Any compilation of club history would have to include our projects, which obviously are the main reason for the club’s existence. Traditionally Kiwanis clubs, unlike some other similar service organizations, have focused on specific needs in their local communities. At some point, the President each year of Kiwanis International began selecting a topic area and encouraged every club worldwide to complete one or more projects to address that theme in addition to their other projects. From a desire to emphasize a common focus on children and to promote a more visible and identifiable public image, Kiwanis then replaced the annual theme with specific multi-year worldwide projects.
The first of these was adopted in 1990 to eradicate iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) from the planet. This causes throat goiters and is the greatest preventable cause of mental retardation in children. It is most easily addressed by the use of iodized salt in the diet. In coordination with UNICEF, USAID, and other agencies, Kiwanis endeavored to promote building of salt-iodization plants, availability and distribution of sufficient supplies, and public education in the use of iodized salt in significantly affected countries around the world. By 2008, Kiwanis had raised almost $1 million and increased the use of iodized salt worldwide from 20% to 70%. By 2018, Kiwanis had raised or leveraged nearly $140 million overall and achieved the desired result in 94 countries out of an original target 113 with 19 still remaining.
The second, adopted in 2010, has been the eliMiNaTe project to combat maternal and neo-natal tetanus (MNT) with a goal of raising $115 million in honor of the 100th anniversary of Kiwanis in 2015. MNT was considered a threat in 39 countries. In 1987, more than 800,000 babies were dying of tetanus each year. By 2015, that had been reduced to 34,000. By 2019, more than $84 million has been collected, work is continuing to collect other outstanding pledges, and only 13 countries remain. As a Model Club, our club provided $14,250 between 2012 and 2017.
Over the years, many of our local projects have been selected based on interests of particular members, although some have been replaced by other projects resulting from changes in membership. Mavor Triche championed Mental Health. The Battered Women’s Shelter was adopted in honor of our first female members, and Valerie Maurice suggested Myriam’s House. Menda Spell was a local coordinator for the Children’s Miracle Network. The Community Association for the Welfare of School Children (CAAWS) was pushed by Blanche Cano. Contributions to the local Safety Council resulted from the involvement of Olin Dart for many years. We have supported the 4-H Foundation originally promoted by C. J. Naquin and Dan Fontenot, the International Hospitality Foundation initially prompted by Bebo Wilkes, and Youth Oasis proposed by Morris Welch. Led by Bob Grodner and Ray Dudley, we have contributed to the Boy Scouts as well as meeting once a year at University Methodist Church for a barbecued chicken benefit lunch.
Another ongoing project specific to children is Special Olympics. That began in 1983 when LSU hosted 5500 athletes, chaperones, and officials for the International Special Olympics Summer Games. Our club primarily helped with food service, but Morris Welch served as the Housing chairperson and members of other Kiwanis clubs served in other capacities including registration and credentials. For many years, we prepared and distributed registration packets and ID badges for the state indoor games coordinated in various years by John Milazzo, Duz Hamilton, Bebo Wilkes, and Morris Welch. A couple of past times we have anchored a timing team for track events at the local outdoor games.
Over time, we have supported several projects at University Terrace Elementary School, including sponsoring a BREC league touch football team, constructing a deck led by Quentin Jenkins and Ray Dudley, reading and giving books to students coordinated by Sam Godber and Paige McCown, and serving supper at a multi-week program designed to involve parents with their children.
We sponsored a Key Club at McKinley High School for many years until it died and was later resurrected by another Kiwanis club. More recently for several years we sponsored a very active Key Club at Christian Life Academy but it was disbanded when the school administration did not respond to overtures after a change in the school’s name and focus in 2017 and then later dissolution of the school. Joe Liuzzo served as the Kiwanis advisor for many years followed by Blaine Grimes and then Brian Ainsworth. We have been examining the possibilities of sponsoring another Key Club either at another local school or for a home-school group.
Another ongoing project has been LSU’s annual Fallfest. For a number of years, we toiled and sweated over a couple of the four huge outdoor grills in the main Academic Quadrangle to cook well over 10,000 hamburgers and sausages under the leadership of Ray Dudley. With his ever present thermometer, Joe Liuzzo was the member that made sure everything was well cooked. The university’s food contractor now does the cooking in advance, so we continue to assist in serving at the new location on the LSU Parade Ground, and Brian Ainsworth serves as overall coordinator of the food tents.
