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Hello, Mighty Texas-Oklahoma District!
Can you believe fall is almost over? It feels like our service year just began; nevertheless, we have accomplished so many remarkable endeavors and met the needs of communities all around the District. Just recently, we were able to spend a magical weekend together at Fall Retreat. We roasted marshmallows together by the campfire, had a Harry Potter movie marathon, sweated like crazy during the scavenger hunt, met new fellow Circle K members, and created lifelong memories. I hope you left refreshed, with a deeper passion for meaningful service and are able to share that with your members. I would like to end by expressing just how proud and honored I am to be able to work with the Texas-Oklahoma District. Over the past few months, I have visited multiple divisions during the Fall Rallies, and it has been inspiring meeting everyone and seeing your dedication for serving others. Each member of Circle K is truly making a difference on their campus and in their community each and every day. Thank you,
Miti Patel Texas-Oklahoma District Governor University of Texas at Dallas Phone: 214-931-8202 Email: governor@txokcki.org
Kiwanis One Day is a day where members of the Kiwanis Family can come together to do service. There were at least 3 clubs that participated in Kiwanis One Day Projects in our district, the University of Tulsa, Lamar University, and the University of Houston. TU CKI volunteered at the Iron Gate, a soup kitchen and food pantry, with the Tulsa Kiwanis club. Lamar CKI, along with 3 K-Kids, a Builders Club, a Key Club and the local Kiwanis Club, participate in a stadium clean up. The CKI chapter at UH volunteer at the Houston Kiwanis Sealy Classic, a charity bike ride benefiting the Eliminate Project.
Above picture is the University of Tulsa.
Lamar University is pictured above.
University of Houston
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Kiwanis International has been Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF since 1994. This Halloween, for the 22nd year, Circle K members went door-to-door to Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF with one goal in mind: supporting The Eliminate Project and helping wipe out maternal and neonatal tetanus. If you were unable to turn in your dues at Fall Retreat, please submit your donations to Kiwanis International along with a completed gift form. Where to send funds? Send a check or money order (made payable to the Kiwanis International Foundation) and your completed gift form to: The Eliminate Project: Campaign Office Kiwanis International Foundation P.O. Box 6457 - Dept #286 Indianapolis, IN 46206 USA ATTN: Trick-or-Treat Be sure to write your club name or club number on the memo line of the check. Remember that clubs that raise and submit more than $250 by December 31 st will receive a special banner patch. So don’t forget to send in the funds you raise by the deadline!
March of Dimes November is Prematurity Awareness Month Did you know that 1 in 10 babies in the United States is born prematurely? Worldwide, 15 million babies are born too soon each year. Many who survive face serious health problems. We need your help to raise awareness of the common, serious and costly problem of premature birth, the #1 killer of babies in our country. “Give them Tomorrow” Give them tomorrow is a universal call to do something today to help moms and to save babies. You can help us fight birth defects and premature birth to change lives.
Premature birth is the #1 killer of babies. Every baby deserves a fighting chance. Fighting premature birth After decades of increases, the rate of premature birth in the United States has now been on a steady decline for the last several years. This decline – to 9.6 percent today – has saved thousands of babies from being born too soon. It also has saved our nation billions of dollars in excess health care costs. Despite this progress, about 380,000 babies are born prematurely each year.
Prematurity Awareness Month November is Prematurity Awareness Month and when the March of Dimes focuses the nation’s attention on premature birth. The awareness month kicks off with the release of the Premature Birth Report Card. November 17 marks World Prematurity Day, and the March of Dimes and our partner organizations worldwide are asking everyone to help spread the word on the serious problem of premature birth.
What can you do? - Shout Out Join the social community to raise awareness on November 17 using #worldprematurityday
There's nothing like watching a baby discover a first — first smile, first food, first step. It's unforgettable. Post your amazing #babysfirst moments with #givethemtomorrow to celebrate each memory and help give other families tomorrow. Many families are struggling for one day with their child — and sometimes a baby's first can also be its last. Now through World Prematurity Day on November 17, add your voice to help babies everywhere! Shout out instantly to your social community with a message on Thunderclap and go purple by changing your profile picture on Facebook and Twitter. Wear purple, light your home or office purple and come up with your own ways to turn the world purple in support of prematurity awareness. Just don’t forget to snap a photo and post it with the hashtags below. - Reach Out Choose a card, write a quick message and March of Dimes will hand-deliver it to a family in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Your words will give strength to a family that is unable to take their baby home today.
