When I was governor of the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan Kiwanis, I was looking for ideas.  We needed a service project that we could do with ALL our Kiwanis clubs.

     What if … it could be something we could do during co-vid
     What if … it would low cost because we lost so many of our fundraisers
     What if … it involved children (our mission is:  Serving the Children of the World)
     What if … we could help build community

And, of course, it had to be fun!

Enter Kiwanis ‘n Cops ‘n Kids.

There are several models that we are suggesting.  This could be done with a Kiwanis club of 10 members or of 60.  You find what works best for the style of your club.

1)  Reading at a public spot, a Kids Corner.  Perhaps it is meeting at a little library, perhaps outside the city library, at a park, or even at a school playground.  You pick the spot; you pick the time.  Maybe once a month, it would be posted on social media by Kiwanis and the police department that you will be meeting at the Kids Corner, and that a police officer (and maybe a police dog or McGruff) would be there to read and visit, to say hello.  This can be done virtually in the winter.

At the same event, you can have Kiwanians safely (masked) handing out books to the kids.  The books are our biggest expense.  Unless you do a…

2)  Kids book drive and distribution.  Collect gently used children’s books.  Sort by age.  Then distribute the books with safe distancing.  Give out a bag of books to a family.

3)  Go to where the kids are.  Hold an event at your local Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, school classes, library, or have a reading at one of the Kiwanis projects that you already do.

These events can be done now, during co-vid, safely. We can do service.

Involve your police, sheriffs, schools, diverse groups from your community, your library, … and of course, Kiwanians and future members!

Together, we can serve the children of the world.  #KidsNeedKiwanis