January 2023 Newsletter

key chain key chain

WORD BANK

key club fun fact of the month

Key Club first receives international recognition in 1943 and starts the International Association of Key Clubs.

OFFICER INTERVIEWS

To gear up in time for LEDCON, officer interviews and elections will be held in January. Get your speeches ready! Elections are the meeting after.

reminder

Winter Break

Winter Break starts on December 21st and goes on until January 9th! Have a fun, festive break and see you next semester.

update

Officer Elections

We will be conducting officer interviews and elections very soon. Please have a small speech/intro prepared and be ready to answer some general interview questions!

FEED THE KIDS

Traverse through an assembly line as you bag food kits for homeless children. Connect with friends as you volunteer for an amazing cause!

DEC/DCM

At the Divisional Election Council at Market Street at 6:30 p.m., vote for the incoming LTG. The DCM will follow right after.

STAR PARTY

At Oliver Nature Park from 6-8:15 p.m., oversee parking, line control, interacting with families, making crafts, and playing games with children! Set up and clean up are also needed.

MEETINGS

Key Club meetings occur every other Wednesday. Be sure to attend to gain important information and keep your membership active.

FROZEN FEST

From 12:30-3:30 p.m. at Oliver Nature Park, interact with families, make crafts, play games with children, and help set up and clean up for the event.

ALLIES IN YOUTH

Allies occurs every Sunday except for the first Sunday of the month. Times are 2-4 p.m.

reminder

Officer Elections

Officer interviews and elections have passed. Results have been posted on Remind. Please welcome in your new officer board!

update

LEDCON Interest

If you’re interested in attending LEDCON, please let an officer know ASAP! If you’re unable to in-person, send a message on Remind.

You can either attend in-person at the Mansfield Sharetea or the Zoom meeting. The ID is 811 6261 5086; the passcode is valentines.

PANCAKE BUFFET BREAKFAST

Kiwanis is hosting an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast from 7:30-11 a.m. at Chris W. Burkett Service Center. Children 5-12 are $4, everyone older is $7. Proceeds go to MISD clubs, including Key Club.

VALENTINE’S DAY FUNDRAISER

Our Key Club is hosting a Valentine’s Day bake sale/fundraiser during lunch! If you would like to help out with sales or making goodie bags, please contact an officer.

This year’s Governor’s project highlights the importance of building supportive and encouraging communities across the district. By uplifting our peers and even the many strangers we see around us daily, we can see an increase in morale and mental health. We hope to encourage T-O to serve their communities and increase the positivity within their schools.

SERVICE IDEAS:

● Create and hang encouraging posters

● Raise donations for local first responders, health care workers, etc.

● Host public speaking/ confidence workshops for middle schoolers

● Write letters to the elderly

Post uplifting

Organize

DISTRICT PROJECT DISTRICT PROJECT

This project is dedicated to serving the educational institutions that help build and create the next generation of leaders. From teachers to students, there is an opportunity to help at every level. The T-O District looks forward to making an impact on our communities through this project.

SERVICE IDEAS:

● Organize school supplies drive for teachers

● Fundraise for schools

● Host Wikipedia

Edit-A-Thons

This also includes custodial staff, bus drivers, etc!

● Volunteer at a local elementary school

DIVISIONAL PROJECT DIVISIONAL PROJECT

key to green

In an increasingly globalized and industrial world, climate change runs rampant and threatens all current and future generations. Therefore, change has to be enacted now. Keeping the Earth healthy and green for years to come is the utmost priority. So how do we do this?

YOU CAN PARTICIPATE BY:

● making educational posts/ posters

● hosting a trash bash

● making a local garden

● hosting a recycle contest

want extra hours?

If you need extra hours, a good way is to write articles! You don’t have travel anywhere; you can write it on the go or from the comfort of your own home. A regular article is worth 1 hour, and a HOTO article is worth 2.

Write a 300-400 word essay about anything Key Club related. If you’re out of ideas, visit the T-O website at tokeyclub.com to look at the prompts for this month. You can also find the rubric on there.

Articles go towards our Key Club’s points, so they are greatly appreciated! Yours even has the chance of being featured on this newsletter or the Tex-O-Key newsletter.

