Belleville | Bloomfield | Clifton | Nutley | St. Mary’s Official Newsletter of Division 17 of the New Jersey District of Key Club International
Volume I Issue V
Liz’s Letters
*Look for an explanation on page 7!
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Hello Division 17! I hope July has treated everyone well. Can you believe we are more than halfway done with summer? I can’t. However, the reality is school is right around the corner which means Key Club will be back in full swing soon! For this reason, I have decided to dedicate this whole newsletter to informing you about the District Level of Key Club. Two of the four committees are: Public Relations and District Project Steering, which focus on the Eliminate Project. Information about these two committees are in this newsletter. In addition, important information about the Youth Opportunity Fund and Fall Rally is included. Fall Rally is on October 13, 2013. I will be contacting everyone with more information about Fall Rally shortly, but I hope to see everyone there!
Table of Contents Page 2… A letter from your LTG Page 3… Organization Spotlight Page 4… Public Relations Page 5… Youth Opportunities Fund Page 6…ELIMINATE Page 7…Fall Rally Page 8… Contact Information
Yours in caring and service, Liz
Upcoming Events September 15 – RTC at Burlington Twp. 21 – RTC at MAST 22 – RTC at Livingston October 13 – FALL RALLY! Page 2
UNICEF is one of the three preferred charities of Key Club International. It is the only organization of the United Nations that focuses specifically on children. UNICEF shares the Kiwanis family’s universal dedication to children and service by providing extensive resources and leadership to help eliminate Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) permanently. Over the years Key Club has been an adamant supporter of UNICEF. Since 1994 Key Club has raised almost $5 million to contribute to the elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorder. Currently, Key Club and the rest of the Kiwanis family are working with UNICEF for the Eliminate Project. The Eliminate Project is a global campaign to raise money to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus off of the face of the planet. Tetanus is a deadly disease that comes from spores in the dirt. During unsafe birthing routines, these spores have the potential to enter the mother and baby’s body causing infection. The first few hours of the baby’s life is filled with excruciating pain and sensitivity to even a mother’s touch. The goal is to raise $110 million by 2015. The most popular way Key Clubbers work with UNICEF is in fall with Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. Every October during the Halloween season Key Clubbers collect loose change instead of candy when they go Trick-or-Treat. Some even establish competition to see who can raise the most money! Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF can even take place during school hours in the cafeteria or in the hallways passing by, so always have your little box on you! Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF although the most popular is not the only way to raise money for UNICEF. Clubs can implement their own ideas to raise funds for such a great cause! Written by Lieutenant Governor Hamiyyet Bilgi Page 3
Public Relations By District Editor Pak Chau and Lieutenant Governor Erik Lim The Public Relations committee main focus is communication. Communication is vital when maintaining contact within such a big district and a plethora of clubs. Whether it be important updates from the district board to the clubs, or utilizing social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to close the gaps of district and club levels – the Public Relation committee’s job is to get the word out and update everyone in the district about anything and everything. One major duty that the Public Relations Committee is that it is in charge of promoting and advertising Key Club events as well as raise awareness of certain topics throughout the district. For example, the committee created promotional materials for the Spring Regional Training Conferences as well as materials for Fall Rally. Flyers and cover photos were also distributed throughout the district in order to raise awareness for the event and make it as successful as possible. Another duty of the Public Relations Committee is that it is in charge of notifying members of events. The committee attended the 2013 Key Club International Convention and each member of the committee were assigned to take charge of either the New Jersey District’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and all of the New Jersey Key Clubbers were encouraged to follow and interact with these social media tools. This allowed attendees and non-attendees alike to engage in the international convention experience. Whenever and wherever there is something that needs to be reported, the Public Relations Committee is there to update the district.
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Youth Opportunities Fund Written by Lieutenant Governor Michaela Patoilo The Youth Opportunities Fund, or YOF, is a fund set aside for Key Club International by Kiwanis International to provide grants for service projects. The idea behind the grants, which run from $100 to $2,000, is to help Key Clubs with a great service idea that requires a bit of funding. No project is too big or too small to apply for help from YOF. For instance, Jordan-Matthews High School Key Club from the Carolinas District used the aid received to buy copies of the book Love you Forever and taught first graders how to read the book. They then took the students to a local nursing home where the children, many of whom do not have grandparents, were able to “adopt a grandparent” for the day and read to them. Other ideas that may require support by the YOF may include, building kennels for a local animal shelter and using the money to buy start up supplies, helping to repaint and restore an outdated recreation center, and using the grant to pay for transportation to an orphanage to donate supplies and time. The projects supported by the Youth Opportunities Fund can be pertaining to any need a club chooses to address in its home, school, or community. Be creative! Look around to see if there is a service opportunity waiting, it can be anywhere. The New Jersey District does not usually have a large number of applications for the grants, so take advantage of the opportunity! The committee generally chooses to fund clubs/club members who are requesting a portion of the total cost of the project or are working with other organizations to fund and complete the project. The deadline for applications is October 15, 2013 and more information about applying can be found at http://www.keyclub.org/service/fund/yof/yofgrant.aspx.
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Key Club, Kiwanis International, and UNICEF have teamed up to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) by the year 2015 in a project called the Eliminate Project. MNT takes the life of one baby every nine minutes-about 60,000 newborn children a year. Approximately 129 million mothers and their babies need to be immunized, which requires vaccines, safe storage, skilled workers, and transportation. It only takes $1.80 to immunize a mother and her future babies.
In 2010 there were 57 countries that had not eliminated MNT. Currently 31 countries have completely eliminated MNT including countries such as China, Egypt, South Africa, Iraq, Liberia, Nepal, Malawi, and Turkey; this leaves twenty-eight countries that have yet to be eradicated from disease. Along with this, over 119 million women have been immunized, and there has been a 90% reduction of MNT mortality within the past twenty years.
UNICEF and the Kiwanis family have thought of various ways to fundraise for the Eliminate Project. Specifically, members of the Kiwanis family have successfully held bake sales, car washes, restaurant nights, and various sports’ fundraisers. Even though it will take $110 million for the Eliminate Project, through the dedicated work of UNICEF and the entire Kiwanis family, MNT can be eliminated by the year 2015.
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Contact Information
Lieutenant Governor Division 17 Elizabeth Wallace Bloomfield, NJ 973 – 934 – 7584
District Governor Ryan Clarkin Vernon, NJ governor.clarkin@gmail.com
elizabeth.wallace.ltg17@gmail.com
District Treasurer Penny Xu Morris Plains, NJ njtreasurerpennyxu@gmail.com
District Secretary Kelly Tran Egg Harbor Township, NJ dsectrank@gmail.com
District Editor Pak Chau Egg Harbor Township, NJ district.editor.pak@gmail.com
District Webmaster Yuya Ong Tenafly, NJ njwebmasteryuya@gmail.com
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