Dear Friend,
In February, our club was busy helping the Cincinnati community, and March is going to be a whirlwind of activity. We hope you can join us to lend a helping hand and to have a blast!
Hopefully you find this edition informational and helpful in planning your calendar. We expect the newsletter to evolve based on input from our readers, so please provide us your input!
In this issue you will find:
Maya Angelou said: "To make a difference is not a matter of accident, a matter of casual conversation, of the tides. People choose to make a difference" Join us in congratulating our club members on these recent and upcoming milestones! To RSVP for any event, please either contact the RSVP Contact or email us at info@cincinnatikiwanis.org.
Inspirational Moment
Kiwanis makes a difference. Nor are we Kiwanians by accident, we have chosen to make a difference one child and one community at a time.
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Celebration! 
Birthdays
Hubert Kirchgaessner - March 1
Bill Swanson - March 2
Chuck Klein - March 20
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Upcoming Events
Club Lunch Meeting - Monday, March 2 - 12-1pm: Take a break in the middle of your hectic day to learn about our community, club updates, and to spend time with friends. Invite a friend to lunch. Their first 3 lunches are FREE!
Where: The Banker's Club, 30th floor of the Fifth Third Building on Fountain Square, Cincinnati, OH 45202
RSVP Contact: Brian Yacucci
Freestore Foodbank Service Project - Wednesday, March 4 - 5:30pm-8pm - We will be volunteering at the Freestore Foodbank to help them either sort canned goods or pack boxes to be distributed to the more than 160,000 people in southern Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. For more information about the Freestore Foodbank. Click here for more information about hunger in the tri-state.
Where: Freestore Foodbank, 1250 Tennessee Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229
RSVP Contact: Bill Swanson
University of Cincinnati Circle K meeting - Wednesday, March 4 - 7:30pm - The UC Circle K Club is one of our sponsored programs. Come to learn more about what they are up to and meet the fantastic people that make up their club.
Location:2639 Clifton Avenue, Stratford Heights, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0138
They meet at the Center for Community Engagement (right across from UC's main campus on Clifton Ave.). If you are familiar with Stratford Heights (a new student housing complex), if you are looking directly at the large sign on Clifton Ave., which advertises for Stratford Heights (it's right under a street light), the building is the CCE is to the left of the sign (very first building on your left). They typically have someone wait at the door to let others in, as we need a swipe card to get in.
RSVP Contact: Alyson Gerwe who will forward the RSVP list to Brittany Wagner (Circle K Club Co-President).
Monthly Planning Meeting - Monday, March 9 - 6pm-7pm - Everyone is encouraged to attend, as this is where most of our club decisions are made. At this meeting, we will be discussing:
1. Meeting times - Jim Gerwe will lead this discussion, so if you won't be able to attend but would like to voice your opinion, please contact him.
2. Elections - If you're interested in helping out the club as a club officer (President, VP, Secretary, or Treasurer), please contact Brian Yacucci.
3. Mid Year Conference
4. Membership Recruitment
5. Donation Request: Youth in Harmony Festival (Southern Ohio Gateway Chorus)
6. March of Dimes: walk registration and t-shirt sponsorship
7. Circle K: Brittany and Lauren are planning to join for a brief update
Where: Ronald McDonald House Board Room: 350 Erkenbrecher Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229
St. Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen - Wednesday, March 11 - 4:15pm–5:45pm - We are serving dinner at the St Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen on the second Wednesday of every month. It is fun, rewarding, and your help is greatly appreciated! The work includes preparing food, cleaning pots/pans, and serving food.
Where: Parking is available in the fenced-in lot behind St. Francis Seraph Grade School, located on Liberty Street between Vine and Moore Streets. Enter the parking lot from Moore Street.
RSVP Contact: Bill Swanson
Club Lunch Meeting - Monday, March 16 - 12-1pm: Take a break in the middle of your hectic day to learn about our community, club updates, and to spend time with friends. Invite a friend to lunch. Their first 3 lunches are FREE!
Where: The Banker's Club, 30th floor of the Fifth Third Building on Fountain Square, Cincinnati, OH 45202
RSVP Contact: Brian Yacucci
Division 6 Meeting: Wednesday, March 18 - 6:30pm - At this meeting, we will elect the next Lieutenant Governor for Division 6 (candidate: Tom Riggs, PH-WH Kiwanis), Discuss the Division golf outing and Reds game, the Lenten prayer breakfasts, and Student Recognition Day.
