By Dave Azwell
The Osage City Kiwanis Club supports the children of USD 420 with a number of service leadership programs (SLP’s) at the various schools. Faculty advisors some of whom are also club members and other staff members provide invaluable guidance for the students in the high school, middle school and elementary school. The purpose is to promote service and leadership as integral parts of their education. It also requires that they become familiar with fundraising as a way to help provide funds for their activities and to support special events or organizations.
The Key Club is made up of high school students. Their activities include recycling miscellaneous papers/magazines each month, helping with the Kiwanis pancake breakfast and supporting school and community activities. Imaginative club fundraising activities for a variety of causes and attending the Kiwanis Key Leader conference are also a part of the Key Club experience. It’s not all work as they hold progressive dinners, Christmas parties, eat pizza and participate in other fun activities.
Builders Club involves the middle school students. Some of their activities have included recycling papers/magazines each month, working the concession stand, babysitting at church nurseries, working at Pomona State Park Haunted Trail, helping with the conservation dinner and, also, working the Kiwanis pancake breakfast and chili feed. People have made note of the great help provided by the kids. Some prolific fundraising projects have been a part of their activities.
The elementary school has the K-Kids program and they are an active bunch. Service projects include paper recycling once a month, helping the principal with morning duty, monitoring classes, recycling the lunchroom trash during lunch and campus cleanup which involves picking up trash in and around school property. Fundraising has included selling gifts for Valentine’s Day, Trick or Treating for UNICEF and food drives including non-perishable items for ECAT which have led to some astounding numbers of items collected. A back-to-school swim party each fall and the Christmas party are fun events each year.
The BUG program ( Bringing Up Grades) is for the elementary students in the fourth and fifth grades. It helps promote the importance of obtaining and maintaining good grades as well as understanding the value of doing well in classes, completing homework, having a good attitude and exhibiting good behavior in school. Students who maintain or improve their grades and classroom presence are rewarded with a pizza party at the end of the first semester and a hot dog feed at the end of the school year.
In addition to the SLP’s, Kiwanis provides funding for many activities and events at the USD 420 schools including scholarships for graduating seniors, the elementary W.A.T.C.H DOGS program, After Prom, the wrestling club, Boys State, school plays and educational performers. The OC Kiwanis Club has served the children of Osage City and the Osage City community since 1957.