Since 1983, we have funded scholarships to dependents of LSU faculty or staff as selected by LSU’s Financial Aid Office. One initial scholarship for $200 has increased over the years to one two scholarship at $1000 each. Coordinators for that effort have been Art Roberts, then Archie Lejeune, and now Roger Hinson. For many years, we have selected and presented a Distinguished Leadership Award to an active LSU faculty/staff member and a Distinguished Service Award to active or retired LSU faculty/staff member. Since 2011, we have solicited nominations, selected, and recognized a Divisions 8E/8W Outstanding Kiwanian from among the other clubs in the Baton Rouge area. Since that award tended to be a “life-time achievement” award based on multiple years of involvement, we added an additional Divisions 8E/8W Kiwanian of the Year award in 2016 to encourage members that may not have as lengthy a record but have been especially noteworthy that year. At an annual Awards Luncheon in the spring, we recognize the scholarship recipients, present the LSU and Kiwanis awards, provide a plaque to the outgoing President of our sponsored Key Clubs, and sometimes announce other one-time awards. (Click here to see a list of award recipients over the years).
Some examples of other projects over the years include supporting the Big Buddies Program, helping with Kids’ Day at the Zoo under Gary Kelly’s leadership as a joint project of area clubs, helping with local Senior Olympics, registering participants at an annual Kids Baseball Clinic at LSU led by Joe Liuzzo, sometimes providing a faculty advisor for the LSU Circle K club, building a basketball court at the Glory House youth center, building special desks for differently-abled students, contributing to the children’s Safety Town named for Mort Levy, a long-time Kiwanian and Baton Rouge pediatrician, contributing flu shots for the elderly, and donating a defibrillator to Christian Life Academy and a bike rack to Dufrocq Elementary School. In 2015 and 2016, we worked with other clubs in our local divisions to put on Child Safety Expo in the spring at Cortana Mall. We have collected books for the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless (CAAH) coordinated by Brian Ainsworth and Richard Barbalace and have stuffed backpacks at the Food Bank coordinated by Erik Kjeldsen to provide sufficient nutritional food over weekends for selected elementary students.
In the last several years (2016-?), we have also collected shoes in a combined effort of local clubs. A company picks up the shoes, pays a monetary amount per pound, and ships the shoes to budding entrepreneurs in developing countries who then refurbish and sell them. This effort provides three benefits. The initial payments help to fund the international eliMiNaTe project, the local entrepreneurs gain some livelihood, and local residents get usable shoes at affordable prices. In another multi-club project, we provided school supplies at a drive-thru event for children served by the Baton Rouge Mom Network.
History #04 – Service
Kiwanis Club of Louisiana State University
Any compilation of club history would have to include our projects, which obviously are the main reason for the club’s existence. Traditionally Kiwanis clubs, unlike some other similar service organizations, have focused on specific needs in their local communities. At some point, the President each year of Kiwanis International began selecting a topic area and encouraged every club worldwide to complete one or more projects to address that theme in addition to their other projects. From a desire to emphasize a common focus on children and to promote a more visible and identifiable public image, Kiwanis then replaced the annual theme with specific multi-year worldwide projects.
The first of these was adopted in 1990 to eradicate iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) from the planet. This causes throat goiters and is the greatest preventable cause of mental retardation in children. It is most easily addressed by the use of iodized salt in the diet. In coordination with UNICEF, USAID, and other agencies, Kiwanis endeavored to promote building of salt-iodization plants, availability and distribution of sufficient supplies, and public education in the use of iodized salt in significantly affected countries around the world. By 2008, Kiwanis had raised almost $1 million and increased the use of iodized salt worldwide from 20% to 70%. By 2018, Kiwanis had raised or leveraged nearly $140 million overall and achieved the desired result in 94 countries out of an original target 113 with 19 still remaining.
The second, adopted in 2010, has been the eliMiNaTe project to combat maternal and neo-natal tetanus (MNT) with a goal of raising $115 million in honor of the 100th anniversary of Kiwanis in 2015. MNT was considered a threat in 39 countries. In 1987, more than 800,000 babies were dying of tetanus each year. By 2015, that had been reduced to 34,000. By 2019, more than $84 million has been collected, work is continuing to collect other outstanding pledges, and only 13 countries remain. As a Model Club, our club provided $14,250 between 2012 and 2017.
Over the years, many of our local projects have been selected based on interests of particular members, although some have been replaced by other projects resulting from changes in membership. Mavor Triche championed Mental Health. The Battered Women’s Shelter was adopted in honor of our first female members, and Valerie Maurice suggested Myriam’s House. Menda Spell was a local coordinator for the Children’s Miracle Network. The Community Association for the Welfare of School Children (CAAWS) was pushed by Blanche Cano. Contributions to the local Safety Council resulted from the involvement of Olin Dart for many years. We have supported the 4-H Foundation originally promoted by C. J. Naquin and Dan Fontenot, the International Hospitality Foundation initially prompted by Bebo Wilkes, and Youth Oasis proposed by Morris Welch. Led by Bob Grodner and Ray Dudley, we have contributed to the Boy Scouts as well as meeting once a year at University Methodist Church for a barbecued chicken benefit lunch.