International Trustee, A. Alan Penn will be our special speaker for the evening. Alan, as Trustee, has been working effectively on new forms of membership, development of the Key Leader program and other areas of importance to Ohio Kiwanians. He carries Ohio Kiwanis values to the organization and executive board. Ohio Kiwanians will want to be part of this campaign and election at International Convention in Nashville, June 25-29th. Learn more about Alan Penn at http://www.alpenn.com.
Where: The Woodlands, 11460 Sebring Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45240
RSVP Details: Reservations needed by March 12.
RSVP Contact: Amy Zimmerman
Tom Geiger Guest House Playroom Renovation Project - Saturday, March 21 - 1pm-3pm - We'll be painting and making repairs to the playroom that we renovated last year at Tom Geiger Guest House. It'll be a great time for the creative and non-creative alike! The playroom is appreciated by the moms at the home and to fix it up really makes their day!
Where: Tom Geiger Guest House: 2631 Gilbert Ave , just North of intersection with William Howard Taft (parking lot is on West side of street across from Church)
RSVP Contact: Jim Gerwe
Ronald McDonald House: Service Project - Monday, March 23 - 5pm–7pm - We will be serving dinner for the residents of the house, so they can spend quality time with their family or just relax after a long day at the hospital. After working so hard, we also get to eat dinner with the residents!
The status of the kitchen construction is still unknown, so we may have to provide dinner rather than cook dinner again this month.
Where: Ronald McDonald House Dining Room: 350 Erkenbrecher Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229
RSVP Contact: Brian Yacucci
Putting Kids First Raffle and Silent Auction: Riverfront Kiwanis: Friday, March 27 - 7:00pm-12:00pm - Riverfront Kiwanis presents the 19th Annual "Putting Kids First Raffle and Silent Auction: For Underprivileged Children", an annual fundraiser which they use to fund their philanthropy. More available information on their website
March for Babies - April 26, 2009 - Click here to register to walk with our club
one day... all babies will be born healthy.
today... too many moms and families know the heartbreak of having a baby born fighting to survive.
We've joined March for Babies because the March of Dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in our community and across the nation. Find out why you should walk to help support the March of Dimes efforts
Walk Distance: 6 miles
Registration Time: 8:00AM | Start Time: 9:00 AM
Where: Sawyer Point
RSVP Contacts: Alyson Gerwe, Amy Zimmerman
Check out our club calendar for more details
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Kiwanis Club News New Service Project Our club will be collecting Box Tops for Education to help support local schools. Box Tops has helped America's schools earn over $250 million in the past 12 years. Your school can earn up to $60,000 every year –that's as much as $20,000 from each of these three easy ways to earn: 1) You can clip 10¢ Box Tops coupons from hundreds of your favorite products such as Cheerios®, Betty Crocker®, Juicy Juice®, Ziploc®, Kleenex®, Hefty® and more! 2) At the Box Tops Marketplace, you can shop at over 70 online stores like Oriental Trading Co., JCPenney and Lands' End. A percentage of pur- chases goes back to your school! 3) You can earn cash for your school just by buying the books that you love! Begin your shopping at the Box Tops Reading Room to earn up to 6% on purchases made at Barnes & Noble. Go to the Box Tops for Education website for more info. If you collect Box Tops for Education, please let Alyson Gerwe know so that she can award you service hours. Nominations for Club Elections Now Open
Monthly Quiz Congratulations to Brian Yacucci for winning this month's quiz contest. Thanks to Alex and Bill for playing! The person(s) with the highest score wins the contest and will get to choose a mystery prize from the bag of treasures at the next meeting they attend. Try your hand at March's quiz. Check out the Quiz page on our club website > Event News from February Lunch & Learn: Playground Project - Mon Feb 2 - A representative from the Over the Rhine Community Center came to talk about our playground project and how we can work together to accomplish our goals at Findlay Playground. (Attendance: 7 members, 1 non-member) Playground Meeting - Sun Feb 8 - We met to assess the equipment needs and to get acquainted with the space at Findlay