Sponsored Programs  

Kiwanis Scholarships

(Photos Courtesy of The Tuscola Journal)

Each year, the Tuscola Kiwanis Club selects at least two graduating high school seniors for a $500 scholarship each.  Candidates submit an application to the club, and a sub-committee reviews and selects the winners.  The winners are announced during the Honors Night celebration at the high school.

 Previous winners: 

Note:  The scholarship amount to each recipient was $250 for 1999-2003.  It was increased to $500 for each recipient starting in 2004.  In 2008, four scholarships were awarded; our two regular scholarships plus an extra funded by Gary Weber in memory of his wife, and club member, Carole and another funded by Kiwanis International due to our club's growth achievement.

K-Kids
		Tuscola K-Kids Website

K-Kids is the youngest and fastest growing service organization for elementary students worldwide. These clubs are ideally suited for students in grades 1 through 5 (ages 6 to 12).

K-Kids is a "student-led" community-service organization, which operates under school regulations and draws its members from the student body.

The K-Kids' pledge:

"As a K-Kid, I promise to serve my neighborhood and my school; I will show respect toward my environment; and I will try to make the world a better place in which to live."

The K-Kids' motto is "We Build," and its objectives are:

• To provide opportunities for working together in service to school and community.

• To develop leadership potential.

• To foster and development of strong moral character.

• To encourage loyalty to school, community, and nation.

During the school year, Tuscola K-Kids participate in community and world-wide projects.  Previous projects have included donating and planting a tree at their school, raising money for Chernobyl children and washing teachers' cars during Teacher Appreciation Week.

Tuscola Kiwanis club recognizes and thanks the Tuscola K-Kids with certificates and gifts.  Club members host wiener/marshmallow roasts and ice cream parties during the school years for the K-Kids.

Tuscola Journal Article - April 25, 2006

"BUG"

"BUG" is a program that gives students a goal of improving their grades.  East Prairie Elementary School and the Tuscola Kiwanis have teamed up to administer and support this very worthwhile effort.  Students receive awards for making improvements in their grades.

1^st time winners receive a "BUG" certificate and button.  They also receive a congratulatory postcard from a Kiwanis member and their name in the Tuscola newspapers.

2^nd time winners receive a "BUG" certificate and pencil.  They also receive a congratulatory postcard and phone call from a Kiwanis member and their name in the Tuscola newspapers. 

3^rd time winners receive a "BUG" certificate.  They also get treated to a lunch with the Kiwanians and a postcard and phone call.  Their name also appears in the Tuscola newspapers.

The Tuscola Kiwanis Club is proud to be part of such a worthwhile program!

Making Trauma Dolls for Kids in Need

Trauma dolls are hand-made by club members for children.  Currently, the club provides our trauma dolls to Crisis Nursery in Urbana. the Douglas County ambulance services and the Tuscola Fire Department.  These dolls serve two purposes:  1) To comfort children whose lives have much turmoil 2) To provide enjoyment and purpose to club members who get together to make the dolls for this good cause. 

A member generously opens their home to other members for trauma doll workshops.  A single workshop usually completes 25-35 dolls.  Please join us for food, fun and fellowship with other Kiwanians when the next workshop is announced.

Annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser

Each year Tuscola Kiwanians don chefs’ hats, fry up a mess of sausage, and their heat up the griddle for the annual pancake and sausage breakfast. It is one of the club’s regular fundraisers, and the monies donated go to various community projects sponsored by the club.

Kiwanians arise at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning to cook and serve some 300 pancakes and 40 pounds of sausage (and all the trimmings) to about 150 hungry folks. In addition to his role as Kiwanis Poet Laureate, Dave Dobson is the club’s resident Sausage Meister. Mike Damler, Mixer Extraordinaire, wields an expert mixing spoon in the preparation of the pancake batter, and Ed Wachala, Grill Chief, knows just how long to cook the cakes to golden perfection (once the finicky griddle is lit).

