DECEMBER 2015

The Key Ring

The official publication of the Georgia Districtof KEY CLUB INTERNATIONAL

District Convention ● Divisional Highlights ● International Trustee ● District Updates

I n th i s Issue...

Divisional Highlights

District Convention

International Trustee

District Updates

This year during our first district board training, the Major Emphasis commit-tee agreed that the district goal for the Eliminate Project would be $20,000,

which, although $2,000 more than we had achieved last year, is completely fea-sible. Over the course of five years, Key Club International has been promoting the Eliminate Project to eradicate maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) from undeserved countries. So far, under all Kiwanis-Family branches, we have raised over $76.8 million of our $110 million goal. This money goes into the remain-ing 24 countries where MNT has not been eradicated, and only $1.80 can save a mother and her babies from contracting the disease. The Georgia district has been working productively to raise awareness and funds for these efficient vaccinations.

I hope that you are all well and hav-ing a great Key Club year thus far! My name is Giselle Campbell and

I’m so honored to serve as your Inter-national Trustee this year. I am from the Jamaica District and I also serve your sister districts: Utah-Idaho and Minnesota-Dakotas. I love to read, shop, go to the beach and have fun with friends! As your International Trustee, I am the liaison between your district and international. I keep your district updated with important in-formation, board meeting agenda and minutes and committee reports. I also take your input on various matters to the International level. My duties also include carrying out committee direc-tives for my assigned committee, the Committee for Growth and Outreach. As your trustee, I get a chance to visit

your district twice. I have already visit-ed for the Georgia Leadership Training Conference in August (which was abso-lutely amazing!), and I am anticipating my visit to your district for District Convention in March. At conven-tion, I look forward to meeting all the wonderful key clubbers of Georgia! I am very happy to have a role in such a mighty district and I am proud of the continuous hard work, enthusiasm and dedication of the district’s key clubbers, especially in initiatives such as fund-raising for the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes.

Keep up the good work and I can’t wait to see you soon!

Giselle CampbellHey Georgia District!

International Trustee

Governor’s Address

Greeting Georgia District,

Happy Holidays

I have had such a great time serving as your district governor and I am really looking forward to ending the year with landmark amounts of fundraising and a spectacular dis-trict convention in March 2016. I want to quickly remind you that the deadline to pay dues in or-der to remain in good standing is December 31. 2015 so please pay dues by that date in order for Key Club International and the Geor-gia District to consider your club's dues as paid. Also, as district con-vention approaches I want you to

be fundraising to meet your club goals for the Eliminate Project and the Georgia Sheriffs' Youth Homes. I am so proud of all the work that you have done so spread the spir-it of giving this holiday season. In addition to this, when we get back from our winter breaks, be on the look out for divisional rallies being held by your lieutenant governors. As always, if you have any ques-tions, comments, or concerns feel free to contact me.

SecretaryGreetings Everyone, I hope you all had a holiday season that has been full of service and tons of fun! Christmas time is always the perfect time to go crazy with service projects, there are so many things clubs are able to do! My club this year at Habersham Central High School has made our big service project be building snowmen made out of socks and rice to take to people at a local nursing home in our area. It is so much fun to be able to do things, both small and large, that has an impact on people’s lives and makes them so happy! Thank you for all the service you and all your clubs have done and I look forward to hearing about all of them, please share them with all of us on the district board and Georgia key clubbers by posting them on our social media accounts! I would also like to thank all of the clubs that have turned in offi-cer information for the 2015-2016 year. If your club hasn’t submitted in officer information yet, it can be submitted online at http://www.gakeyclub.org/resources/officerinfo/. Officer information is very im-portant because it helps ensure communication between the dis-trict level of Key Club with the club level! If you have any questions regarding officer information feel free to email me at secretary@gakeyclub.com, or you can contact your assigned division’s lieu-tenant governor. I would love to answer any questions you have! Thank you all and I hope you all have a wonderful year of service! Yours in service, Annalise Barron, District Secretary