Playground. Linda and Tim are working hard to get our plan together to renew this tired neighborhood playground. Thanks guys! (Attendance: 2 members; 0 non-members) Board Meeting - Mon Feb 9 - At this meeting, we discussed our playground project, donations to the Elks and for a medical wish grant, March of Dimes T-shirt Sponsorship, Investment Report, and UC Circle K. (Attendance: 9 members; 0 non-members) St. Francis Seraph Soup Kitchen - Wed Feb 11 - - As we do every month, we served dinner to those in need. We had the pleasure of having 2 volunteers from Hewlett-Packard join us. It is always a rewarding experience! (Attendance: 3 members, 2 non-members) Aktion Club Meeting - Mon Feb 16 - Amy Zimmerman attended the Western Cincinnati Aktion club meeting at Mercy Health West. The program included “Mad Cap Puppets” which was WONDERFUL! The speaker was excellent, energetic and the members of the Aktion club loved her! You can see her in the photo with her puppet. There were 5-7 members from the Aktion club, members of the Cleves Three Rivers Kiwanis club and Oak Hills Kiwanis, parents and friends in attendance. They meet 2 Mondays a month. The mission of the Aktion Club is to provide adult citizens with disabilities an opportunity to develop initiative and leadership, to serve their community, to be integrated into society, and to demonstrate the dignity and value of citizens living with disabilities. www.aktionclub.org (Attendance: 1 members, 0 non-members) Pre-Spring Fling Sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Cleves and Three Rivers - Fri Feb 20 - This fun, fundraising event was held at the Woodlands. They had a DJ, a silent auction, including a cake auction, and of course the big prize drawings for cash! They made more than $10k profit from the event! As well, they introduced 4 new members that have been attending their breakfast satellite club meetings at the Round Table in Cleves! Attached is a photo of Jerry Duerk, Secretary of Cleves Three Rivers Kiwanis Club and Ohio District Treasurer with club President Tom Bailey and Wife Mary at the event. They asked Amy Zimmerman to draw the first $250 winners and who would she pick (after warning them she had purchased a ticket), but ticket 001 – Amy Zimmerman! She felt a little guilty, but is investing it into Kiwanis. (Attendance: 1 member) Ronald McDonald House: Service Project - Mon Feb 23 -The Ronald McDonald House kitchen is still under construction, so Linda Gramke organized February's dinner. She and her son Michael spent a lot of time preparing a meal of lasagna, green beans, rolls, and brownies for the guests and volunteers. Jeanette, Amy, Alyson, Jim, and Michael (Linda's son) helped to serve the feast. Many thanks to Linda and Michael for their hard work! Amy and Alyson also met with our Circle K leaders Lauren and Brittney to see what would be needed to get the club chartered. And Jim leveraged the time with those in attendance to write letters to our Adopt a class! So lots of Kiwanis activity was going on at the RMH! (Attendance: 7 members, 1 non-membera) Cleves Three Rivers Kiwanis Club Induction - Amy Zimmerman stopped in on the Cleves Three Rivers Kiwanis Club new member induction at their satellite breakfast meeting as well as the Green Hills Forest Park Kiwanis Board Meeting as part of her duties as LTG. Amy is obviously having fun as LTG! She started and ended that day with Kiwanis!! Other News We have a picture to share from Amy Zimmerman. Recall in our member spotlight with Amy, she had won a raffle that included tickets to the February 11th UC basketball game with the pastor of St Monica/St George. In addition to the game, Amy would join the pastor in the UC locker room for a prayer session with the players and coaches before the game. Above is a picture Amy took at the game. More past events.... Back to Menu |
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New Membership
Grow Our Club: Recruit New Members Distinguished Member Status To qualify for Distinguished Member status, club members must: • Recruit two (2) new members, • Attend either a Mid-Winter Conference (April 25, 2009 - Columbus, OH), International Convention (June 25-28, 2009 - Nashville, TN) or District Convention (August 15, 2008 - Sharonville, OH), • Participate in six (6) Kiwanis service efforts, and • Financially support the Kiwanis International Foundation. Get Details About Distinguished Member Status Back to Menu |
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An Interview with Sopheap Sok (New Member!)