Another ongoing project specific to children is Special Olympics. That began in 1983 when LSU hosted 5500 athletes, chaperones, and officials for the International Special Olympics Summer Games. Our club primarily helped with food service, but Morris Welch served as the Housing chairperson and members of other Kiwanis clubs served in other capacities including registration and credentials. For many years, we prepared and distributed registration packets and ID badges for the state indoor games coordinated in various years by John Milazzo, Duz Hamilton, Bebo Wilkes, and Morris Welch. A couple of past times we have anchored a timing team for track events at the local outdoor games.
Over time, we have supported several projects at University Terrace Elementary School, including sponsoring a BREC league touch football team, constructing a deck led by Quentin Jenkins and Ray Dudley, reading and giving books to students coordinated by Sam Godber and Paige McCown, and serving supper at a multi-week program designed to involve parents with their children.
We sponsored a Key Club at McKinley High School for many years until it died and was later resurrected by another Kiwanis club. More recently for several years we sponsored a very active Key Club at Christian Life Academy but it was disbanded when the school administration did not respond to overtures after a change in the school’s name and focus in 2017 and then later dissolution of the school. Joe Liuzzo served as the Kiwanis advisor for many years followed by Blaine Grimes and then Brian Ainsworth. We have been examining the possibilities of sponsoring another Key Club either at another local school or for a home-school group.
Another ongoing project has been LSU’s annual Fallfest. For a number of years, we toiled and sweated over a couple of the four huge outdoor grills in the main Academic Quadrangle to cook well over 10,000 hamburgers and sausages under the leadership of Ray Dudley. With his ever present thermometer, Joe Liuzzo was the member that made sure everything was well cooked. The university’s food contractor now does the cooking in advance, so we continue to assist in serving at the new location on the LSU Parade Ground, and Brian Ainsworth serves as overall coordinator of the food tents.
Since 1983, we have funded scholarships to dependents of LSU faculty or staff as selected by LSU’s Financial Aid Office. One initial scholarship for $200 has increased over the years to one two scholarship at $1000 each. Coordinators for that effort have been Art Roberts, then Archie Lejeune, and now Roger Hinson. For many years, we have selected and presented a Distinguished Leadership Award to an active LSU faculty/staff member and a Distinguished Service Award to active or retired LSU faculty/staff member. Since 2011, we have solicited nominations, selected, and recognized a Divisions 8E/8W Outstanding Kiwanian from among the other clubs in the Baton Rouge area. Since that award tended to be a “life-time achievement” award based on multiple years of involvement, we added an additional Divisions 8E/8W Kiwanian of the Year award in 2016 to encourage members that may not have as lengthy a record but have been especially noteworthy that year. At an annual Awards Luncheon in the spring, we recognize the scholarship recipients, present the LSU and Kiwanis awards, provide a plaque to the outgoing President of our sponsored Key Clubs, and sometimes announce other one-time awards. (Click here to see a list of award recipients over the years).
Some examples of other projects over the years include supporting the Big Buddies Program, helping with Kids’ Day at the Zoo under Gary Kelly’s leadership as a joint project of area clubs, helping with local Senior Olympics, registering participants at an annual Kids Baseball Clinic at LSU led by Joe Liuzzo, sometimes providing a faculty advisor for the LSU Circle K club, building a basketball court at the Glory House youth center, building special desks for differently-abled students, contributing to the children’s Safety Town named for Mort Levy, a long-time Kiwanian and Baton Rouge pediatrician, contributing flu shots for the elderly, and donating a defibrillator to Christian Life Academy and a bike rack to Dufrocq Elementary School. In 2015 and 2016, we worked with other clubs in our local divisions to put on Child Safety Expo in the spring at Cortana Mall. We have collected books for the Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless (CAAH) coordinated by Brian Ainsworth and Richard Barbalace and have stuffed backpacks at the Food Bank coordinated by Erik Kjeldsen to provide sufficient nutritional food over weekends for selected elementary students.
In the last several years (2016-?), we have also collected shoes in a combined effort of local clubs. A company picks up the shoes, pays a monetary amount per pound, and ships the shoes to budding entrepreneurs in developing countries who then refurbish and sell them. This effort provides three benefits. The initial payments help to fund the international eliMiNaTe project, the local entrepreneurs gain some livelihood, and local residents get usable shoes at affordable prices. In another multi-club project, we provided school supplies at a drive-thru event for children served by the Baton Rouge Mom Network.
Next Page – Chapter 5 – Fundraising
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