Volume 58 Issue 5 January, February, March 2015
The Helping Hand A Michigan District of Circle K International Publication
In This Issue
Farwell's……….........................2-4
Review: Lovepit…………...….5
Review: Interclubs!……….…..6-7
DCON 2015………………….…8
District Goal Updates ….……9
Calendar of Events……..…...10
Contact Us……………….…...11
By: Kathleen Hurley: District Bulletin Editor
Farewells from the District Board! Dear Michigan District of Circle K! First off, thank you for reading the Helping Hand! It has been a wonderful year full of service, friendship, fellowship, and for me bulletins! Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to the Helping Hand at some point this year! Also, a big thank you to all of the district board for being such a wonderful group of people to work with and for everything that you’ve all done this year! I’m so proud of everything that our district has accomplished this year and I’m looking forwards to the progress we can all make happen in the future, but for right now congratulations! I can’t wait to see you all at DCON! CKLove, Kathleen Hurley 2014-2015 Michigan District Bulletin Editor
Michigan District of Circle K, I have had an amazing time being the District Treasurer this year. A year full of love, laughs, service, leadership, and fellowship. From every district event to even small service projects at my home club, every day I learn to love Circle K more and more. Without this organization my college experience would be nowhere near as amazing as it is thus far. Thank you to everyone in the district and especially the amazing District Board I got to work with this year. Also thank you to Lori Stillwell our District Administrator, since I got to work so closely with her this year and for being an inspiration to us all. My favorite memory this year was University of Michigan’s 24 hours of Service. This was one of our biggest interclubs this year, so I got to see so many people from the district and try to survive the whole 24 hours. Thank you again everyone for an amazing year, and I cannot wait to serve my last year in Circle K this upcoming year. It will for sure be one for the books. Sincerely, Alysia Rollins 2014-2015 Michigan District Treasurer
Jan/Feb/Mar Page 2
Michigan District of Circle K, Serving as District Secretary this year has been an amazing experience and I am honored to have worked with such generous, inspirational, and caring people. The district truly lived up to the motto of "Service, Leadership, and Fellowship" through fun and meaningful service projects, strong leadership, and the development of many friendships. This year, younger clubs stepped up to host district events and older clubs hosted some of the largest events the district as ever seen. Not only have we completed thousands of hours of service as a district, having a huge impact on our community, but we have done so as a family, including every branch of Kiwanis in our service projects, socials, and ceremonies. The Michigan District of Circle K is stronger than ever and I look forward to seeing what it accomplishes in years to come. Circle K is phenomenal organization and I am grateful to be apart of it. CKLove, Chiara Kalogjera-Sackellares 2014-2015 Michigan District Secretary Hello Michigan District! It has been an absolute pleasure serving as the 2014-2015 Michigan District Governor. Throughout this year, I have had the chance to visit almost all of our eleven clubs in the district. Through these visits, whether it be for a club’s first meeting of the year, an annual club event, a fundraiser for the Eliminate Project, an induction ceremony, or even just a club social event, I have really enjoyed being able to meet so many members and see what every club in our district has been up to. It has been awesome seeing so many members and officers grow in their leadership abilities and in their passion for Circle K. I am very thankful for this year’s District Board—I could not have done anything without their help and dedication to Circle K. I hope that this year was one that you will remember forever, and if you graduate I hope that you consider remaining in the Kiwanis Family by finding a Kiwanis club that best fits you and joining. To next year’s District Board—live it up! Your terms will be over before you know it. There will definitely be hiccups and obstacles throughout the year, but they will help you grow as a person as well as help our district grow as a whole. I cannot wait to see what next year has in store for us. Thank you to everyone for trusting in me as a district and allowing me to serve in this honorable position. Live to serve, love to serve! Emily Bagwell 2014-2015 Michigan District Governor
Jan/Feb/Mar Page 3
It has been an amazing year and I loved getting to know the different Service Chairs in the District and seeing how different clubs set up, recruit for, lead, and reflect on the service that they do. Each of our clubs has done amazing service projects this year to better the world. Together, we were able to complete over 16,400 hours of service! But it's not necessarily about the numbers - we have all made countless memories and made a huge impact on our community through the volunteering we do. We have worked alongside the community to deepen our passion for doing good and we have all furthered our dedication to realizing mankind's potential. On your journey, I hope you remember the friends and the impacts you have made while in Circle K and let me know if you need some help in changing the world. It was a great year. –Zachery Gizicki