Annalise Baron

TreasurerGreetings Georgia key Clubbers,I hope you are all having a fabulous school year. School may be stressful, but hold on tight! As 2015 comes to an

end, I hope you can look back on all the wonderful service projects you participated in and feel proud of all you have done this year. Please remember that the dues this year is $14 per member. The deadline for all dues was December 1, 2015. If you club has not yet paid dues, please do so as soon as possible as it is considered late now. All information on how to pay dues can be found at gakeyclub.org/resources/dues. It is crucial that your club pays dues to stay as an official Key Club.Thanks to all the clubs that have paid dues, and a special shout out to all the clubs that turned in their dues for the Early Bird deadline. IF you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me or your lieutenant Governor.Your Friend in Serivce,Mina Jeongtreasurer@gakeyclub.org

Mina Jeong

2016 District

The 2016 District ConventionThe 2016 District Con-vention, held in Peachtree Corners, GA, March 18th-20th costs as much as a cell phone, yes. However, the value of attending a Georgia

DCON greatly outweighs the iPhone 6. Don’t believe me? Here’s what you experi-ence with $245…

ConventionWhat all can you do with $245? Buy a new phone? Get that new gaming system you’ve been wanting? Make lifelong memo-ries with new friends who share your passion for service? (Yeah, I think I’d take the last one too)

2016 District Convention

Here’s What You Experience with $245…

You first arrive at the convention hotel, weary from travel. Time to check in! At registration, you’re given the standard convention necessities… A themed T-Shirt, nametag, and Pin (This year’s theme is “Agents of Service”) as well a convention program. The festivities begin with a Pizza Party meet-and-greet followed by workshops and the super energet-ic Opening Session. The next day, it’s time to lace up your running shoes and walk for a cause in the GSYH 3k Walk, then refuel with a group Celebration Breakfast. Throughout the day, you attend various workshops, competitions, and caucuses. However, your day’s not done! Everyone gath-ers in their greatest dresses and suits for the Talent and Awards Banquet, a time of great food and celebration for those clubs and individuals who stood out above the rest in various catego-ries and competitions. The night concludes with the House of Delegates and an energetic dance.

Lastly, the dreaded Sunday morn-ing. Key Clubbers gather for one last time to say farewell over brunch. The action-packed fun-filled weekend has reached its end.

You may be able to put a price tag on the registration cost, the souvenirs, the dinners, and the hotel rooms. However, you can’t place an expense on the experience. You can’t purchase new friends who have a passion for service. You can’t purchase resounding memories of great times with great people. You can’t purchase lessons that will rever-berate with you throughout the rest of your life that shape who you are and reach into a part of you that you didn’t dream exist-ed.

For more information on the District Convention, contact me, Andrew McGraw, at events@gakeyclub.org

That $245 doesn’t sound like such a massive fee anymore, now does it?

- Andrew McGraw

The Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF) is an endowed fund for Key Club International held within the Kiwanis International Foundation.

This fund uses earned interest to help Key Clubs and Key Club mem-bers serve the world by providing grants for service opportunities. The Youth Opportunities Fund is established through gifts to the G. Harold Martin Fellowships.

Clubs may request funding as-sistance ranging anywhere from US$100 to US$2,000. The com-mittee typically funds those clubs who are asking for a portion of the total cost of the project, and clubs who are working with other orga-nizations to fund and complete the project.

For more information visit http://keyclub.org/service/fund/yof.aspx

YouthOpportunities Fund

1

- Paige Overmyer

DIVISIONAbout 40 students showed up from various clubs (Beta, National Hon-or's Society, Key Club, Green School) to help out outside for Chatta-hoochee High School. The project began with a delicious breakfast catered by Chick-Fil-A for all of the volunteers, then soon it was off to work! "They had tons of pine straw for us to put around some of the flower beds around the school. We trimmed branches and trees and picked up some of the trash outside," says Chat-tahoochee High School Key Club President, Sami-ra Kanetker. Green School kids also cleaned up the school garden. They have a bunch of vegetables growing in the area so vol-unteers would water and tend those. An irrigation and compost system was

all set up as well. Alto-gether, it was an enjoyable project that bettered the community and brought together many different organizations. When Samira was asked what made this project unique, she responded, "This is the only event we have all year where students come to school on a weekend for a project that directly helps our school. Usually we are doing projects for other organizations or fundraising for some cause but this time we all were helping our own school instead of some outside group."