- Help Out Premature birth is the #1 killer of babies. We’re doing something today — and we need you — to help the 380,000 babies born too soon. We want more states to get an A on our Premature Birth Report Card and fewer families to call the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) their home. Together we can beat prematurity before it claims many more innocent babies this year.
Ways that you can get involved and make a change! Book Drive For every book Better World Books accepts, you’re club will receive $1 but better yet 5% of each book that is accepted will be donated to ELIMINATE in your chapter’s name! Better World books actually supplies you with all the tools necessary to make your book drive a success, such as: flyers, boxes, and shipping labels! It’s just up to you to host it! Where to sign up: www.betterworldbooks.com or email me for help: itristan96@gmail.com Book Drop Container
These are the metal containers that can be set anywhere on your campus and can remain there without damage. The container takes up about a parking spot of space so make sure when thinking of placement! Where to sign up: www.betterworldbooks.com or email me for help: itristan96@gmail.com
Simply buying a book from Better World Books Better World Book’s long-term relationship with non-profit literacy partners allows you to support literacy with every purchase. Organizations like Room to Read, the National Center for Families Learning, and Books for Africa receive funding from every book we sell.
Planning Fall Retreat has been one of the most growing and rewarding experiences that I have ever participated in. I am so thankful for everyone that came, and I’m pretty sure most people were thankful that they came as well. Despite not everything going exactly as planned, I would consider Fall Retreat to be a great success. With a record amount of attendees and over $1000 raised for clean water and tetanus vaccines for people in third world countries, the T-O District really went all out. Here’s looking forward to our next District event, DCON 2016: Get Animated About Service! -Lauren Harrison Dear Fall Retreaters, I hope everyone had an amazing time at Fall Retreat, because I know I did! It was such an amazing thing to see everyone meet and connect with each other throughout the Texas-Oklahoma District. I had such a fun time on the giant swing and watching Harry Potter movies as the night went on. I loved seeing everyone again and meeting tons of new people. Thank you so much for coming out and I can’t wait to see all of you getting Animated About Service at the 2017 District Convention! Remember, stay Sirius About Service! Sincerely, Robert Orr District Events Chair P.S. Go Hufflepuffs!
This was my first time attending fall retreat. I enjoyed meeting and interacting with new people. a couple things I liked were the hungry hungry hippo game, eating smores, the scavenger hunt, dodge ball, and being sorted into our Harry Potter houses. The theme of fall retreat was wonderful! - Kisha White Southwestern Christian College Fall Retreat was great as for my second time experience. I met lots of new people at other chapters, and also reuniting friends that went to last year DCON. The forums were really helpful. Fall Retreat was better than last year. I like having the idea as a fundraiser service project like selling the butter beer and the eliminate pins.-Cody (UTSA) Samantha Hull St. Ed's: Fall Rally was one of my first experiences as a CKI member and it got me excited for the years ahead. Because of CKI, I feel like I have a family across Texas and Oklahoma that will always have my back. I'm so grateful to be a part of an organization so much bigger than myself.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere, everyone was very friendly and inviting. I really enjoyed being put into groups because I got to meet different people and I loved the different activities we did like making a flag, making a chant, playing dodgeball and playing hungry hippos. It is a wonderful experience that all circle k members should try. - Rhiannon UMHB I really loved meeting new people in my house, and getting to feel that sense of family that I feel in our club on such a bigger scale. It was also really awesome to reconnect with people I hadn't seen since WOW. And I didn't die on the death swing so that's an upside too. -Armish UT
Karelly Trevizo: Butterbeer, swings, and scavenger hunts galore, those were the main attractions that Fall Retreat had to offer. The presentation was beautiful, and the last-minute arrangements due to weather were seemingly effortless, but it is the smaller things that gave it so much more value. Its gathering around the fire and huddling with the stranger next to you, or making friends on the new house you were put in *ahem, sorting hat was on point btw, ahem* and the new bonds that were cultivated across the Texas and Oklahoma districts. Thank you for that amazing opportunity.
