Ron Hamm, District Executive for the Kit Carson District of the Bluegrass Council received a $250 check from the Beth Thompson, former president of the Kiwanis Club of Richmond, which will go to the Friends of Scouts, a program to raise funds to support Bluegrass Council's scouting programs such as Camp McKee, the location in Kentucky for summer camp for scouts to attend. The Kiwanis Club of Richmond also gave similar amounts through two additional local Boy Scout Troops.

By Jonathan Dube

For 16 years, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has published an annual KIDS COUNT Data Book that uses data to measure child well-being in America. Now the foundation has published the entire contents of the book online (www.kidscount.org), making it far more valuable to journalists.

The site is packed with lots of data about children and families and is a great source of story ideas. It makes it easy to find national statistics about children and compare states and counties to one another.

Among the things you can do with the online version: create custom graphs, maps, ranked lists, and profiles for a specific state by looking at measures related to education, employment and income, health, population and family characteristics, poverty and youth risk factors. The site includes data from all 50 states, as well as D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Casey Foundation also offers county-level data via its CLIKS (Community-Level Information on Kids) site, at http://www.aecf.org/cgi-bin/cliks.cgi.

Kids Count is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States.  When using the data, keep in mind that the project has an agenda -- albeit a noble one, helping kids -- so some of the data may have been chosen toward that end.

The online data book allows you to check a box to show the sources for all of the statistics, so that you can verify the information and find more detailed data when you need to. I recommend using this feature (found in the left column of the data pages) and, when appropriate, tracking down the original sources so you can learn more about the specific studies (such as how many people may have been included in the study, etc.).

Source: Poynteronline Web Tips at: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=32&aid=86816

Baby Safety Month ­ The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association Inc. (JPMA), a national trade organization of juvenile-product manufacturers devoted to helping parents keep babies safe, is disseminating information to parents, grandparents, and other child caregivers about baby safety. For a free brochure, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope, indicate whether you would like this in English or Spanish, and send to: ATTN: JPMA Safety Brochure, JPMA PR Dept, 17000 Commerce Parkway, Ste C, Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054.
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Children's Eye Health and Safety Month ­ Prevent Blindness America directs its educational efforts to common causes of eye injuries and common eye problems among children. Materials that can easily be posted or distributed to the community will be provided. For info: Prevent Blindness America, 500 E. Remington Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173; phone, 800-331-2020. Web site.
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Children's Good Manners Month ­ This is a national program of teachers and parents encouraging good manners in children. For info: "Dr. Manners," Fleming Allaire, PhD, 35 Eastfield Street, Manchester, Connecticut 06040; phone, 860-643-0051.
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Library Card Sign-Up Month ­ National effort to sign up every child for a library card. For info: American Library Association, Public Information Office, 50 #. Huron Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611; phone: 312-280-5043; e-mail; Web site.
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National Humor in Business Month ­ Dedicated to creating awareness of the constructive and profitable ways humor in business can contribute to organizational success. For info: Darren J. La Croix, The Humor Institute, PO Box 557, Auburn, Massachusetts 01501; phone, 888-528-4451; Web site.
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National Piano Month ­ Recognizes the United States' most popular instrument and its more than 20 million players. Also encourages piano study by people of all ages. For info: Donald W. Dillon, executive director, National Piano Foundation, 13140 Coit Road, Suite 320, LB 120, Dallas, Texas 75240-5737; phone, 972-233-9107; e-mail; Web site.
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National Sewing Month ­ Celebrates the art, craft, and hobby of sewing. The month-long celebration includes special sales, promotions and education programs directed at increasing awareness of sewing. For info: Home Sewing Association, 1350 Broadway, Suite 1601, New York, New York 10018. Phone: 212-714-1633.

September 20:
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International Day of Prayer and Action for Habitat for Humanity ­ To further the goal of eliminating inadequate and poor housing. For info: Habitat for Humanity, 121 Habitat Street, Americus, Georgia 31708-3498; phone, 800-HABITAT or 912-924-6935; Web site.

September 22:
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Elephant Appreciation Day ­ Celebrate the earth's largest, most interesting and most noble endangered land animal. Free info kit from: Wayne Hepburn, Mission Media Inc., PO Box 50095, Sarasota, Florida 34232; phone, 941-365-7787; e-mail.

September 25:
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Kiwanis Kids Day ­ Annual observance by Kiwanis clubs to recognize today's children as tomorrow's citizens. For more info, click here.
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Ancestor Appreciation Day ­ A day to learn about and appreciate one's ancestors. For info: W. D. Chase, AAD Association, PO Box 3, Montague, Michigan 49437-0003.

Many know the concept of a 30-second elevator speech. If you are in an elevator or with a group of colleagues or friends, and someone asks you, "What Kiwanis is?" how would you answer? For a one-sentence reply, we recommend quoting Kiwanis' new Defining Statement: Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.

This should be helpful for a more detailed explanation:

Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. Our members, Kiwanians, are service-minded men and women who are united in their commitment and compassion for others.

Any community need can become a Kiwanis service project, especially the needs of children. Kiwanis service projects range from efforts that help local communities to Kiwanis International's Worldwide Service Project to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders.

Kiwanis members dedicate more than six million volunteer hours and invest more than US$100 million in service projects to strengthen communities and serve children every year.

At Kiwanis, we want to ensure that all children have the opportunity to lead healthy, successful lives. We believe by helping one child, you help the world.

Back to Richmond Kiwanis Introduction Page