IMPROVING THE WORLD, ONE CHILD AND ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME
Kiwanis is the safety net that creates opportunities for children to be curious, safe and healthy regardless of the community in which they live.
Each community has different needs, and Kiwanis empowers members to pursue creative ways to serve the needs of children, such as fighting hunger, improving literacy and offering guidance.
Here are just a few examples of how Kiwanians impact the lives of children.
The White Raven against child poverty
Embracing the ambitious project of reducing child poverty in the Waasland region of Flanders, Belgium. Together with school associations, the club Sint-Niklaas Waasland worked to detect which children were most at risk and worked to address their needs and provided children with new clothing, food, educational materials, footwear and more.
Margot, step by step
Margot, suffered from a spastic diplegia (or Little disease). Thanks to the action of the clubs in the District France-Monaco, Margot was able to undergo surgery at the Pediatric Hospital of St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. Margot is walking again!
Bicycle helmets for youth safety
To contribute to youth safety, Kiwanis in Iceland and the Faroe Islands provide bicycle helmets and safety reflectors to all 7-year-old children who graduate from first grade. The project started in 2004 and is still on, with the support of the transportation company Eimskip.
School bags to counteract exclusion
Many clubs from the Kiwanis Germany District have been distributing school bags and supplies to socially disadvantaged children. The action is intended to create almost the same starting conditions for all children who enter first grade (at 6 years old).
Shoes for kids walking to school
In Romania, some teachers noticed that children were missing school every other day. They found out that this was because they had to share their shoes with their brothers and sisters. Sponsored by various clubs and the Boissy company from the France-Monaco District, thousands of Romanian school kids have been wearing shoes to go to school.