Each month we feature one of our club members so our readers can get to know the people who make up our club. Enjoy! Sopheap Sok is one of the newest members of the Cincinnati Kiwanis Club. She was inducted into the club at the January Division meeting. So welcome to our club, Sopheap! Sopheap’s family is originally from Cambodia but she was actually born in Thailand. The family came to the US when Sopheap was a baby and they lived for a short time in NYC. They then moved to Cincinnati where they still reside. Sopheap’s family speaks Khmer but her father taught her and her sister English when they were young, so she speaks both languages. Sopheap grew up in Winton Place and went to Hughes High School where she was active in Key Club and the Year Book Committee. While it would have been just a walk across the street from Hughes to attend the University of Cincinnati, Sopheap chose to attend Miami University in Oxford Ohio where she graduated in 2003 with a business degree. In addition to being active in Circle K at MU, Sopheap was involved in Asian American Association, and Indian Student Association. Her first job after college was with United Way of Greater Cincinnati, a non-profit organization that raises funds to support health and human services. She moved with United Way to Florida where she worked for almost 4 years in Central Florida fund raising for the community. Sopheap moved back to Cincinnati and joined the Museum Center in the Development Department and is still involved in fund raising. In her spare time, Sopheap likes to try new food and restaurants with friends. As a vegetarian she is always in search of a good vegetarian restaurant. She especially likes a few of the Indian and Chinese restaurants in the area. Luckily for Sopheap, Cincinnati is a great restaurant town so there’s never a lack of places to try! Sopheap also loves the arts. One of her favorite places is the Cincinnati Art Museum. And of course, Sopheap prefers to enjoy her favorite things with her friends. Sopheap became connected to our club through Alyson Gerwe where they reconnected on Facebook. Alyson invited her to come to some service projects and meetings. She also knew JJ McHenry through their respective involvement in UC and MU’s Circle K. So thanks to both of these club members for bringing Sopheap to our club! Her favorite part of the club is the regular involvement in various service projects – helping the children of the community through Ronald McDonald House, Freestore Foodbank and the other groups we support. One thing that few people know about Sopheap is she is currently planning a vacation to Cambodia and Thailand. Her family have visited a few times, but this will be Sopheap’s first time visiting, she is very exciting about this upcoming trip! More club stars... Back to Menu |
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Kiwanis International News Kiwanis president speaks on global issues, volunteerism Share Your Kiwanis Story: My Kiwanis Moment Story-Sharing Virtual Library Kiwanis is pleased to present stories of personal moments—past and present—through this online library....Do you have an encouraging story you'd like to share? Have you gathered wisdom over the years you feel might be helpful for others? If so, please submit your Kiwanis Moment today! Let us know how Kiwanis has made a difference in your life, the life of a child, or your neighborhood. Share Your Story or Read the Stories of Others Open to Change: Flexible Membership Initiatives to Be Voted on at International Convention - by Rob Parker, CEO of Kiwanis International “Organizations that choose to bemoan societal changes are often left behind by new ventures that are proactive and responsive. While it is not easy to be nimble when you are 94 years old, Kiwanis can take steps to position itself for the future.” (Kiwanis Insider-January 26, 2009) In the last issue of the Kiwanis Insider we identified some of the changes in society that our organization must respond to if we are to become attractive and magnetic to a next generation of Kiwanis members. The most significant of those issues relates to the advances in technology that have revolutionized how people communicate with each other....While the world has changed dramatically over the last ninety years, the structure of Kiwanis remains almost unchanged since the mid 1920’s. Numerous attempts to suggest structural changes over the years have been met with fierce opposition and have spawned pages of rules primarily designed to protect the status quo. While everyone understands that not all change is for the better, our Kiwanis history reflects a much stronger commitment to rules and tradition than to flexibility and adaptation. This is what makes the approval of the “flexible membership initiatives” at the 2006 San Antonio Convention so historic and important. Through this initiative the delegates have given the leaders of Kiwanis permission to pilot new programs and initiatives that conflict with our current bylaws and policies, but may help us grow. Several of the initiatives currently being piloted were ones that died on the floor of the House of Delegates in the past. As a Kiwanis leader I want to thank you for your willingness to try new ideas to help Kiwanis grow. I also want to ask for your help in advocating for even more change so that we can reach the next generation of Kiwanis members. It will not be possible without you. So, here is my question. What are some of the things that you think need to be changed about Kiwanis to make us more attractive to both the current and future generations of Kiwanis members? Share Your View > Read the Full Article > Back to Menu |
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Did you know? What's the origin of the term "The Ides of March"? Back to Menu |  |
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A Word of Encouragement
A teenager brought home her new boyfriend to meet her parents, and they were appalled by his appearance: leather jacket, motorcycle boots, tatoos and a pierced nose. Later, the parents pulled their daughter aside and said "He doesn't seem very nice." "Mom," replied the daughter, "if he wasn't so nice, why would he be doing 5000 hours of community service?" Back to Menu |
Membership Information
We always welcome new members to our team! If you are interested in becoming a member of Cincinnati Kiwanis, either contact a Cincinnati Kiwanis member or come to a meeting to fill out a membership application. Our membership is open to the public. New members means more volunteers working together to make a greater positive impact on our community...Learn more about Membership
Not a member, but want to come to our events? No problem! The public is invited and encouraged to join us for all our activities and events. Want another incentive to try out our lunch meetings? We buy your lunch 3 times as our guest (3 FREE lunches). Hope to see you soon!
Thanks everyone for all the hard work this past month in putting this newsletter together!