This year's Fall Retreat was an amazing experience that I wish I could relive constantly. I had so much fun meeting so many people that were excited about CKI and service, and it really reinforced the feeling of Circle K being like a family for me.-Emily Tran (Texas A&M University) It was cool meeting new people and getting to know them a bit (kinda hard in like 2 days but still and I thought the scavenger hunt was really fun too!Ariana Cast (Cameron) My favorite part was how the theme was tied in to what our club is about. Putting in that extra effort and earning "extra points" help the group as a whole. About serving others not yourselves by serving others. -Oscar Salazar (UNT)
My favorite part was getting to meet and interact with new people who share the same amount of passion for service as I do. -Victoriano Garcia (UNT)
"It was cool getting to meet everybody from the different chapters and the scavenger hunt was pretty cool" -Ben, OSU My favorite part of fall retreat was being able to meet so many new CKI people and being inspired to go above and beyond in service - Kim Dinh, President of UT Arlington
Fall Retreat was such an amazing experience! It was so wonderful being able to meet with other CKIers in our district and get to know them better. My favorite part was Hungry Hippograffs because I had so much just playing it lifesized and it really took me back to a time when everyone is little and just hanging out and having fun. - Ashley Handoko, President of UT Dallas
It was neat to get more of a view on what CKI is all about and to experience the sense of family. Not only did I get closer to the people in my chapter, but I got to meet and connect with new people as well~ Michaela UT
I did not know what to expect going into fall retreat but I was pleasantly surprised how fun the weekend was! Even though many of us came from different schools, everyone seemed happy and willing to meet new people and make new friends from other schools. I really enjoyed all of the team work and team building activities that each group did and making them all contests brought in an element that made it even more fun! Once I knew what “warm and fuzzies” were, I really liked the concept. Sometimes people want to say something to someone but don’t for whatever reason so having that outlet to really get to encourage and lift up other people was a wonderful opportunity. The scavenger hunt was really enjoyable! I think that even though the weather ruined the original plans, it was still a great weekend filled with plenty of laughter, friendships, and service. -Megan Reed, Secretary at Oklahoma State University
I really enjoyed the way they (District Board) kept up the theme of Harry Potter. I also liked the different games that we played throughout the day especially the hungry hungry hippo game that we played against the other houses. -Gabrielle Shaw, Member of Southwester Christian College.
Red River Divisional Update: The Red River Fall Rally was held on October 15th, 2016 at Midwestern State University. Chapters in attendance were Cameron, UNT, MSU, and TWU. We had about 30 people there and had a service project to make busy coloring books for kids in hospitals.
Hill Country We had our rally on October 22nd at 9 in the morning, at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Unfortunately, the matter of taking pictures slipped my mind, but we were around 25 members strong. We had breakfast tacos and went over KFamily 101. For our service project, we made Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbons and play an informational game that separates fact from fiction when it comes to the disease. That way our members are more informed when doing service projects or expanding awareness with the ribbons. Hill Country is trying to be more chapter interactive when it comes to service projects. With three schools, close to the Waco area and three in the Austin are, this opens doors for stronger partnerships with each other.
South Texas Fall semester is off to a great start for the Southeast Texas Division. Chapters are starting off strong and really making an impact in their local communities through service. So far, the SE-TX division has a combined total of 876 service hours! And the fall semester isn't even over yet! We had our Fall Rally on October 23 at Lamar University. It was a huge success with about 55 in attendance. We discussed district and divisional goals and progress, talked about district service partners and preferred charities, and promoted Fall Retreat. We also got to play a competitive game of CKI Jeopardy, where members got to learn more facts about Circle K and have fun with it. We also participated in a mini service project where we made awareness keychains in the shape of a water drop for the Unify to Purify project. The chapters got to take the keychains that they made and bring it back to their campuses to pass out to bring awareness to the project. Overall, I'm glad to say that Fall Rally was a pretty fun experience! I can't wait to see how the rest of the semester will go for the division.
Metro The Metro Fall Rally was held on October 2, 2016 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. We had about 30-40 people in attendance and had a blast. We spoke about the Kiwanis family and how we fit into it. Also, we came together to figure out where each chapter stood in terms of their goals. Finally, we played a game of Fact or Crap about breast cancer, in honor of breast cancer awareness month.
