Volume 62 Issue II
CAPITAL KEY Delaware
Maryland
Virginia
D.C.
I hope you all have been doing well! I hope you have had an amazing start to the school year and an even better start to Key Club within this next school year. Since the last Capital Key, the District Board has been working very hard in preparation for all that we can accomplish this year. Fall Rally is coming very soon, and it is going to be one of the best! We have so much planned for you all and it is going to be a great kick off for this year! It will be a day filled with games, music, and service. I hope to see you there! As a District Board, we most recently had a board meeting where we discussed the plans for Fall Rally and District Convention. Our new Convention and Service Partner Liaison Chairs were appointed and they have so much planned for this year. I cannot wait to see what will unfold. Besides events, another big thing we have to look forward to are our district-wide projects. As our District Project, we have selected the Boys and Girls Club! This project is one that is very accessible in each of our communities. Whether through service or fundraising, be sure to contact your local Boys and Girls Club to see how you can help. As we approach October, Trick-Or-Treat for UNICEF is a project that is very easy and accessible. Be sure to contact your Lieutenant Governor if you have any questions on how to order boxes. As well as those projects, I am very excited to officially announce my Governor’s Project, PAYItFORWARD! This is something that is very close to my heart, and I hope you all get the opportunity to participate. This project is all inclusive to anything having to do with the elderly. Whether volunteering at a local retirement home, or hosting a senior prom night, this is a great way to include those who can sometimes feel left out of our society. Each of your Lieutenant Governors should have sent you the flyer for this project, but you can also find it within this issue of the Capital Key. Please be sure to notice the Google Form link at the bottom which you will need to fill out after you participate in this project so that your club can be recognized at District Convention. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, my email is keyclubmaegan@gmail.com, or your Lieutenant Governor, whose email you can find on our Capital District website. But, thank you guys for all that you do, keep up the amazing work, and I hope to see you soon! As always,
I just wanted to give you a brief update of what I’ve been doing these past few months. One of the main focuses I have had these past months is gathering contact information. During the month of July, I sent out a link regarding contact information to the Capital District Board. Your respective Lieutenant Governor should have distributed the link to you, so you can fill it out or your Lieutenant Governor may have already filled it out for you. With this information, I will assemble the District Directory. This directory will be distributed to all of the Lieutenant Governor’s and the Capital District Adult Board. We do this so we can contact your clubs in the event that we need something from you, such as information about dues. Every couple of months the Capital District Board has a meeting. During this meeting, I take the minutes. This essentially means that I take notes on what happens at the board meeting. This is distributed to all the Lieutenant Governors to distribute to you. In addition, all the minutes are posted on the Capital District Key Club website. Feel free to see what we’re up to!
Yours in service and friendship, Maegan Richards District Governor Capital District of KCI
Secretary-Treasurer
Hello Capital District!
Yours in Service, Saad Fakhar Hi Capital District!
Editor
Governor
Hey Capital District!
I hope you all have had a fantastic start to the school year, and that your Key Club year is in full swing. These past few months I've been busy making graphics for the Governor's Project PAYItFORWARD and promoting Fall Rally. I have also spent most of this past month compiling and making this second edition of the Capital Key. I hope that I can continue to highlight the amazing service y'all do around your homes, schools, and communities. I would love to hear from you on what you would like to see in the next edition of the Capital Key, and also if your club has done a service project you would like the district to know about, please contact me at michellezhengkc@gmail.com. I also hope to make some club editor guides to making newsletters and graphics in the near future! Yours in Service, Michelle Zheng
Webmaster
Hey Everyone! I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer vacation and is settling back into school. Over the past couple months, I have had the wonderful opportunity to see what Key Club is about through several service projects, ICON, and club meetings. As Webmaster, I have cleaned up the website and added several new tabs in order to make it organized. There is now an events tab, spotlighting all district events such as Fall Rally, ICON, Key Leader, etc. I have also added an announcements page to the homepage so everyone can know when something is added or if there is a large event coming up! So far we have mainly district news being displayed, but we would love to incorporate pictures from the club level and highlight your service projects! Send in stories and pictures through the contact page and you can see yourself on the district homepage. I have also been focused on promoting Fall Rally through our social media accounts. Yours in Service, Mayuri Albal
Meet Our Service Partner Liaison Hi Key Clubbers!
Meet Our DCON Chairs Hello Key Clubbers! My name is Candice Mulinda, and I will be serving as a DCON chair this year. I am from the Faith Christian School club in Roanoke, Virginia, where I serve as the president. This year, I hope to make DCON a place to build friendships with new people from other divisions. It’s going to be a crabtastic year, and I’ll see you in Baltimore! Yours in Service, Candice Mulinda
Hey everyone! My name is Annesha Sarkar and I am beyond excited to join the Capital District board as District Convention Chair. I am currently a senior at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia in Division 9A, where I currently also serve as my club's Vice President. This year I hope to bring you all an amazing weekend where you can share your love for service and meet new people while having fun! Can’t wait to see you all at #capDCON2018!
