SDSU
Spring Fest is the project of the month for May. This is the single big event that our Kiwanis holds annually and we always try to provide as many volunteers as we can. It’s a two-day event where we were able to fundraise on the first day for our own club while still volunteering and helping out our Kiwanians. On the second day, we helped out at the inflatable rides that were provided for all the kids. It turned out to be very successful both for SDSU and our Kiwanis, and is definitely one of our best projects of the year.

Sac State
Kiwanis One Day was a blast with our fellow local Key Clubs in the area, West Campus High School and Florin High School. We helped out Kiwanis club by applying wood preserver to a wooden playground that our Kiwanis Club built 10 years ago. It may have been 100 degrees out, but everyone pulled together and sprayed or painted every inch of that playground.

UC Davis
Weekend of Service: By Khin Win

This month we had our Weekend of Service during which many members were encouraged to attain as many service hours as they can with an incentive of getting a chance to pie an officer of their choice! The events included Celebrate Davis, Birch Lane Elementary School Carnival, Herb Garden Work Party, and SPCA Adoptathon. We had many members come out to the events and had a combined 112 hours of service. We also had 8 members with more than 6 hours and 2 members with more than 12 hours, all of whom were entered into a drawing for a chance to pie an officer. Overall it was a great turn out for all the service projects and the reward was great!

PCC
On May 3rd, members gathered again to attend the Rebuilding Together – Pasadena Chapter event. During this event we finished up painting the house. We made sure that we finished painting the house and made sure that any new foreign plants did not grow again in the yard.

UCLA
UCLAs big service project of the month is actually a combination of quite a few… known as our “Metro 24 Hours Service Marathon.” UCLA has done many service marathons before, from 24 hours, to 48 hours, and even an entire week. However, we have not been able to do it with our Metro division until now! Our service chairs and service VP worked rigorously for the past couple of weeks to put the event together. On Memorial Day Weekend, fellow clubs from Metro joined us at UCLA to do service! From making ugly blankets to cleaning up the beach, feeding the homeless to recycling on campus even after it had rained; our division did a LOT! We would finish our marathon by sharing a sunny day out at Santa Monica Pier, knowing that we had just done an entire day’s worth of community service! We’ll be planning more in the future, so there will be lots more Metro love then!

CSULB
Our club’s best service project for the month of May was the Relay for Life service project. We had a total of 12 members that attended the event, and everyone was able to walk for the cause (finding a cure for cancer). We were also able to raise money for the DFI by selling strings of handmade origami. We were happy to have sold all of the origami by the end of the event and raised a total of $20.69. Go Circle K!

UNR
Making Trauma Dolls is our service project of the month for UNR. We teamed up with our sponsoring Kiwanis club and helped stuff trauma dolls. These dolls will be taken to Renown Hospital, which is a partner with the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Program and given to children. The dolls come with a description of the program and a set of markers for the kids to draw on clothes and faces. These dolls are for children to show the doctors and nurses where they are hurting since young children are often unable to convey their feelings in a time of stress – these trauma dolls will be a great addition to the pediatric unit at our local hospital.

UCI
Veterans Single Service Project by Natalie Platon

Although Circle K does plenty of service events with children and the homeless, I felt that we could still reach out to many other groups of people that we rarely volunteer for. This was the inspiration for having the first Single Service at the Veterans Hospital in Long Beach. I always wondered what happened to veterans after the war was over because many of them usually sustained physical or mental injuries while in the service.

Going to the event gave me the opportunity to talk to veterans who kindly answered the questions I had. Also, they would tell me their personal experiences in the war. Many of the veterans were from the Vietnam, Korean, and Iraq war, but some were even WW2 veterans. I was surprised that some of them had been at the hospital for so long, some even 20 years. They complained that it became tedious at times, but also mentioned they were appreciative for having the opportunity to live there. One veteran mentioned that without the hospital, he would have no food or shelter.

Before I went to the hospital, I was grateful for what they did. However, after the event my gratitude was greater. I am happy that Circle K’s presence brightened their day whether it was through winning prizes at Bingo, receiving origami flowers or Thank-You cards, learning something new at a workshop, listening to harmonious a cappella music, or simply having someone to talk to.

CSUF
Snapshot Day

Since it was the only service project this month, I have to say that it was a lot of fun picking up trash around the water along with the other members like Thuong, Edgar, and Jennifer Lopez. While picking up trash we made jokes and laughed during the walk.

UCSD
Smoke Alarm Installation with the Burn Institute

We drove around to different houses in the San Diego, Santee, La Mesa, Bonita, and Poway area to install smoke alarms in selected senior citizens’ homes. Each pair were trained at the institute, and then given the supplies and directions to go to 4 to 6 homes. At the homes we drilled the smoke alarms into the bedrooms and in the common rooms, and we verified to see if they work. Also, we tried to remove old smoke alarms that did not work. All together, the five Circle K members and two Burn Institute staff installed smoke alarms in 17 homes. The senior citizens were very welcoming and sweet. It was hands on, and we got to directly impact and come in contact with the community. We provided service for communities all over San Diego and even outside of San Diego, instead of just La Jolla.

UCB
The May project of the month is the Maker Faire Concession Stands. Members made pretzels and churros to sell at the fair and even though the weather was chilly, Berkeley Circle K’ers were still high in energy! In addition to the fun, our members raised about $500 from selling goods!

East Bay
Our club’s best service project for May is the Hayward Gardening Project held at Hayward High School. Our Kiwanis and Key Clubbers were also present for this event. We are helping the school create a full, diverse garden in the high school by weeding out the old dead plants and digging holes to plant new ones. As tiring as plowing and digging was, it was very rewarding knowing we are building something great for the school and the community. We know that helping plant this garden is an actual change to the school and we are glad we had the opportunity to do help with out K-Familiy.

UCR
Great American Cleanup is the best service project for May because of the attendance of A.B. Miller Key Club members from a different division. Though this was not an official interclub event but rather a spontaneous attendance on the Key Clubbers’ part, the Great American Cleanup allowed the Circle K members to interact and bond with Kiwanis family.

De Anza
May 16th De Anza hosted the 30th Annual Kiwanis Special Games. The event went off great with the combined help of Circle K members from all over Golden Gate Division, the local Key Clubs, and the local Builders Club. Despite the scorching heat, over 200 dedicated volunteer and staff came out to have a great time with over 1000 special children. Kiwanis Special Games was created for the many special individuals who cannot participate in the Special Olympics because of the severity of their disability. During the event, each pair of volunteer is paired up with a group of participants and taken around to play specially designed games that our Kiwanis’ engineered. It’s an extra special day dedicated to these children. I encourage everyone to join in the spirit and hope to see you again next year!

UNLV
Our most productive service project for the month of May was the HSBC volunteer project where we went out to assist in setting up booths, manning the booths, and tearing down the booths for an employee appreciation event that the HSBC company put on. This event included games that the employee’s children could participate in and it was in this part of the event that we helped out with the most. This service project also doubled as a fundraiser for the club.