Oklahoma Many things have happened in the last two months in the Oklahoma division. On September 24 we had our fall rally held in Stillwater hosted by the OSU CKI chapter. We had members from UTulsa, USAO, And OSU. Our lunch was provided by the Stillwater Kiwanis club and again I would like to thank them so much for being a huge help in supporting myself and the Oklahoma division. We started with an icebreaker called the quest where the room was divided in two and I would call out a specific item and the team who brought that item to me first, got the point for that round. It was a really fun and active game and I enjoyed watching everyone fall out of their seats to win. After that we had our service project. We spent around 20-30 minutes writing letters to soldiers in the military and thanking them for their service. Next we started with the informational part of the rally. We talked about everything from the purpose of CKI to the Projects we had going on in the district. Next we played jeopardy to see what new things we learned. Everyone Participated and received candy for answering the questions. I had a blast spending time and getting to know the members in our division. I hope to see the rest of y'all at spring rally! The university of Tulsa held a member induction banquet on October 9th in downtown Tulsa. There were members of the Tulsa Kiwanis club along with members on the T-O board as well as myself. It was a beautiful banquet and very well put together. Afterward, the held their final fall member recruitment at a community center. There, students of UTulsa could come free of charge and indulge in pizza and activities such as pool, air hockey, video games, and rollerblading. I'd like to thank Brian Walker, Lori Mathis, and the UTulsa board for inviting us to come to such a wonderful, out reaching, and celebratory event. Y'all are doing great!
South East Texas Also, in regards to my division, I think we're doing pretty good! Everyone is represented at the upcoming retreat and each chapter have been doing service events in our own communities and everything. I think though that we can work on doing more interchapters just to let everyone get a chance to meet one another. The division also has some leads forming, the strongest one is UT-Edinburg and that’s going really well. Everyone's excited so that is good.
Texas A&M University have had the events "De-stress & Learn: Monarch Watch" and "The Great Monarch Migration Wave." Through the project, they were able to table on campus and teach students about the Monarch Butterfly conservation and preservation efforts. Along with the educational materials, CKI members offered a tutorial on how to make origami butterflies as a de-stress activity since it was around the first round of exams. (Origami picture attached. We could put something like "Try this at your next meeting!"). CKI members made 83 origami butterflies and then posted them around campus with flyers in designs spelling out CKI and showing the Circle K logo.
Ideas for Fundraising & Raising Awareness for Unify to Purify Why Fundraise? By spreading the message of Unify to Purify and fundraising on campus, you and your chapter are able to show others how clean water can change the world. Not only will you educate students on campus about the global water crisis, but you will also take part in providing clean, safe water to afflicted parts of the world. Remember, at only a cost of 6 cents, oral re-hydration salts (a mixture of sugar and salt) offer the most effective and cheapest way to save lives during dehydration.
Bake Sale Have all baked goods be in the shape of water droplets, snowflakes, ocean waves, etc., or add blue food coloring to rice crispy treats and cookies in order to emphasize the main theme of our initiative. For extra “brownie” points, print off water-related facts and tie to the baked goods.
Spare Change “Spell-It-Out” Spell out water-related words and have passersby cover up the letters with spare change.
Job cards Each volunteer writes on a 3”x5” card what they would be willing to do for fundraising for pay (i.e. painting, car washing, cleaning, yard work, babysitting). These cards can be placed on a table during a Kiwanis meeting. It’s probably better to let the “purchaser” make a freewill donation.
Eat for CKI Ask a local restaurant to donate 10% (or whatever they agree to) of their profits on a designated night for your club in exchange for encouraging sup- porters to eat there. You can ask around before you go to certain restaurants, because obviously some restaurants in your area will have more people coming to eat there more than others. Create a huge buzz and advertise the restaurant a lot, especially the week before your set date.
Balloon Bust Create a wall of balloons, each with some little papers in them. Sell tickets to pop these balloons! While some balloons will have “try again” tickets, some others might have prizes inside or even a cash prize. This can be a great activity to have in addition to a cause or awareness event.