About 40 students showed up to help out outside for Chattahoochee High School

One of the largest service projects Harris County High School participates in is the FOCUS food drive. This community wide event starts on a Friday night and different organizations will bag a variety of canned goods that were ob-

tained through Feeding the Valley and school organizations. The next morning, the Harris County High School Key Club will help deliver the food to Harris County's local residents in need. Each person is assigned a number that correlates to the num-ber of people in the household and then the volunteers will pull a wagon through the food drive and stop to get the food, socks, fruits and vegetables, and either a turkey or ham. The Key Clubbers will then load the food in their car and wait for the next per-son. This service project is extra special because it is before the holiday season and the community comes together for one weekend to support one another. It is certainly a service project the Harris County High School Key Clubber look forward to every year.

2 DIVISION

- Emily Clement

3 DIVISION

- Haley Davidson

Every year, my home Key Club, the Southwest Georgia Homes-chool Association Key Club, collects Christmas presents to bring to the men at a local rehabilitation center. Each Key Clubber

collects simple, but much needed, items like toothbrushes, socks, or deodorant, and puts the objects in the a shoe box along with a Christ-mas ornament and card. Then we wrap the boxes and visit the reha-bilitation center to give the men the boxes as a club. These are gifts the men would not receive otherwise. Our Christmas boxes are one of our most impactful com-m u n i t y service projects!

- Sarah Neal

4DIVISION

One of my clubs in Lowndes coun-ty at Lowndes County High has a family that they celebrate Christ-mas and Thanksgiving with. This family is underprivileged, so they can’t afford to buy gifts for Christ-mas or have a turkey for Thanks-giving. They meet with this fami-ly every Thanksgiving and have a Thanksgiving dinner with them. On Christmas they buy presents for all of the members of the family, so they can have a nice Christmas. I think this is really special because not everyone has the money to pay for a big Christmas or Thanks-giving meal and buy presents for Christmas. The Lowndes County High club is really making a huge difference in this family’s life and it is very admirable.

Valdosta High School Key Club on the move!

The Saturday morning of September 19 was not a snooze day for VHS Key Club! Habitat for Humanity hosted a great event called “Brush with Kind-ness” which VHS Key Club took part in to help out for good cause. Bright and early, the only morning aroma was the freshsmell of paint as Key Club members painted an entire house to help out our community. We also bonded with our lovely mem-bers as they also participated in this act of kindness. Thinking about how many people live without houses, we got to learn about how to help them by simply painting houses for them. We felt really accomplished and ap-preciated the great opportunity to help out our very own community.

- Khyati Patel

- Leslie Hodnett

My favorite service project that I have done recently will have to be Kiwanis Hunter Safe-ty Day. Our local Kiwanis Club is always asking key clubbers for help and I usually always go because it's always a blast! This was the first year they had ever had this event, so I didn't re-ally know what to expect. Volunteering with the Kiwanis is always more fun than work though. At the Hunter’s Safety Event they had all kind of stuff: guns, bows, animal carcasses.

Kiwanis Hunter

Safety Day

There were little kids running around shooting BB guns, I don't know how safe it was. The Key Club blew up over 700 balloons that Saturday so kids would have something to shoot at. We also sold raffle tickets and prizes. At lunch time you could come get a delicious hotdog and chips made by the Tift County Key Club. That was my first time working a concession stand or making that many hotdogs! It was a lot of fun and great time to spend with the Kiwanis fami-ly. Also when there was nothing else to do they let me shoot a bow, apparently I'm pretty good!

