Kiwanis Club looks to help kids, families in challenging times
• If you'd like your charity, community organization or service group featured, contact Christie Willhite at (630) 955-3536 or cwillhite@dailyherald.com.
Often at school award ceremonies, the same few kids are feted for their achievements while most of the students watch and applaud politely.
A BUG Award ceremony is a little different.
At the BUGs, any kid - and potentially every kid - may collect honors. The Kiwanis Club of Lombard's awards, for Bring Up Grades, recognize everyone who shows improvement from one report card to the next.
It's just one tenet of the club's effort to make life better for children and families in Lombard.
Beyond helping with Kiwanis' national and international projects, the Lombard club dedicates volunteer time and fundraising energy to local programs such as the First Things First infant needs outreach and Lombard Fire Department's annual toy drive. Next up is the club's annual Read Around the World evening to promote reading and cultural awareness.
Vice President Jay Wojcik, who has served as president and lieutenant governor for the DuPage County Group of the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District of the Kiwanis, discusses the Lombard group's community outreach.
Q. What is the Kiwanis Club's mission?
A. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for children and families both locally and globally.
Q. How do you work toward accomplishing that goal?
A. Through service such as holiday food drives; assisting at and sponsoring the NEDSRA Sweetheart Dance; baby goods collection for First Things First during Kiwanis Make A Difference Day; coordinating the Kiwanis Hospital Doll Project between the Lexington Ladies and Doctors Without Borders; Kid Identification Program with the Lombard Park District and the Salvation Army; Holiday Toy Drive with the Lombard Fire Department; Read Around the World Program at the library in Lombard; volunteer for Salvation Army Donut Days and bell-ringing.
We also do fundraising projects such as Peanut Days, Kiwanis House Walk (2009 will be our fifth), Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, Holiday Flower Sales and a bowlathon to raise funds for spastic paralysis research, a statewide Kiwanis project.
These monies fund scholarships for highs school seniors, TLC Summer Camp, Teen Parent Connection, Lombard Historical Society Junior Historian Program, Helen Plum Library's summer reading program, PADS, Lombard Police Department's Run for Life, Lombard Fire Department's Trauma Teddy program, First Things First Infant Pantry, the Lombard/Villa Park Food Pantry, and mailing of old encyclopedias to third-world countries.
Q. Who do you serve?
A. Our club serves children and families in Lombard. Through our state organization, we assist with funding for research on spastic paralysis. With Kiwanis International, we help with global projects such as eradication of iodine deficiency to eliminate mental retardation and water purification projects.
Q. When and why did the Lombard club start? How has it grown?
A. Our club started in 1991 and was sponsored by three other local clubs: Villa Park, Elmhurst and Addison. It has grown from a beginning number of 25 to a current membership of 46.
Q. What kind of successes have you had?
A. On the club level, Kiwanis International has recognized us as a distinguished club for the past 12 years. We also have won awards from our state organization for our scrapbook, newsletters and Web site.
More importantly, we have made an impact on the Lombard community by providing volunteer hours and financial support to make Lombard a great place to live.
Kiwanis is concerned about helping students become leaders. To that end, our club sponsored a Kiwanis Key Club at Glenbard East, chartered in 2007 with 211 students!
We also sponsor a BUG (Bring Up Grades) program in Lombard Elementary District 44. BUG recognizes any child who has made improvement since their previous report card, thereby providing many students the experience of being recognized for success.
In conjunction with the Kiwanis Club of Downers Grove, we sponsor an AKTION Club for challenged adults.
Q. What's your next big event?
A. Kiwanis' Read Around the World program on Feb. 27 focuses on sharing the joy of reading books about others and ourselves.
The hourlong event will begin with a Kiwanian reading a story about kids from other countries. A magician will entertain with a 40-minute "The Magic of Reading" performance, and students who volunteer to participate during the show will be given books.
The library will have books about kids from around the world to check out. Everyone who attends will receive a Kiwanis bookmark.
Q. How does the event further the club's mission?
A. Kiwanis International partners with Reading Is Fundamental to give the gift of reading to children by making it a fun and beneficial part of everyday life. RIF provides nearly 19,000 program sites nationwide, with 4.6 million children receiving 16 million new, free books each year.
Through knowledge we can all make the world a better place for children and families. Reading helps us learn about others and learn they are not so different from us.
Q. What challenges does the club face?
A. As do other service organizations today, we face the challenge of membership growth. Part of that is overcoming the impression that Kiwanis is only for men or older adults. Our club has broken that mold because we have several members under 40 and we have more female members than male members.
The other challenge is that we meet at 7:30 a.m. While convenient for some folks who work in Lombard, this is not a good time for many others who want to make a difference like moms of toddlers, teachers and others who live in town but work somewhere else. We are meeting this challenge by not requiring members to attend all our meetings. Rather, we ask them to attend at least one project, service or fundraising event per month.
Q. What would surprise most people if they spent time with the club?
A. They would be surprised at how much fun we have. Maybe because we are a breakfast group we are really caffeinated. I think they also would be surprised about the "family atmosphere" and warmth of our club. Folks keep coming to meetings because they find it a great way to be re-energized!
Q. How can readers get involved?
A. Call me at (630) 916-0519 or e-mail j.wojcik@sbcglobal.net.
Vital Statistics
Annual budget: About $11,000
Sources of funding: Fundraising - all money collected through fundraising is given back to the local and global community. The club is administrated through membership dues.
Full-time employees: 0
Volunteers: 46
For info
Mail: P.O. Box 321, Lombard, IL, 60148
Call: (630) 916-0519
E-mail: j.wojcik@sbcglobal.net
Web site: kiwaniscluboflombard.org
<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News"><b>What:</b> Read Around the World</p> <p class="News"><b>When: </b>7 p.m. Feb. 26</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Helen Plum Memorial Library</p> <p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> Free</p> <p class="News"><b>Info:</b> (630) 916-0519 or <a href="http://www.kiwaniscluboflombard.org" target="new">kiwaniscluboflombard.org</a></p>