Thirsty Thursday Save the money you would regularly spend on beverages, and donate to Unify to Purify. For me, Starbucks is my go-to place for my favorite beverage: Iced Carmel Macchiato. On average, I spend around $4.00. Looking at this amount, I could provide 100 days of clean water to children in need by simply skipping out for one day. I urge you all to do the same. Whether it’s a cup of coffee from your local Starbucks, or a sweet tea from Sonic, save your money and save a life!
Water Bottle Have a table set up at school with information about Unify to Purify with a water bottle that is filled with dirt and water and when talking about it tell them how awful it would be to have to drink this, and then have another water bottle that is empty for people to make donations.
Water Well Wishes On a poster board or trifold display board, draw a picture of a water well. Sell water droplet cut-outs for a set amount of money and have students decorate them with their name, major, Greek letters, etc. Another approach would be for the buyers to write their “wishes” onto the water droplets. Sell until time or supply runs out, and see your well fill up with water. Add "Check out how the Southeast Division is spreading awareness by selling water droplet keychains to students on campus" and include pictures on the keychains and members making them.
How to Submit Funds If your club as fundraised money to Unify to Purify, you can send the donation to the TX- OK Kiwanis District Office after you complete the Unify to Purify progress form (http://tinyurl.com/UnifytoPurify).
Membership: 197 Service Hours:6936
Unify to Purify Donations: $531 K-Fam: 90 Interchapters: 170 SMRF reporting: 97% PMRF reporting: 94.4%
Important Dues Timeline:
Regular Deadline is November 30, 2016.
Last Day to Pay Dues Before Getting SUSPENDED is December 1,2016.
INTERNATIONAL DUES ARE SEPARATE FROM MEMBER DUES AND HAVE TO BE PAID BY EACH CLUB ANNUALLY.
4 Year Institution with 5000 or more students is $600.
4 Year Institution with 5000 or less students is $450.
2 Year Institution per capita gross national income of $10000 or more is $300. 2 Year Institutional per capita gross nation income less than $10000 is $150.
TEXAS-OKLAHOMA DISTRICT DUES ARE $12.00 FOR EVERY MEMBER. To log into the MUC:-Treasurers must log in with their email that was stated on their chapter's COCRF
If it is their first time logging in they must select the option to reset pass word and follow directions
Website: https://members.portalbuzz.com/Member/User/Login? federated=True&instant=True&returnUrl=https%3a%2f%2freporting.kiwanisone.org% 2fAccount%2fResolveFederatedToken%3freturnUrl%3d%252f&skin=kiwanis
Link to MUC tour video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai6dBG7l5qA
Still have problems? Contact district treasurer at: treasurer@txokcki.org or call me!
Letters to Soldiers “Thank you…” a simple statement with a resounding meaning. Many of us are guilty of not saying this two-word phrase enough. We live everyday protected by courageous men and women who willingly sacrifice themselves to ensure our safety. The Oklahoma State CKI chapter is on a mission to thank soldiers for their unrelenting commitment to our country. As a chapter, we are writing thank you notes and sending them to soldiers. With the help of our members, local Kiwanis Club, and volunteers, we hope to write and send 400 letters by the end of the year! -Charley Rayfield (Editor at Oklahoma State Univeristy) \
Cameron University joined in on thanking the veterans by setting up a table for the students to pause in between their classes to write a letter on Veteran’s Day. Overall, just from Cameron alone over 200 were written!
On October 8, 2016 the Texas-Oklahoma division chartered a new chapter in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This chapter belongs to the University of Tulsa. The leadership among this newly found chapter is incredible. The members are committed to the service towards others. The Tulsa Kiwanis club is their sponsor. Numerous board members were able to attend this monumental event showing support as the chapter continues to grow and strength. After the formal dinner, which was the induction of officers and members, the group held an after party consisting of roller skating , games, and pizza. The T-O district of CKI is so blessed to have you. Good Luck with the rest of the school year!
Some clubs do not realize the recruiting process does not end to add m Recruitment Put up CKI fall recruitment flyers, created by Media Specialist Matthew Riley, around campus
CKI Pens
Back to School Bash
Free food at your first few meetings
Have current members bring a friend to a meeting
Send personal emails to FLIPers, throw FLIPers some sort of “welcome to college” get together.