Division

5

10DIVISION

On November 19th, 25 students from Chestatee High School gathered in their Key Club advisors room to pack over 30 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Operation Christmas Child

The club heard about Opera-tion Christmas Child through their advisor, Adrienne West, whose church is a national collection center for the shoe-boxes every year. The event began right after school ended, and snacks were abundant. Cookies, brownies, drinks and fudge were a great way to refuel after a long school day. A fireplace and Christmas music on the radio created the perfect Christmas aura. An assembly line of gifts was set up, and all of the boxes were put togeth-er, filled with toothbrushes and toothpastes, washcloths, combs, toys and headbands for the girls. Each box was filled to the brim, and in the end, 38 shoeboxes were packed and shipped off to the processing center in Atlanta! The boxes were packed according to the choice of the individual pack-

ing it. The choices ranged from 2/4 year old boys and girls to 5/9 year old boys and girls. In the end, every item donated by Key Club members was used to fill shoeboxes, and the group photo showed just how much fun everybody had. It was a phenomenal way for Key Club to give back during Christmas, and the support from teachers and students donating items was over-whelming. Packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child will become a new Christmas tradition for Chestatee High School's Key Club, and we hope that you check them out on their website at samari-tanspurse.org.

- Rebecca Braun

11DIVISION

Holiday Blanket-Making for the Kids at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

- Morgan Patterson

This year, the Harrison Key Club’s holiday proj-ect will consist of making 50+ blankets for the kids at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. As we’re nearing winter, hospitals can get a bit chilly and the blan-kets that hospitals provide aren’t always all that cheerful. That’s why Harrison Key Clubbers decided to get together and hand-make fleece blankets that are soft, cozy, and comfortable so that patients have

something in their room that feels a little more like home. These no-sew blankets are quick and easy to make as they only require two sheets of fleece and a pair of scissors. Harrison’s Key Club hopes that other clubs will join in on this fun and easy project so that even more patients can get awesome blankets!

- Emmie Landford

13DIVISION

As the Tanksgiving season draws to a close, more and more people are beginning to get into the Christ-mas spirit. For many people, this means visiting Santa, going Christ-mas shopping, and decorating their houses with lights. It also means it is time to set up a Christmas tree! Each year, the Brunswick Kiwan-is Club receives hundreds of trees from a farm in North Carolina and sells them to people in the commu-nity to raise money for the club. All of the money raised however, goes back into the community whether by sponsoring Key Clubs or being donated to different charities or projects.

The Kiwanis Christmas Tree Lot is known around the commu-nity as the best place to buy a tree for the season, but in the local Key Clubs, it is seen as one of the big-

gest community service projects of the year. Since it is open every day leading up to Christmas, there is a high demand for volunteers, and it is the perfect way for Key Clubbers to get involved. Key Clubbers from both Glynn Academy and Bruns-wick High School volunteer and help trim, load, and sell the trees while also having an opportunity to bond with their sponsoring Ki-wanis Club. It is the perfect way to “Connect the K’s” and get involved in the community.

Tis the Season… of Service!

"

DIVISION 14

This is Yuda Band's mission state-ment.

This year, Lambert's Key Club chose to participate in this fundraiser to sponsor the nourishment of educa-tion for children situated in Guate-mala. For two weeks, Lambert Key Clubbers sold handmade leather and coconut bracelets for $7 each to the students and teachers at Lambert as well as the local community. The proceeds would then assist in devel-oping the education of the student that Lambert selected. From that

time alone, 376 bands were sold, and Lambert Key Club raised $2,636.87 to not only support the education of erywetywyweryOsny Bosbely Vasquez erertwergwergwGarcia, but also con-wergwegwgwggtribute to another erertwergwergwchild's education. er Because of the effort and dedication of Lambert's Key Clubbers, the chil-dren's education all the way in Guate-mala has been impacted in a positive manner.

Yuda

Band

-Jake Kwon

Wefightpovertywithed-ucationandopportunity "

"

Remember the big pic-ture for our district project, we are raising

$120,000 dollars by 2020 in order to build a new Educa-tion Center on the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes Moun-tainview campus. We need your help, Georgia Key Club-bers. All it takes is $3.75 per member, and we will meet our district project goal of $27,000. With that being said, how will you raise your $3.75? It’s time for us to take charge, and start fundraising for the #foundation4education cen-ter. I look forward to soaring past our district project goal of $27,000 this year, so get out there and fundraise! Serve on, Georgia Key Clubbers!