My name is Carol Chen and I’m so excited to serve as your 2017-2018 Service Partner Liaison! I’m from Division 15B and I’m a rising senior at Cave Spring High School and Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science and Technology in Roanoke, VA. At Cave Spring, apart from Key Club, I’m part of the Dance Yours in Service, Team, Latin Club, Environmental Club, Model UN, and multiple national honor societies. In my free time, Annesha Sarkar you can usually find me watching Netflix, reading, listening to music, or hanging out with my friends. This year, my goal is to work with the service committee to find the best multi-year district project. I can’t wait to meet you all at district events! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at CChen0543@gmail.com. Yours in Service, Carol Chen
Save the Date
District Convention 2018 will be from March 2-4! The official theme is Island Paradise.
International Trustee
Hello, Capital District! My name is Lindsey Banks and I am privileged to serve as your International Trustee for the following year. Here’s a little about me: I’m from the Carolinas District, specifically the mountains of North Carolina. I served as club president my freshman year, Lt. Governor my sophomore year, and District Editor my junior year. I am so excited to be serving as your International Trustee my final year of high school, and know that my experience will be vital in my serving you. My goal this year is simple: I want to modernize our communication and service to better relate to this generation of Key Club members. I know that with your strong district board, we will be able to accomplish this and many more great things in our organization. In case you didn’t know the districts that make up your sister districts, they are Bahamas, Capital, and Rocky Mountain. All three of these districts are very different and unique, but I plan to bring us together through a Facebook page and Sistrict-Wide Function. Stay tuned for more information on these! I have already started working on your district’s personal goals with your district governor. If we all work hard, I know you can accomplish these goals and more. I am here to serve YOU, so please do not hesitate to contact me using my email, trusteelindsey@gmail.com. I look forward to meeting your district board this year, and seeing you and everyone else in your district at District Convention in March!
GOVERNOR’S PROJECT What is PAYitFORWARD?
This year’s Governor’s Project, PAYitFORWARD, is all about giving back to the elderly. Whether playing games, singing songs, or doing some arts and crafts, the Governor’s project gives students an opportunity to spend time with those who often don’t see any family or close friends. This project encourages club members to go out into the community and volunteer at local retirement facilities to spread happiness.
How can my club participate?
One of the best ways you can help is by volunteering at a local retirement home or assisted living facility to simply spend time and get to know the people living there. Your club can help run a bingo night, put on a talent show, or even hold a holiday concert! In addition to in-person visits, your club can also make cards and decorations to donate to local senior communities. Make sure to reach out to your Kiwanis club to see if they have any other ideas, and work together!
Yours in Service and Care, Lindsey Banks Key Club International Trustee trusteelindsey@gmail.com
Fill out this form for your club’s participation and be recognized at DCON: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1iGwkms6PlJtY_LkRBHC0YruukkHW_JLWPJxg8HeOX8E/edit?ts=59b1e67f
Key Club of the Month
Service Spotlight
Archbishop Spalding High School
James Monroe High School
Archbishop Spalding Key Club from Division 4A has kicked off their year with exemplary spirit and service! In September, members of the Archbishop Spalding Key Club decided to come up with a project to help greet new teachers in hopes of helping them adjust to their new surroundings. Their club president, Sydney Madden, describes the project by saying, “Members of the Key Club at Spalding are planning on putting together ‘Survival Kits’ for the new teachers as a welcome gift. The kits include items that will hopefully make their day brighter if they are feeling nervous and need a laugh or some encouragement. The students hope that the teachers will feel welcomed into their community and these kits will give them a positive outlook on the school-year.” Additionally, Archbishop Spalding Key Club held a successful dress down day in order to fundraise money for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, raising a total of $6,180! They are currently working on two other fundraisers - one in October and another in November - for the hurricane victims as well. Thank you for your caring and congratulations on a great start to the school year!
At the end of August, James Monroe Key Club from Division 2F conducted a very successful Back to School Supplies drive for the students of Fredericksburg City Schools, where 50% of the students are under the poverty line. They stood outside of a local Walmart for 4 hours to collect donations and then were able to put together 62 backpacks, exceeding the amount of backpacks asked for by all the schools combined. The backpacks were stuffed with enough schools supplies to last kids of all ages throughout the year. Afterwards, they were delivered to the schools by James Monroe Key Club members and officers. Thank you for your service through this inspiring project!
back to school service The North Hagerstown Key Club is organizing their annual fall Haunted House at their high school where they decorate rooms and lead guests through the haunted house. This provides a safe, fun place for children in the community to go trick-or-treating. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted and refreshments are sold. This event is something the entire community looks forward to each year!