It's been quite an awesome year as District Technology Chair. There have certainly been a lot of surprising moments, from a hostile takeover of the Website that we had to work through, to the craziness of working at the heart of DCON planning, to my failed attempts at getting a Pokemon themed District Event (Maybe next year!). Either way, though, it was a truly awesome experience working at the heart of the district, and I got to work with so many truly amazing people throughout the year. It's an awesome experience to work on the District Board, even with the challenges that come with it every year, simply for being part of something amazing, something we do every day. Circle K forever! Chris Seeman
Michigan District of Circle K, As I write this, my head is filled with fond memories of friends, service, and fun that I have experienced during these past 5 years since I have joined Circle K. I have served on the district board as both a president and a committee chair, and I loved every second of it. It has been a pleasure to help lead the district into achieving everything we have this year, including 16,000+ service hours and over 100 interclubs. The Michigan District of Circle K is full of dedicated and enthusiastic people ready to serve. Whether you are from Oakland or another school around the state, I consider you all a friend of mine. Even if I have never met you personally, you and I are both a part of the Kiwanis Family. Thank you all for being so devoted to our organization. I am sad to be leaving Circle K behind as I graduate this May, but at the same time I am excited to be beginning my next adventure as I join Kiwanis. Congratulations to all the other Circle K seniors graduating this year, and good luck to you in your future endeavors. For everyone else, cherish the remaining time you have in our organization. Attend every event that you can, volunteer as much as possible, and get involved! I promise you will not regret it. Thank you for the best 5 years of my life. I can't wait to see you all at Kiwanis events in the future! Love, Stacey Tyburski Jan/Feb/Mar Page 4
Lovepit was hosted by Ferris State University this year in Big Rapids on February 7th, 2015. It was great day full of service and fellowship. They had an awesome theme which was marvel superheroes, and there were even fun challenges to go along. We did many fun on site service projects, like dog toys, knitting, and card making. We also had one off site project that was visiting a local nursing home. We had around 85 Circle K members from around the district in attendance, and raised $154.52 for the Eliminate Project--that's 85 mothers and babies that we saved! Overall it was a great day! We hope to see you all next year!
Jan/Feb/Mar Page 5
Interclub Recap! This year our wonderful K-fam Chair Stacey Tyburski has implemented a Interclub system that has been doing great so far! Every month, one or two clubs holds an event that is designated interclub, so that hopefully everyone will be able to visit each club at least once, or have more chances too! Here is the review of the January and February events. I hope everyone has much fun as I did!
January: Oakland Ice Skating
Circle K at Oakland University hosted an ice skating social at Campus Martius in Detroit before the Kiwanis Family Red Wings Game. It was a great event and even included some delicious dinner at Nikki’s pizza in Greektown! It was a fun day had by all, even those just learning to skate! Thanks for hosting such a cool event Oakland!
November/December Page 6
February: EMU ‘s 30th Birthday Celebration By: Tori Byers
Eastern Michigan University Circle K held its 30th Birthday Celebration on February 1st! Since 1984 we are proud to have been sponsored by the Ypsilanti Kiwanis Club. To celebrate all our great work, we had a party. Our 30th Birthday Celebration showcased many different on site service projects that were donated to a variety of non-profit organizations. The service projects done at the birthday party included: 1) Stress Balls for Eastern Michigan University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) 2) Hope Crane Project for the University of Michigan Hospital 3) Fleece Tie Blankets for Project Linus 4) Monster Bookmarks for Kids 5) Felt Button Books for Kids 6) Dog and Cat Toys for the Michigan Humane Society 7) Lunch Bags for Kids Food Basket We felt that it was important to use our 30th Birthday Celebration as an opportunity to help save babies, both locally and internationally. Our birthday celebration collected over 65 baby items including diapers, sippy cups and clothing for the Corner Health Center. In total, we collected an estimated $1098.73 of merchandise. Corner Health Center is a local, nonprofit organization in Ypsilanti serving youth ages 12 to 21. They offer physician, mental wellness, men's health, prenatal, and postnatal services. For young mothers, the Corner offers a program of points, which mothers gain by going to their appointments, attending baby classes, taking their prenatal vitamins, etc., with which they can purchase baby items at the Corner Health Center Store. The preferred Circle K International charities and service partners are also a priority to our club. At our 30th Birthday Celebration, we raised $180 for the Eliminate Project and educated many people about the project though an informational board and handouts. Even thought Ypsilanti experienced a large snow storm, our event was a success. We would like to thank all who decided to come celebrate with us.
