February/March 2015

Sincerely, Dertroit Kiwanis #1 Board of Directors

Club Officers

Eric Sabree President

Eric Sabree

Immediate Past President

Marian O’Higgins

President Elect

Kris Miranne Vice President

Greg Zink Treasurer

Gloria Smart

Secretary

Club Board of Directors Jeremy Cnudde

Marcia Ford Lynn Kleiman Joe Lentine Jr. Karen Walker

Detroit #1 Kiwanis Club meets at noon on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays.

Detroit Athletic Club,

241 Madison St.,

Detroit, MI

Detroit #1 Kiwanis

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

The Eliminate Project is in its final year. The effort to remove maternal/ neonatal tetanus from the world still needs our help. The No.1 Club is getting closer to our goal, but we still have approximately $5,000 to raise before we can reach the Model Club goal. Let's get there before the International Convention in June. Don't hesitate to ask other Club members to step up and help meet the Model Club goal. Also, there are many non Kiwanians who will help when they understand that it only takes $1.80 to save a life. We are very close, every contribution helps. The Eliminate Project will end in December of 2015. Stay in touch with other members. When we don't see a member at a meeting or club activity, we should be concerned. Our fellow Kiwanian may be sick, have a family member who is not well, or just having a bad week. It means a lot to hear from another member of the club, especially when things aren't going so well.

Eric, Your President

FEBRUARY/MARCH BIRTHDAYS Congratulations to our members with birthdays in February and March!

Nicole Richard

Jack Ray

Greg Zink

Antoine Benjamin

Sago Garrett

Beverly Wiggins

Pat Cannon

Darlene Zytowski

CLUB MEETINGS We’ve had some dynamic speakers and more to come! Thanks to all the club members who have braved out crummy winter weather to make our bi-monthly meetings. February 17th: Mike Smith, Business Operations Manager, Detroit Tigers came and gave us some behind the scenes stories about our Tigers. He was headed to spring training the next week (those wonderful Florida days!) and promises us that this year will be THE year.

Mike and Eric sharing pointers.

March 3rd: Amy Amador, Executive Director of Mercy Education Project shared the work of her organization that focuses on literacy outreach for girls and women.

Upcoming Speakers: March 17th: Andrea Brown, Executive Director, Michigan Association of Planning April 7th: Rashida Tlaib, Sugar Law Center and former Michigan Stat Representative

April 21st: Meagan Dunn, Director of Community Outreach and Partnerships, Henry Ford Health Systems May 5th: Therese Quattrociocchi-Longe, Children’s Hospital May 19th: Cindy McCann-Clissold, Michigan Business Professional Association

DETROIT KIWANIS EXHIBIT Don’t let the Kiwanis No 1 exhibit leave the Detroit Historical Museum before you have a chance to see it. The exhibit will be there until March 23rd. Some of the items will be on display during the upcoming District Convention in August but many will not. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday, 10 AM – 5:00 PM, Closed Mondays.

Detroit Number 1 on American Black Journal/PBS – American Black Journal In case you missed it, Eric Sabree, Barbara Jean Johnson and Jeanette Harris talked about the 100th Birthday of Kiwanis on Public Television. Here is the link to the archived interview: http://video.dptv.org/video/2365410467/

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE PARTY

There are still a lot of photos floating around and here are just few. Also, be sure to watch for more information about the International Convention to be held June 25 – 28 in Indianapolis and our own

Michigan District Convention scheduled for August 27 – 30 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center.

AKTION CLUB

At its February 9, meeting, the Detroit Helping- Out Aktion Club created Valentines for the residents of Boulevard Temple Nursing Home. As many of you know, the Aktion Club members sing for residents at various occasions and are always welcomed with big smiles by the residents.

Aktion Club members are also busy preparing a dance to entertain attendees at the upcoming August District Convention. We know they will do us proud!

Are you tired of hearing about Eliminate? NO! I didn’t think so. We cannot rest until Kiwanis has raised $110 million U.S. This is the amount needed to eliminate this disease which affects the poorest of the poor, in the remotest areas of the world. Detroit Number 1 has almost reached its goal. With the sales proceeds from the Silent Auction and the ornaments, we are at $41,630. Our Model Club goal is $42,750. We are at 97%!!!! We have saved/protected more that 23,000 lives. This is a remarkable achievement. It would be wonderful to receive the Model Club Patch at the 100th Convention in Indianapolis. The other patch we want to receive is 100% Member Participation. If you havent made an individual pledge. I hope you will find it in you heart and budget to donate at

least $1.80 to the Eliminate Prroject with your Club Number on the check. If you don’t know how to make an individual donation, I will be happy to show you and mail the forms for you. (I have stamps and envelopes ready to mail donations to Kiwanis International). We ARE changing the world for a lot of children.

