Kiwanis K-Kids club, now at Barnum Woods School in East Meadow

The Kiwanis is known for its dedication — and unwavering— service around the community and it’s never too early to instill that to the youth of the community.

Barnum Woods Elementary School took the leap, and opened its first K-Kids chapter last week with 85 students installed into club the during an official K-Kids Club Charter and Installation Ceremony at the school. The students were joined by elected leaders and senior Kiwanis members, who proudly looked on.

This year, students at Barnum Woods Elementary School already took the step toward service to the community helping out a K-Kids food drive, which helped the greater-East Meadow Kiwanis feed 163 families this holiday season. After the New Year, the club will be collecting for Last Hope Animal Shelter, based in Wantagh. There will be a drive to collect items like blankets, towels, and food for rescue animals.

The East Meadow Kiwanis chapter puts together holiday food baskets and provides student scholarships. The club does good deeds throughout the year to reach every corner of the community.

The main Kiwanis club involves adults; however, there are several opportunities for children to get involved early on in their educational careers.

Kiwanis K-Kids, for children between the ages of 6 and 12, have the opportunity to explore giving back to the community. As students move onto middle school, they can continue to participate in community service through the Builders Club.

The Key Club supports high school students learning the value of participating in community activities and Circle K International is made specifically for college students continuing their passion for service before being eligible to be Kiwanis International members as adults.  Finally, Aktion Club is an official Kiwanis sponsored service leadership program for adults who live with disabilities, with an interest in serving their communities.

“The goal of K-Kids is to start to build leadership skills at an early age and a care about the community and community service,” said Melody Schiller, president elect of the East Meadow Kiwanis and faculty advisor of the Barnum Woods chapter.

State Senator Steve Rhoads was one of many in attendance to witness the inaugural installation, expressing his excitement for the students. “Best of luck to these young leaders as they charter a new path to service and leadership,” Rhoads wrote on his Facebook page.

Kiwanis K-Kids is the largest service organization for elementary school students — with over 36,000 members and 1,200 clubs worldwide. The club at Barnum Woods welcomes students between third- and fifth-grade to participate.

In East Meadow schools, other elementary schools have K-Kids clubs, which greatly contribute to initiatives that the Kiwanis takes part in every year. In November, K-Kids helped out the Frank Saracino Memorial Senior & Military Dinner, handing out flowers and helping seat those in attendance. 

The K-Kids purpose statement is “Working together in service, to school and community, to develop leadership potential, foster and develop strong moral character, and encourage loyalty to school, community, and nation” and Kiwanis members and advisors of the club said they’re looking forward to seeing what the children will accomplish.

“We have a large amount of K-Kids, they’re all very wonderful,” said Kiwanis secretary and advisor Donna Goldstein. “I couldn’t be any more proud of them, they’re a great bunch. It’s amazing.”

To learn more about the East Meadow Kiwanis, visit EastMeadowKiwanis.org. The organization meets Tuesday evenings at locations throughout the community. The first meeting of the New Year will take place on Jan. 2 at Borrelli’s Italian Restaurant, at 7:30 p.m.