Table at any organization fair, often times colleges will have volunteer fairs or org fairs during the semester, not just during the summer. You can also see if your college has an area where organizations can table during the school day.
Ask professors if you can announce to a class about your next meeting, or if you can write it on a board in the classroom.
Hand out flyers the day of your meeting
Retention Have frequent service and social events for members to attend
Door prizes
Scholarships
social gathering after meetings (Froyo run or Chipotle dinner)
Make your meetings worthwhile (It’s not worth attending a 10 minute short meeting or an hour long, boring, uninformational meeting)
Follow up with members who have not been attending meetings
Make it a point to greet and get to know new faces at meetings
Give incentives for members who attend events
In-meeting service projects
Ice Breaker (Engaging, purposeful)
after the beginning of school is over. It is all year round. Winter is the time members to your club. Administrative Strategies Personalize emails
Recap emails (Discuss what your chapter’s upcoming events are)
Dress professional as officers, be confident
Have an agenda and meeting Powerpoint planned out (slides preselected)
Be prepared, if you are doing any activities during a meeting make sure to have all materials needed
Officers come 15 minutes early
Officer meetings between general meetings
Communicate effectively when and where meetings will take place, try and have the location and time the same for every meeting.
Keep an accurate spreadsheet of members contact information
Keep an accurate log of member activity (service hours, meetings, socials)
Make sure if an event is far away, all members have a way to get there (carpooling)
I am thankful for my family and especially my adorable niece. –Robert Orr
Every day of life is a gift, and I'm thankful for all of the c with each day. I'm thankful –Robbie Day
I am so thankful for my family. I may come from a divided mom and dad, but it just means I have more people who I love and who love me. Plus I got lucky to have two moms and two dads.
I am thankful for my support system. I would not be who I am today and where I am today without them. –Emily Tran
-Dylann Lowery
I am thankful for being ALIVE. –Andrew Linquez
I am thankful for being able to go to college. It has been a rewarding and challenging past 4 years, but I am so blessed to be able to go to one of the best universities in Texas with some of my favorite people. It has grown me so much! -Lauren Harrison
My best friend. He is so kind and loving and is always there for me on my best and worst days. He is so supportive of what I do and he never fails to make me smile. –Megan Williams
I am thankful for my family, my friends, and my life in general. NO matter the struggles and tribulations, I know things will be alright. –Pablo Ortiz
challenges and opportunities to excel that come
I am thankful for my family, friends, good health, and being safe now that I am 21. –Vanessa Marquez
I am thankful for my boyfriend because he supports me through everything, whether CKI or school work, even though he and I don’t see each other often. –Kristina Bunn
I'm thankful for my brother because he motivates me to be the very best that I can be. I simply would not be here without his support. – Miti Patel I am thankful for my mother and her amazing support of my school work, volunteer work, and life in general. She’s a very loving individual who’s not afraid to help others and this is why I’m the person I am today! -DeMarkus Grayson-Rhule
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Raven Youngblood, from Cameron University, since she had joined she has had no problem with signing up to things and helping out, she has also brought along one of her pledge sisters to join CKI. She is very passionate about fall retreat she loves the theme!
Katie Shier, from Stephen F. Austin State University, has done an excellent job increasing the number of people who attend events. Even if only 2 people signed up for an event she'll somehow be able to recruit another 4 people to go with her.
Corey Campbell, from Texas A&M Kingsville, is our Outstanding Member of the Month. He is our new Vice President. Being new to CKI he nominated himself for VP and has done an amazing job of reminding everyone of their duties and keeping a good spirit at all times.
Dear CKI’ers, I am so blessed to be presenting you all with a second issue. You all have shown me such love during the transition process of my coming into the editor positon. I am so humbled to be able to serve you during the year. It was nice to meet so many of you at fall retreat! Hearing your dedication to serve others is truly inspiring. A big thank you to the district board who have submitted items to be featured in this issue. Y’all are my rocks who keep me grounded. Thank you to Governor Miti, who always pushes me to strive for excellence and listening to all those late night rants. I hope to see you all at District Convention!! Be on the lookout over Christmas Break for the next issue to be published! Stay golden Texas-Oklahoma District!
“Live to Serve, Love to Serve!”
Dylann Lowery