Setting up for the breakfast, cooking, serving the crowds, and cleaning up afterward require teamwork, expertise, and stamina. Something Tuscola Kiwanians have in spades. It is also lots of fun and a good opportunity for club and community fellowship.

Annual Fish Fry Fundraiser

One of the Kiwanis events that the community looks forward to is the annual All-You-Can-Eat Fish Fry.  Each year Tuscola Kiwanians thaw and fry up about 200 pounds of fish.  The meal also includes cole slaw, baked beans, bread/butter, beverage and choice of home-made desserts.  It is one of the club’s regular fundraisers, and the monies donated go to various community projects sponsored by the club.

Kiwanians start a couple of days before the fish fry by thawing and preparing the fish.  Mid-afternoon on a Friday the members dredge, fry and serve some 200 pounds of fish with all the fixings.  The home-made desserts pour in from members to finish off this great meal.

Though this fundraiser requires a lot of planning, preparation, cooking, serving the people and cleaning up the facility, it is a very fun and satisfying event for the club.  All the hard work pays off!  The members really enjoy the interaction and fun with each other, and members of the community.

Showing the Kiwanis Spirit at Local Events

The Kiwanis Float for the 2005 Tuscola Harvest Fest Parade

The Traveling Gavel Tradition

Each October, the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District Governor presents each new Division Lt. Governor with a handsome, personalized gavel.  The Lt. Governor sets up a schedule for the clubs in his or her division to pass the gavel from club to club within twelve months.  The purpose is to generate Interclub visits.  The gavel must be delivered in some unique way, and finally returns to the lieutenant governor before the end of his or her term.

Great creativity or culinary expertise is appreciated when presenting the traveling gavel. Clubs have presented the gavel with customized chocolate and caramel gavels, built into a bird house packed with birdseed, frozen in a block of ice, suspended in a pan of lime Jell-O, dropped from an airplane in a bag of flour, and buried in a basket of Easter eggs.   Clubs enjoy this tradition both for the creative ideas and the opportunity to enjoy the delivery!

Meeting With Other Kiwanians

An Outing

It was a rainy, dreary evening on October 2005, when four brave souls assembled for a monthly experience.

They were about to embark on an adventure of meeting people in a distant city and experiencing new people belonging to the same family.

It rained during their entire journey on Route 36 West, it rained during the maneuvering through the city of Decatur and it continued to rain on the northern stretch of Route 51.

Fortunately, our four brave souls had a great gps (global positioning system) in the person of their own poet laureate who seemed to know where they were going.

They finally arrived at a little building in Clinton, Illinois, marked with our family emblem.  Moving quickly from car to building, trying to avoid the water filled pot-holes, they made it safely inside.  The room seemed to be ready for an interesting meeting with placemats announcing projects, fundraising proposals and activities for the coming year.

As it happened, they were not the only visitors this night for these Clinton family members.  There was another family group from Decatur delivering a “traveling gavel” to this family branch.  In this particular delivery, the gavel was wrapped in layers and layers of duct tape so it took the president, who had to unwrap it, quite some time.

The “traveling gavel” is like any gavel that a president of a family club would use to open and close a family meeting.  However, the “traveling gavel” is moved from club to club (family to family) so that all the club families in a district receive it every year, and each club must deliver it to the next club as assigned by the district.

Each club tries to make their delivery, with the gavel wrapped in an innovative way, so that it is fun and difficult to get to it.

By visiting the other clubs in their district, and also in other districts, we meet other members of our KIWANIS family, and share ideas about projects and fundraising activities.

The best way to do this is to sign up for an inter-club meeting!

                   TUSCOLA KIWANIS CLUB

THE friendliest club (so proclaimed by others; not our brag)

Submitted by Ed Wachala

Kiwanians Helping Out Other Worthwhile Causes

Frequently, members volunteer their time to help the community with other activities.