- Mina Jeong

Policy and ContestThis year, there are 25 awards, contests and scholarships available for Key Clubs, individual members, and advisors. They award those with dedication and passion for service. The most important part of the application process is the deadlines.

There are different due dates for different contests and awards, so pay attention!

Please notice that district awards and scholarships must be postmarked and sent to District Contest Administrator, Robert Barron, at 605 Chenocetah Drive Cor-nelia, GA 30531 by February 1, 2016. The deadline is only two months away, so hurry and get started if you have not already!

On the other hand, the international awards and contests as well as district con-tests (with the exception of the Club Video Contest) must be submitted at Dis-trict Convention during registration.

If you have any questions about the contests, awards, and scholarships, you are always welcome to email policies@gakeyclub.org or visit gakeyclub.org/contests I cannot wait to see all of your faces at DCON as you walk up the stage to receive your award!

Kiwanis Family Day in Oc-tober was a huge success! Members of Key Club, Build-ers Club, Circle K, and Kiwan-is Club were all present for the football game at Georgia Tech against Pittsburgh. This year many attendees opted to receive a tour of the Geor-gia Tech campus, compli-ments of the university's Cir-cle K members.

Even though the event raised much needed money for the Eliminate Project, we still need more! As of November, Kiwanis has about $8 mil-lion more to go to end ma-ternal and neonatal tetanus around the world. Fundrais-ing for the Eliminate Project is not over yet!

This year before our district convention, make sure to sign up for Race to Eliminate. This scavenger hunt-game is designed to

inform Key Club members about the Eliminate Project and Key Club's other preferred charities and encourage members to fundraise for Key Club's major emphasis, all while bonding with other members from across the state. The winning team will be crowned "Agents Eliminate" and re-ceive a prize! Details about how to register for this fun competition will be released closer to the con-vention.

Kiwanis Family and Major Emphasis

- Amanda Lang

This year before our district convention, make sure to sign up for Race to Eliminate. This scavenger hunt-game is designed to

inform Key Club members about the Eliminate Project and Key Club's other preferred charities and encourage members to fundraise for Key Club's major emphasis, all while bonding with other members from across the state. The winning team will be crowned "Agents Eliminate" and re-ceive a prize! Details about how to register for this fun competition will be released closer to the con-vention.

As we approach the midway point of the Key Club year, keep in mind that the club goal is $250, which is also the amount of money required to earn a patch. There are many ways to raise money for the Eliminate Project, and if you need help, check Key Club's website for a whole list of creative fundrais-ing ideas! Together we can raise our state goal of $20,000 and end maternal and neonatal tetanus.

Kiwanis Family and Major Emphasis

Nickelodeon joined the Kiwan-is family as a 2013 Vision Part-ner of Kiwanis International with a focus on its Big Help ini-tiative, which addresses issues in service, education, the en-vironment and health. Learn more about Nickelodeon’s Big Help efforts at pro-social.nick.com or nick.com/thebighelp.

In 1997, Key Club made Children’s Miracle Network Hos-pitals a preferred charity for its members to support.

The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Since 1994, Key Club has been Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF and over the years has raised nearly US$5 million for iodine deficiency programs worldwide and HIV and AIDS programs in Kenya and Swaziland.

Brad MaloneDistrict Administrator

brad.malone@gakeyclub.org

Tyler JonesDistrict Governor

governor@gakeyclub.org

Mark FaingoldDistrict Bulletin Editor

editor@gakeyclub.org

Contact the Georgia District

Submit your articles about service projects at editor@gakeyclub.org

by the deadline of

January 20

for the February issue

182 Riley Avenue - Suite A Macon, Georgia 31204 | Tel: (678)-753-4-KCI (524) | Fax: (478)-474-3647 | support@gakeyclub.org