Jeanette Harris

MultiDivision Eliminate Coordinator

SPRING DIVISIONAL Spring Divisional is the annual opportunity for our club to be represented and to receive recognitions for the work performed over the past year. The event brings together three divisions: 1 (ours), 3 and 7. On Saturday, February 28th, eight of our club members and one guest attended the luncheon and had a chance to mingle with members from other clubs and divisions. Attendees included Marian O’Higgins, Eric Sabree, Jim and Charlotte Heyes, Thom Mann, Vernita Beverly, Felicia Tyler, Gloria Smart and Lynn Kleiman. Marian did a good job as Lieutenant Governor being sure that all eight clubs in our division were represented. Marian has also been voted in to the 2015-2016 Past Lt. Governors Road Roadrunners; a group of past Lt Governors that help with decision making for the MI District of Kiwanis.

Our awards – the banners are filling up!

Jim Heymes and Eric Sabree

Thom Mann, Charlotte Heymes, Lynn Kleiman and Gloria Smart

Gloria Smart and Marian O’Higgins

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE Kiwanis IS a service club and many of us joined because we believed in the mission of the organization – serve the children of the world – and we want to follow the Six Objects of Kiwanis. Somehow in our busy days, we tend to forget these core values. At the same time, we don’t have to shoulder the burden of always coming up with our own service projects (although those are certainly encouraged!). Kris Miranne and Jeannette Harris are starting to look for service opportunities for club members and their families to consider. Some of these will sound familiar to you as our club has supported or taken the lead in the past. Others will be new opportunities. In some instances, we may try to organize Kiwanians to participate as a group – the Salvation Army bell ringing is an example of that activity. Others may be out in the community and we’ll just be letting you know what, where and when. Although we are primarily thinking of our club members, we are also looking for activities appropriate for kids and families. After all, who better to mentor the next generation in the value of service than a Kiwanian? Listed below are a few upcoming events – please feel free to email Kris at Kristine.miranne@att.net if you hear of a project you think would be of interest to our members. Kris will also be working with Marian – who is doing a great job of keeping the clubs in our division connected – to identify service projects other Kiwanis clubs are sponsoring where we can lend a hand. March 7th and 21st: Kids Against Hunger As many of you will remember, our club used to sponsor Kids Against Hunger packaging events. We haven't done it for a couple of years but now we have an opportunity to support another group who is doing so. The Grosse Pointe Methodist Church is

celebrating their 150th anniversary and has decided to package 150,000 meals.

So here is a chance for us to jump in - they are looking for 900 volunteers for Saturday March 7th and 21st - they are scheduling 3 shifts each day from 10 - noon, noon - 2 and 2 - 4. Click on this link for further information and a way to sign up: http://gpmchurch.org.

Kris will be there on March 7th from 12 – 2 PM with her family. Anybody want to join her? If so, follow the link and sign up!

March 14th: books for kids stickering from 9:00 – Noon. We will meet at the DenCap Warehouse (45 E. Milwaukee). Note: there will be a meeting after the book stickering from noon – 3:00 PM to discuss the future of the project. Anyone who is interested may join Joe Jr. and others who have already indicated they will attend.

Possible organizations where we can volunteer as a group (Kris and Jeannette will gather more information and organize service days):

Capuchin Kitchen

FOCUS Hope

Forgotten Harvest

Gleaners

Greening of Detroit

PLEASE send your ideas!

If you want inspiration, look at the March issue of the Kiwanis International magazine and read about Destiny's children and how Kiwanians from Montana are making a difference:

“Leslie Womack pokes her head into the chicken house and turns back, eyes wide, a grin plastered across her face. “Look at them,” she says with a sense of pride, stepping back from the door so others can take a peek inside. “Just look at them. There are so many.”

Womack, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Sentinel in Missoula, Montana, has traveled several thousand miles to meet these chickens—or to be more precise, hens and roosters—in Katende, Uganda.”

Although we in Detroit may not be able to travel to Uganda, there are plenty of things we can do in our own backyard to serve our fellow citizens.

Kiwanis One Day

Kiwanis One Day is a day of community service that is felt around the world as the entire Kiwanis family joins forces for a large-scale community project. This year, the date is April 11th. Look for further details as Marian O’Higgins is involved with the district to develop the project here in Michigan.