, CKI has the highest per member service hour average of any Kiwanis family club.
The Mentorship program is a brand new program in the Florida District so you have an opportunity to be a part of something new which will allow you to share your knowledge and experience, foster professional growth in a college student, and build a stronger relationship with another branch of the K-Family.
Once you sign up at
http://bit.ly/KiwanisMentor
, we will match you with a college student who is a member of CKI. We will try to match mentor and mentees based on career interests and geography when possible. Mentors and mentees will commit to at least one contact per month, but multiple contacts are encouraged. This contact can be via email, phone, online, or in person as determined by the mentor and mentee. A short orientation is available online with more information at
http://bit.ly/MentorshipOrientation
.
The program will begin in September and will run through May. Once you sign up, you will be contacted by Committee Chair, Stacy Vu, who will match mentors with mentees. Questions about the program can be directed to Stacy Vu at
stacy.p.vu@gmail.com
or
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Making Strides in Drowning Prevention
While our Kiwanis Drowning Prevention Program committee has not been able to meet in person, we remain in contact with each other through emails. We have two clubs who have made a difference in the drowning prevention arena.
The Kiwanis Club of Pinellas Park has approved the purchase of 100 (2-pack) door alarms to be given out into their community to help alarm parents and caregivers when a child has left the home. The majority of drownings occur when a child has left the home undetected. This club's Past President, Tom Hession, is on our KDPP committee and is passionate about drowning prevention. This club, for over 20 years, also runs a swimming program at their local pool by signing up the kids and paying for the lessons. I am so proud of this club and all the efforts they make to prevent childhood drowning.
The second club is my home club, Kiwanis Club of Greater Collier. Our club applied for an emergency grant due to the pandemic. With these funds, we purchased 50 $25 gift cards to Walmart. In the gift bags, we included brochures about water safety and drowning prevention and a door alarm - 50 in total. Our club has donated over 720 door alarms into our community over a 3-year period.
Unfortunately, in the State of Florida, there have been 32 child drownings to date in 2020 - 81% under the age of 4. We Kiwanians can make a huge impact in bringing these drownings to ZERO. Does your club have $100? You could pay for 1 or 2 children to learn to swim. Contact your local pool, YMCA, County or City pool and find out how much swim lessons are. If you want to purchase door alarms or have another idea about how to help, please contact me at
terriballo@comcast.net
or call me at 239-919-2001. I am always happy to help you. And if you have a water safety or drowning prevention accomplishment, please let me know so I can share your story with the rest of our Kiwanis District!
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Reporting Reminders
Club Officers: Please complete your monthly club reports and ‘submit’ each section and the full report once you have finished the entries. Remember that you can go back and complete and/or edit then submit any of the reports from October 2019 to the present month.
Caroll Neita
District Chair, Club Reporting 2019-20
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Metro-McGregor Kiwanis Continues Service and Waives New Member Dues
FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 9, 2020) –
The Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis
has adapted to the changing climate of current social distancing, while still providing service to the community. Club members continue to log service hours, and the club has shifted to meeting in a virtual format. Also, now through September club membership is at no charge with Kiwanis International, Florida Kiwanis and the
Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis
club all waiving new member dues.
“So many people want to give back during this time, and our club is providing them an avenue to do that,” said club president Lindsey Lenhart. Members are making masks, face shields, cards for the elderly, providing youth mentorship online and working on projects as they come up with the United Way, such as food packaging. The club participated virtually in the March of Dimes March for Babies and was one of the top teams in Southwest Florida. “There are still opportunities to serve our community in a safe way,” said Lenhart.
Since March 24
th
the club has shifted to virtual meetings. “We are still able to catch up and go over club business at virtual meetings,” said Lenhart, “We held club elections and have also been able to bring in virtual speakers- even individuals that live in different parts of the country.”
With financial hardships and struggles with in-person connections due to COVID-19, Kiwanis International has waived dues at the international and state level, and the
Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis
is following suit. “We don’t want member fees to be a hurdle at this time for potential new members,” said Lenhart, “We open our club to any that might be interested. Some have more time on their hands than usual, and this is the perfect time to check us out and give some hope to individuals and our community.”
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Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club surprises
Booker T. Washington senior with 4-year scholarship
Zamiyah Wadley woke up on Tuesday not knowing if she’d be able to pay for college. By 10:30 a.m., the Booker T. Washington High senior had gotten a big boost toward becoming the first member of her family to attend a university.
The Biscayne Bay Kiwanis Club, a community service organization dedicated to serving children, surprised Wadley Tuesday morning with a scholarship valued up to $30,000, which will cover up to 120 credit hours purchased through the Florida Pre-Paid program.
She plans to attend Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach.
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Cape Coral
Treasured Kiwanis Member Turns 100
Trudy received over 30 Birthday cards from Kiwanis Club members and store volunteers on her 100th Birthday on June 8.
The Kiwanis Club also sent her an Edible Bouquet of Florida Fruit since she is still stuck in NY....but she was with all her NY Family so that was important.
How many members reach that 100 mark and are still a volunteer in our South Store? She still attends all meetings if someone drives her.
She is our Role Model Kiwanian!
Thank all of you who wished her Happy Birthday...she was very pleased.
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For content submission, contact
Angie Bailey, 2019-2020 Communications Chair
Submissions are due by the 10th of the month.
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