Each year on Jan. 21, Kiwanis International kicks off a weeklong anniversary celebration of the service club’s first official meeting.
Kiwanis, an international service club that has been in existence for more than a century, lifts and empowers members to pursue creative ways to serve the needs of children through local service projects centered around children. These service projects ensure that children have what they need to be secure and successful in their community. “Serving the Children of the World” is the organization’s motto.
Kiwanis offers multiple participation levels:
- Circle K International (CKI): The world’s largest collegiate service leadership organization.
- AKTION Club: Service club where adults with disabilities learn leadership skills.
- K-Kids Club: Primary school students learn about leadership skills and self-empowerment.
- Builders Club: Students between the ages of 11 and 14 develop leadership.
- Key Club: The oldest and largest service leadership organization for teens.
Altogether, Kiwanis Club members devote more than six million hours of service. Additionally, club members raise nearly $100 million every year for communities, families, and projects.
The organization has chapters throughout the world, including six clubs in Hamilton County. The Cicero Kiwanis Club supports various programs and activities at Hamilton Heights School Corporation and throughout the greater Northern Hamilton County area. At Hamilton Heights the club supports Youth Assistance, Educational Scholarships for Graduating Seniors, Educational Foundation Golf Outing, Business Professionals of America (BPA) Club, and Hamilton Heights Girl and Boy Scout Troops.
Community groups, activities, and programs the club currently supports include Agape, Prevail, Hamilton North Public Library (HNPL), Angels’ Attic, Hope Family Care Center, Riley Hospital for Children, Batesland Elementary School at the Pine Ridge Reservation, Special Olympics, Legacy Fund, Hamilton Centers, Friends of Cicero Parks, and Cicero Volunteer Fire Department.
In addition, the club sponsors the Key Club at Hamilton Heights High School, Builders Club at Hamilton Heights Middle School, and K-Kids Club at Hamilton Heights Elementary School.
Tracy Zachary, HHES Special Education Teacher, is the advisor for the K-Kids Club; Sophia Wright, HHMS Media Center Instructional Assistant, and Chelsea Pacheco, HHMS School Counselor, are the advisors for HHMS Builders Club; and Lillian Morris, HHHS Special Education Teacher, is the advisor for the HHHS Key Club.
“The biggest way the K-Kids Club is making a difference is by starting small by serving the local elementary from packing food backpacks to recycling,” Zachary said.
“The Builders Club has the ability to change lives,” Wright said. “Our students understand the power they have to positively impact their peers, their school, and their community.”
“Students have the opportunity to grow in their leadership and community service skills giving them the opportunity to make a difference on and off our campus through their involvement in this club,” Pacheco said.
“Involvement in Key Club helps kids to be a part of their school and community,” Morris said. “I love that kids are able to step out of themselves and see what others experience in our community. I can see that this makes an impact on them and their perspectives. Kids are so busy anymore between sports, school, clubs, and work that it can be challenging to balance their time. I feel like a lot of students think it is just one more thing on their very full plates but when they do volunteer to help, they get so much from the experience.”
“The members of the Cicero Kiwanis are a civic-minded group whose focus is building a better community one child at a time,” Cicero Kiwanis Club President Emily Pearson said. “We are proud of the contribution we have made to Hamilton County, the State of Indiana and the world, and look forward to doing even more to make a difference in the lives of children.”
The Cicero Kiwanis Club meets at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays at the Red Bridge Park Community Building. For more information about the local club, email cicerokiwanis@gmail.com.