Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.
Appleton Fox Cities Kiwanis Chapter
Chartered on November 11, 1972, our Club is comprised of approximately 80 men and women, who support a wide variety of initiatives in the Fox Cities area that serve the community, particularly children. Throughout the year, members donate hundreds of hours to a wide variety of service projects involving Boys & Girls Club, Community Clothes Closet, Salvation Army, Warming Shelter, March of Dimes, and many more.
Through fundraising efforts, donations are made annually to the YMCA, Community Clothes Closet, NAMI, Old Glory Honor Flight, to name just a few. In June 2012, members were asked to submit grant requests and more than $15,000 was dispersed:
Badger Girls State – sent two girls to Madison ($480)
Bergstrom Mahler Museum – art program for children ($1,700)
Building For Kids – Storyland project to address literacy development ($1,000)
Emergency Shelter – to improve children’s outdoor play area ($3,000)
Epilepsy Foundation North Central WI ($885)
Fox Cities Diaper Bank ($2,000)
Fox Valley Miracle League Picnic Tables ($3,150)
Houdini Plaza Renovation ($1,000)
Key Club Leaders Convention – sent 10 Key Club members ($1,750)
Sibling Support Network ($1,000)
We meet every Friday morning at 7:15 a.m. at the Appleton YMCA. for more information, visit www.foxkiwanis.org.
Kiwanis International
Kiwanis International is a thriving organization of service-minded men and women who respond to the unique needs of their communities and address worldwide issues by “Serving the Children of the World.”
Founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1915 by a group of businessmen, Kiwanis International is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Today, the entire Kiwanis family has more than 600,000 members in more than 13,000 clubs. Kiwanis clubs serve in 96 countries around the world and achieve what individuals cannot do alone.
Club meetings traditionally are conducted once a week and offer an atmosphere of fun, learning, and fellowship. In addition to attending the meetings, the typical Kiwanian volunteers each month to assist with club service projects.
Service projects often are linked to the Kiwanis program, “Young Children: Priority One.” This initiative places continuing focus on the needs of children in pediatric trauma, safety, child care, early development, infant health, nutrition, and parenting skills.
Service projects also can address other needs within the community, such as working to stop substance abuse, helping the elderly, promoting literacy, supporting youth sports and recreation, responding to disasters, and supporting specific persons in need.
Kiwanis also plays a special role in developing future generations of leaders. K-Kids clubs at the elementary school level, Builders Clubs in middle school and junior highs, Key Clubs in high schools, and Circle K clubs at the collegiate level all are Kiwanis organizations that teach community service and leadership skills to young people. In addition, Aktion Clubs are made up of adults with mental and physical disabilities who enthusiastically perform service to help others.
With The Eliminate Project, Kiwanis International and UNICEF have joined forces to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus. This deadly disease steals the lives of nearly 60,000 innocent babies and a significant number of women each year. The effects of the disease are excruciating, tiny newborns suffer repeated, painful convulsions and extreme sensitivity to light and touch.
To eliminate MNT from the Earth, more than 100 million mothers and their future babies must be immunized. This requires vaccines, syringes, safe storage, transportation, thousands of skilled staff and more. It will take $110 million and the dedicated work of UNICEF and every member of the Kiwanis family.
Kiwanis and UNICEF joined forces to tackle iodine deficiency disorders, achieving one of the most significant public health successes of the 20th century. Now, they are eliminating MNT from the face of the Earth. And in doing so, the project will reach the poorest, most neglected mothers and babies with additional lifesaving health care. The end of this one disease means the beginning of better health for so many families.
A typical Kiwanis club is a snapshot of its community, with members from all walks of life and at every step of the career ladder. They are unified in their belief that children and their communities benefit from the efforts of a proficient group of caring and involved volunteers. In a typical year, Kiwanis clubs invest more than 6.2 million hours and US$100 million in communities around the world. Through these efforts, the Kiwanis organization truly leaves a lasting impression on future generations.