Jefferson Forest High School and Liberty High School teamed up this year to glean apples at a local orchard known as “Gross’ Orchard.” Once apples have hit the ground, the orchard is no longer allowed to sell them. So to prevent this waste, Key Clubbers lined the apple trees on a sunny fall morning and collected over 1200 pounds of apples for Feeding America, which were then shipped to families and people in need.
The James River Key Club sponsored a concert that was held on October 8th, raising $15,000 to benefit the Buchanan Area Ministerial Association (BAMA) Food Pantry. The BAMA Food Pantry has distributed at least $250,000 worth of food to over 5,000 clients since it began in 2010. Tickets for the event had sold out early, and the concert even featured award-winning Nashville song writers!
Membership Growth 101 Tips for Membership Recruitment
1. Advertise your club and club meeting dates around the school through posters. 2. Utilize social media and post pictures and other important information regarding your club. 3. Talk to people about what Key Club is and what we do! 4. Encourage people to bring a friend to a meeting. 5. Make sure you have informational flyers that you can distribute to potential new members that explain what Key Club is and how they can be a part of it.
Tips for Membership Retainment
1. Keep your club members interested by promoting events like Fall Rally, DCON, ICON, and Key Leader. 2. Make sure your club stays consistent with meetings and service projects to keep members involved. 3. Make your meetings fun by doing activities or playing ice breakers and having guest speakers come to your meetings. 4. Make sure your club meetings are well planned and organized so that members know exactly what is going on in your club. 5. Award members for the service that they do to encourage them and keep them involved.
Dues season! It’s almost November and that means Early Bird dues! For those of you who don’t know, each Key Club has to pay dues for at least 15 members in order to be considered an active club. If your club fails to do so, it could enter into either suspended or inactive status. Dues for each person are $11.50 and cover the District and International dues. In addition, clubs are allowed to collect more money than that and put the rest into a pot for service projects. Early bird dues must be postmarked by November 1st. If done so, your club will be recognized and get a patch. Submission of regular dues must be postmarked by December 1st. In order to submit dues to Key Club International, please contact your faculty advisor about the Membership Update Center. If you have any questions, please contact me at saad.fakhar.12@gmail.com Thanks!
It’s that time of the year again! Key Club has been Trick-or-Treating For UNICEF since 1994, and in the past few years the Kiwanis Family has been working with UNICEF to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus through The ELIMINATE Project. Order collection boxes for your club here, and make sure to fill out a gift form with your club’s total donation to send to the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. Clubs that raise and submit more than US$250 by December 31 will receive a special banner patch!
International COnvention Awards and Recognition Non-Traditional Scrapbook - 3rd Place - Southampton High School (14A) Traditional Scrapbook - 3rd Place - James Wood High School (8) Single Service Award - Silver Division - 3rd Place - Southampton High School (14A) Major Emphasis Project - 2nd Place - Meade High School (4B) Distinguished Club Diamond Level Clubs: Meade High School (4B) Southampton High School (14A) Robert F. Lucas Outstanding Lt. Governor Awards: Johyun Kim (2C), An Dinh (2D), Tea Le (2E), Alexa Putka (2F), Saad Fakhar (6B), Anna Sepanic (7A), Manasha Bhetwal (11A), Christopher Bratcher (13), Maegan Richards (15A), Norah Mulinda (15B) Distinguished District Governor – Danny Inglis (7B) Congratulations to all!