Happy writing!

A Choice To Stay

Written by Tiffany Lam

It was 2020, and my friends and I found the idea of ever entering a pandemic laughable. I remember frantic Microsoft TEAMS meetings and trying to join class lectures while still wedged in my mattress. Snuggled in my navy blue blanket as I muted my computer, I wasn’t prepared for this vision of my freshman year of high school.

I had no clue what any clubs were when I entered high school. As a typical freshman, I was dazed and confused at what the school’s

extracurriculars had to offer. However, I couldn’t walk across the hall and ask the sponsor for more information. If I really wanted, I had to DM an upperclassman on who the sponsor and club even were, find the educator on the school’s website staff list, email a sorry message, and pray the teacher would see it in their flood of emails. It wasn’t the most ideal situation. So, when my best friend told me that his band friends were officers in a club called Key Club, I decided to check it out.

Immediately, I felt welcomed into the call. As the officers were giving their introductions, my friends and I texted our first impressions and our thoughts about the club. There were so many friendly faces and funny stories being passed that it felt too enticing to leave. I knew the basics, that this was a volunteering organization, but there was nothing more. However, I could quickly infer that the people were the foundation of this club, and they were what convinced me to stay.

Originally, my choice to join Key Club wasn’t so noble. It was merely a beautiful coincidence that I happened to have the right friend with the right connection. However, I am forever grateful for this happenstance. The people and beauty of giving back to my community ultimately made me stay in Key Club.

what can you expect at LEDCON?

● theme contest

● talent contest

● elections and house of delegates

● forums

● welcoming activities

● contests and awards

service sun

This year’s LEDCON will be held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas!

● governor’s ball

● keynote speaker

● scholarships

LEDCON ‘23

April 13-16

what is LEDCON?

LEDCON stands for Leadership Education District Conference. An annual Key Club conference held by the district board, LEDCON has a new theme each year; this year’s theme is Service

Under the Sun! The biggest parts of the conference include elections for staff positions, speakers, forums, contests, award presentations, and games! Essentially, we’re reflecting and celebrating the past Key Club year while gearing up for the next one. It’s an exciting and enriching experience. You have boundless opportunities to meet new people, even from a different state! You can even get some pins and patches to take back home. There’s endless opportunities for you to interact with others and make life-long memories at the conference!

**CONTACT AN OFFICER IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE

Kiwanis Family

BUILDERS CLUB

A service organization with more than 45,000 middle school and junior high students worldwide, Builders Club members learn to work together and develop servant-leader skills as they serve their school and community.

OTHER NOTABLE

MENTIONS:

• Key Club

• Kiwanis

AKTION CLUB

The only service club for adults with disabilities, Aktion Club draws members from various organizations that support individuals with disabilities.

K-KIDS

K-Kids is the largest service organization for elementary school students. It's student-led community service and operates under school regulations.

CIRCLE K INTERNATIONAL

By offering unique service, leadership and fellowship opportunities, Circle K International is the world's largest student-led college service organization that changes not only members' lives but the world.

MAJOR EMPHASIS

Key Club was built on strengthening the community and causing international impact. It still does this by following the Major Emphasis: “Children: their future, our focus.” With Key Club's many service partners and international organizations, Key Club upholds this standard.

MARCH OF DIMES

Providing programs, healthcare, andresearch,MoDadvocatesfor thehealthofmomsandbabies.

CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK HOSPITALS

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals works to increase fundsandawarenessforCook Children’s Medical Center and otherCMNHospitals.

UNICEF

UNICEFcreatesabetterworldfor children through fundraising, advocacy,andeducation.

SERVICE PARTNERS/PROJECTS

Key Club was built on strengthening the community and causing international impact. Key Club has many international projects to uphold its standard of integrity and camaraderie. These projects and partnerships work for the betterment of the future.

THIRST PROJECT

TheThirstProjectisanonprofit organization of youth helping toendtheglobalwatercrisis.

LANDSCAPE STRUCTURES

LSI provides high-quality commercial playground equipment and planning consultation services that reflect the integrity of Kiwanis.

PROJECT HAPPINESS

Project Happiness tackles the globalmentalhealthcrisisusing scienceandresearch.