Committee Chair Application Extension

Hey Everyone!

The Committee Chair application deadline has been extended until tomorrow, April 24th. If you are interested in becoming a Committee Chair on the New York District Board, please fill out the application, and email it back to me. Please let me know if you have any questions.

-Governor Michael

Tip Me: How to run a Better World Books book drive

A new "Tip Me" has been released on the Circle K International website. Released on April 22nd, the newest "Tip Me" is a list of instructions for holding a book drive through Better World Books, one of Circle K International's four Service Partners:

1. Check out the Better World Books website.
2. Research the literacy partners.
3. Contact your school and/or local college bookstores to set up your book drive drop off stations.
4. Sign up to start receiving all book drive materials.
5. Advertise your book drive. Use fliers, sidewalk chalk, classroom chalkboards and place ads in your school newspaper and table tents in common areas.
6. Visit the bins and collect books once a day. If you leave bins outside, place a trash bag at the bottom of the box so that books will not get wet. Weigh down the box to keep it from blowing away.
7. Store books in a storage unit or your apartment for security.
8. Make sorting boxes fun by hosting a packing party complete with some kind of entertainment.
9. Separate books that are eligible to earn $1.25 each or just pack all books together for $.50 each.
10. Schedule a pickup.
11. Celebrate! You will receive your check in the mail within two months.

Source: The CKI Service Committee

Sub-Region F Event

Sub-Region F is the only sub-region in Circle K International that has established an annual sub-region event. Last year, the sub-region event was held in the Capital District. This year, our sub-region event is being held in our very own district, and my school (NYU) is hosting it!

According to International Representative Eric Hotchkiss, there are 21 Circle Kers registered to attend the event this weekend. We will be participating in various fellowship activities, taking part in a number of service projects, and participating in the March of Dimes March for Babies.

-Governor Michael

DOTC

This weekend, we held DOTC at NYU. DOTC, the District Officer Training Conference, is the first official meeting of each year's District Board. DOTC allows for the District Board to receive special training and discuss both goals and project ideas for the year. In our seven hour meeting in NYU's Kimmel Center, we accomplished a lot and made several very important decisions.

First, I am happy to announce that Kari Martin of SUNY Potsdam was officially voted in as Lieutenant Governor for the Northern Division. Congratulations, Kari!

We still have a vacancy in the position of Western Division Lieutenant Governor. If you know anyone at either Canisius College or the University at Buffalo who might be interested, please let them know about this opportunity to get involved on the district level!

We also decided on our District Project, which will focus on literacy, so we'll be working with Better World Books, helping out with children's reading programs at libraries, etc. We'll be sending out more information in the weeks to come as it becomes available.

We also discussed the Governor's Project and the status on committee chair applications. More information will be sent out on these two topics in the next few days.

One of the other matters discussed is the divisional breakdown in the district. The Board voted to incorporate the Circle K clubs lying the the Bronx Westchester South Kiwanis Division into the Empire Division and to change the name of the Bronx-Hudson Division to the "Hudson Division".
Overall, the board meeting we held at DOTC was very productive, and we managed to bond as a board through long subway rides and even longer games of Monopoly!

-Governor Michael

Tip Me: 5 ways to support March of Dimes

Every few weeks, a new "Tip Me" is released on the Circle K International website. The most recent "Tip Me", released on April 8th, is a list of five ways that you can support March of Dimes, one of Circle K International's four Service Partners:

1. Visit your local neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and bring flowers to the nurses to recognize the work they do.
2. Contact your senators and stress the importance of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA). Check out the advocacy section on the March of Dimes website for more initiatives and information.
3. Form a March for Babies team with your CKI club and recruit volunteers.
4. Sell bean bags for babies. The profits from Calplush and Plushland, specially-made college-themed or holiday-themed bean bag bears, are used to fund the research and mission of the March of Dimes.
5. Challenge your CKI club to raise enough money to equal the number of members who were born prematurely or who have birth defects. For example: four members born premature=US$400.

Source: CKI Service Committee

Kristen vs. Imran: Whose Hair will be Dyed Blue at NY Speaking 2009?