I hope you all had a fabulous time shaking, rattling, and serving this past weekend at this year’s district convention! Thank you so much to the host club, University of Michigan Ann Arbor and their DCON task force committee for doing an absolutely amazing job with everything from decorations to really awesome service projects. There will a longer update coming soon, by the new bulletin editor, Sam Chuppa! But for now, here are some great pics from the weekend!
Jan/Feb/Mar Page 8
Goals Update! Congratulations Michigan District! We really worked hard to achieve our goals this year! We were very successful, so congratulations and keep up the hard work into next year! As of March 1st, 2015 Service Hours Completed: 16,449.6 Goal: 18,500 Inner Clubs Completed: 105 Goal: 70 K-Fam Events Completed: 184 Goal: 180
Don’t forget the numbers for these goals are based on MRF reports, so make sure you report everything your club does!
Members: 406 reported Goal:550 ELMINIATE Raised: $3,510.79 Goal: $4000
Club Building: U of M Dearborn is up and running, Northwestern Michigan and Kellogg Community College are in the works. Goal: Charter 1 new club and rebuild declined clubs
Keep up the good work! More updates on the way!
FOR NEXT YEAR: The progress we were able to make on our district goals for this year can be a useful resource to your club boards and committees when thinking about goals for the upcoming year! It can just be a basis to work off of, also don’t forget to also reference award qualifications for International or the District. If you have any questions, always reach out to the district board or your retiring club board for advice and tip, an open line of communication is a great resource! Jan/Feb/Mar Page 9
District Events! MARCH:
APRIL:
-3/25 Northwood Inductions
-4/1 Northwood Wheelchair Basketball
-3/26 Ferris Installations
-4/2 U of M Installations
-3/27 Wayne State Punch Bowl
-4/6 EMU Installations
Social
-4/10 EMU Relay for Life
-3/27-3/28 Ferris Relay for Life
-4/10 GVSU Relay for LIfe
-3/28-3/29 STUFH a bus
-4/11 U of M Relay for Life
-3/28 GVSU Day of Service
-4/11 EMU/Ypsi Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast
-3/30 CMU Spaghetti Dinner
-4/18 CMU Kids Against Hunger -4/18 OU Kids Against Hunger Packaging
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS: -ICON 2015
June 23-26th 2015
-4/18 Ferris “Big Event at Top Taggart Field -4/20 CMU Inductions - 4/25 Ferris Fest at North Quad
May
-Leadership Academy: July 26th-31st
-5/16 Ypsi Pride Day
Be on the lookout for more upcoming district and club events, using the Michigan District of Circle K Facebook Page!
Jan/Feb/March Page 10
Thanks for Reading! Does your club have an upcoming event? Do you have something you want to share with the district? Send in an article for next time to mickieditor@gmail.com
Contact Us! We are here to serve you!
Governor
Emily Bagwell
emilyabagwell@gmail.com
(248) 982-3376
Secretary
Chiara KalogjerasSackellares
chiaraks@umich.edu
(352) 231-3197
Treasurer
Alysia Rollins
rollinsa@northwood.edu
(586) 770-4479
Bulletin Editor
Kathleen Hurley
kchurley@umich.edu
Club Building Chair
Amanda Beauchamp
beaucha4@ferris.edu
(734) 604-3466 (586)932-75113
Kiwanis Family Chair Stacey Tyburski
setyburs@oakland.edu
(586) 506-0442
Service Chair
Zachery Gizicki
zgizicki@umich.edu
(734) 546-3631
Technology Chair
Chris Seeman
seemanch@umich.edu
(734) 904-8763
Fall Rally Chair
Jesse DeGrendel
jrdegren@oakland.edu
(248) 842-9825
Administrator
Lori Stillwell
lori2547@yahoo.com
1-586-295-7957
ckienitz@gmail.com
1-989-323-0136
Assistant Administrator Caitlyn Kienitz
Don’t cry because its over,
Smile because it happened! . —Dr. Seuss
Jan/Feb/Mar Page 11