Community Projects
Kiwanis members are committed to providing their communities with service. In fact Terrell members dedicate hundreds of service hours per year participating in charitable projects.
Thanks to the Kiwanis world-wide family and other partners, more than 70 percent of households in the developing world now use iodized salt. In 1990, less than 20 percent of salt in the developing world was iodized. A goal was set to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders by 2000. Members and clubs have contributed more than $80 million toward the global elimination of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), the leading preventable cause of mental retardation.
K-Toys
For more than 50 years, Kiwanis continues thier contribution to the community with K-Toys For Kids. The Kiwanis Club of Terrell continues to help local families in need with Christmas buying for thier children by distributing gifts for giving.
This year, with economic conditions tougher than in recent memory, this need is anticipated to be especially great. Kiwanis invites The Terrell community to open their hearts by donating gifts for those who have experienced difficulties which have diminished their ability to provide gifts for their children. Kiwanis also provides families a turkey, box of food, and a box of household items.
Families request, and especially appreciate, books and educational toys. All items should be new and unwrapped, and can be of any size or value. Drop your gifts into one of the big, boxes at the following locations:
ANB
Pritchetts Jewelry
more locations to follow...
The Kiwanis Club is also accepting cash donations which will be used to buy additional toys, food and household items. These can be sent to Kiwanis Club of Terrell, PO Box 12, Terrell, TX 75160
Terrell State Hospital
Monthly Parties- Kiwanis and Circle K hosts a party for up to 80 adults each month. TSH adults enjoy a monthly party with snacks, drinks, music and dancing. The patients really look forward to the party each month and have a really great time.
Annual Watermelon Party- Each year in July, Kiwanis members serve delicious watermelons to the TSH adults. Special efforts from Jeff Woolverton & Sutton Produce help make the event possible.
Angel Tree & Christmas Party- Each year at Christmastime TSH children and adolescent patients (ages 8-17) fill out an angel (write down gifts they would like to receive for Christmas). Kiwanis members choose an angel and purchase the gifts. Children are visited from Kiwanis members and Santa Claus where gifts are distributed, and they are served Pizza (provided by The Terrell Lions Club)
Christmas Day Visit- Christmas day can be a lonely time for some adolescent patients who are spending Christmas day apart from family due to unfortunate circumstances. Kiwanians visit TSH adolescent patients each year on Christmas day. They are brought a present and time is enjoyed visiting and playing games.
Educational Scholarships
Applications are accepted, Seven $500 scholarships have been awarded to 2009 graduating high school students. The scholarships are used for educational pursuits. Application forms can be obtained through TISD. The selection committee is composed of Kiwanis members. Scholarships will be awarded in May. Educational scholarships have been awarded over 30 years. In the past 10 years, over $40,000 has been granted in the form of annual scholarships.
Children- Priority One
Young Children: Priority One is an ongoing service program of Kiwanis International, addressing the needs of young children.
Literacy Program
Children who grow up in homes where parents do not read, or have only marginal reading skills, often lack early exposure to reading. They do not have stories read to them by a parent. They do not see books or print materials in their homes. They often do not have parental help with schoolwork. Because of this widespread lack of reading skills, nearly one-third of all young families are poor, and millions are unemployed. Some 15 million children live in these households, and the cycle of illiteracy often is perpetuated. A child in this environment enters school with little understanding of the importance of reading. In short, these children have little motivation to learn to read, and the result, as statistics on adult illiteracy indicate, is that many never learn. Educational research repeatedly has recognized the importance of introducing early learning and literacy, the value of reading for pleasure, and the need for adult role models. Access to books remains a key factor in children’s reading achievement.
Reading program- Key Club visits local day care centers and reads to the children during the summer.
Dr Seuss Party- Each year in celebrationn of Dr Seuss Birthday Party, youth are invited to a party with snacks and birthday cake. Dr. Seuss books are read to the children, and they are given prizes and books to take home with them. Terrell Kiwanis has recently joined efforts with The Terrell Public Library to be able to reach more children.
Lakes Regional MHMR- A library has been established at lakes Regional MHMR to service children
Dental Hygiene
Give Kids a Smile Day
In an effort to enhance the awareness of oral hygiene, Kiwanis club of Terrell partners with the office of dentist and Kiwanis member, Gwendolyn Kines who is host to the nationally sponsored program, “Give Kids a Smile Day,”
The first Friday in February, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Kiwanis member, Dr. Gwendolyn Kines, along with staff, volunteers and fellow Kiwanis member and dentist Alan Nix, provides free dental screenings and sealants for children 1-18 at the Rockwall and Brin Church of Christ gymnasium. Children also receive free toothbrushes and toothpaste and will have the opportunity to participate in fun and games.
Sealants are given for children with permanent teeth so that it prevents cavities from getting in their molar teeth. Insurance is not a factor, the main objective is to ensure that children in the community have healthy teeth. In addition to assisting the hundred or so children, the group also selects some children to be sponsored for full dental care.
Kiwanis members, Circle K and Key Club members are on hand to assist with the project.
Oral health presentations
will be given by Kines, her staff, and Dr. Nix at both Kennedy Elementary and Furlough Middle schools to teach students the importance of taking care of their teeth. Targeting the age groups who are just losing their “baby teeth” or who have acquired all their permanent teeth so they know how to properly care for them. Dental care is not just about “having a pretty smile” and “flashing your teeth,” but it impacts the overall health of one's body and that's the message Dr. Kines and staff seek to provide to Terrell students.