This summer, I had the pleasure of going with the Capital District to San Antonio, Texas for ICON. My favorite part was getting to listen to all the different speakers at the all-conference meetings. Hearing inspiring stories and words of encouragement from all sorts of service-dedicated people was so special - I find myself reflecting on their words as I do service in my daily life. I took away many tips and tricks from the conference meetings, especially in the session on advertising and tech. ICON was an overall fantastic experience that I truly believe has strengthened my skill as a Key Club officer and strengthened my love for service and this amazing organization! - Eden Shenal Stonewall Jackson Secretary (2E)
My first Key Club International Convention with Capital District was definitely one for the books. I was able to connect with Capital’s immediate past board, as well as with the current officers while touring San Antonio. Being amongst the members that were able to elect the 2017-2018 International Board was an incredible experience filled with intelligent conversations and ideas. Also, being able to participate in unique workshops gave me the opportunity to gather information on a wide variety of topics related to service, and it further fueled my motivation to be an active Key Clubber. Being able to meet members of Kiwanis, CKI, and Key Club allowed me to see just how much of an impact this great organization has all over the world. Aside from the convention, touring the beautiful city of San Antonio with Capital was an amazing experience. The picture-perfect location, as well as having the opportunity to meet enthusiastic Key Clubbers from all over the country truly made my trip memorable, and I cannot wait for ICON 2018! - Sydney Bradley-Black Stonewall Jackson Vice President (2E)
Planning a Large Scale Event The Basics
- Select a project to benefit - Set date, time, and location at least 3-4 months before event - Keep an organized running budget - Always stay at least slightly under budget - Gather and coordinate volunteers - Make sure everyone knows how to do their jobs - Note how many adult volunteers are needed - Make a program for the event - Buy concessions or try to get them from sponsors - Figure out ways to promote the event - Decide on your main audience for the event - Get necessary approval/permission - This step may take longer than expected
Budget
- Look at past budgets if available - Determine maximum spending limit - Set realistic goals/expectations for profit - Work with the treasurer/finance officer at your school - Outline a rough budget and adjust as needed throughout the planning process - Keep track of transactions!
Advertising
- Start ASAP! - Contact elementary and middle schools and local businesses - Use different mediums (flyers, social media , announcements‌) - Keep in mind different audiences - Word of mouth
Common Obstacles
- Communicate clearly with everyone involved! - Make sure you have enough volunteers - Have a Plan B for everything - Determine which supplies you already have, which ones you need to get, and how you’re going to get them - Have a runner for the day of the event (someone who can go out and take care of any emergencies, like running out of supplies) - Set a backup date for snow if the event is in the winter
Apply for the 2018 YOF Grant! What is YOF? The Youth Opportunities Fund is an endowed fund for Key Club International within Kiwanis. It provides financial assistance to Key Clubs that lack the funds to complete a service project or fundraiser. How can my club apply for a YOF grant? Clubs can request anywhere from $100 to $2,000 for a project. Grants are typically given to clubs requesting a portion of a project’s total cost and preferably working with other organizations to help fund and complete the project. Submit a YOF grant application here by October 15 at 11:59 EST. When will I be notified of my grant status? All YOF grant notifications are emailed to applicants the second week of January, and a list of YOF grant recipients is posted online the third week of January. For guidelines on how to submit a YOF application, check out the Key Club Guidebook. For more information about YOF in general, check out the Key Club International website.
Major Emphasis Partners Children: Their Future, Our Focus
Children’s Miracle Network is a nonprofit that directly benefits its hospitals by helping purchase new equipment, conduct research, and cover health care costs for children whose families can’t afford treatment. March of Dimes aims to better the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Key Clubbers like you can help by raising funds and educating the community about preterm birth. UNICEF works to improve our children’s futures: Key Club recently worked with UNICEF in The Eliminate Project to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus, saving millions of women and babies.
Service Partner About 780 million people on our planet don’t have access to safe, clean water. The Thirst Project teaches students about the global water crisis and builds freshwater wells in developing nations and communities to provide people with safe, clean water. Your club can help by holding fundraisers or inviting a Thirst Project speaker to come to your school!
Co-Sponsor: Rustic Pathways Key Club's Co-Sponsor Rustic Pathways provides students with opportunities to take their service to a global level with service trips from Tanzania to the Fiji Islands. Rustic Pathways offers a week-long service trip to the Dominican Republic personalized for Key Clubbers, and you can even invite Rustic Pathways to speak at a Key Club meeting at your school!
Vision Partner: Nickelodeon HALO: Helping and Leading Others. Nickelodeon's HALO Movement highlights youth who make their communities a better place. The HALO Movement partners with Key Club International and provides grant funding to Key Club service projects! If your Key Club had more money for projects, what kind of difference could you make? Submit an application for your service project here by November 30, 2017 and receive up to $2500 in funding.
Editor's Note Hi Capital District! My name is Michelle Zheng, and I'm very excited to be serving as your 2017-2018 District Editor. I will be creating four editions of the Capital Key during my term, and you are currently reading my second issue! My role as Editor is to keep everyone in our crabtastic Capital District informed about divisional, district, and international happenings. If you have any suggestions for articles or service stories, please contact me at michellezhengkc@gmail.com!
Contact Information District Administrator
District Governor
Mr. Joe Stankus
Maegan Richards
keyclubcapitaldistrict@ gmail.com
keyclubmaegan@ gmail.com
District SecretaryTreasurer
Saad Fakhar
saad.fakhar.12@ gmail.com
District Editor
District Webmaster
International Trustee
Michelle Zheng
Mayuri Albal
Lindsey Banks
michellezhengkc@ gmail.com
malbal145@gmail. com
trusteelindsey@ gmail.com