At the 2009 NYCKI District Convention, IP District Project Chair Imran Yassin, IP LTG Matt Carney, and IP District Treasurer Gabby Martineau led a workshop on fundraising. After a discussion on "Locks of Love", International President Kristen Reed asked Chair Imran how much money would need to be raised for him to cut his hair. Because Imran refuses to cut his hair, we have launched a competition of between "TEAM IMRAN" AND "TEAM KRISTEN" to see which of the two competitors can raise the most money for the Six Cents Initiative by NY Speaking 2009! Whoever collects the most money will get to sit back and watch as LTG Josephine Lukito dyes the hair of the other blue. Why blue? WATER, of course!

Not familiar with the UNICEF Six Cents Initiative? Just six cents can save a child from severe dehydration. The more you raise, the more you save. To learn more, visit http://www.circlek.org/sixcents.

Your contributions to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is a registered 501(c)3 organization.

To donate, visit http://www.unicefusa.org/sixcentsonline, and click on "Sponsor Participant". Search either "IMRAN YASSIN" or "KRISTEN REED" under the NYCKI Blue Challenge Team.

Whose hair do you want to see blue? Is there really any question?

GATC!

Now that I finally have a free moment, I thought I'd talk a little bit about GATC. GATC, the Governors and Administrators Training Conference, was held from April 3-5 in Indianapolis, IN. District Administrator John "Johnny K" Keegan and I were both in attendance.

With Johnny K at GATC.

Over the course of the weekend, I met the Governors and Administrators of other Circle K districts. CKI Director Erin Fisher, CKI Specialist Kandra Sejas, International President Kristen Reed, and International Vice President Ricardo Torres led us in training throughout the weekend. Part of the training actually took place in the Kiwanis International Office!

This is the first picture I took in Indianapolis!

Over the course of the weekend, I met all of the Governors from Sub-Region F. In addition to New York, Sub-Region F includes the Capital, New England, and New Jersey Districts.

On Kiwanis One Day, we all went to a YMCA in Indianapolis. The group I was in was responsible for cleaning up a kindergarten classroom. We washed chairs, tables, dolls, plastic food, and building blocks.

Washing dolls at the YMCA with some of the other Governors.

Overall, GATC was a great experience! And I didn't even know I'd be going until five days beforehand, since our District Convention was the weekend prior! It was great to meet the other leaders of our organization and receive training for our positions. I have high hopes as we continue onward in the 2009-2010 service year!

-Governor Michael

Service Spotlight: Boo Boo Bunnies!

In honor of Easter, I am posting instruction on how to make boo boo bunnies. Many hospitals will accept these, giving them to trauma patients. They are also used as ice cube holders to help reduce the swelling of "boo boos".
The instructions on how to make a boo boo bunny are as follows:

1. Place the washcloth on a flat surface and evenly roll up two diagonally opposite corners until they reach the middle.
2. Fold the rolled washcloth in half.
3. Fold the washcloth in half again and wrap a rubber band around the second fold so that the fabric inside the rubber band looks like a head.
4. Straighten out the two loose ends so they look like ears on the top of the bunny’s head.
5. Slightly open the fabric that looks like the body of the bunny so that it will hold an ice cube.
6. Place eyes, nose, and a tail on the bunny using age-appropriate materials, such as a felt markers and small pom poms.
7. Tie a ribbon around the bunny’s neck to cover the rubber band, and the bunny is finished!
   

Materials:

• Washcloth
• Rubber band
• Googly eyes
• Pom Poms (small for nose and medium for tail)
• Ribbon
• Craft Glue

Last November, members of the Circle K of NYU and the Key Club of HSMSE participated in an interclub at which they created over 100 boo boo bunnies!

Club of the Month

Each month, one club will be selected as "Club of the Month". If you feel there is a deserving club in our district, send me an email with your nomination and a brief description of why you think your nominee deserves to win. This is our way of recognizing and showcasing clubs' efforts that would otherwise often go unrecognized by the district-at-large. The deadline for nominations for April is April 26th, so be sure to send those in! I look forward to hearing from you!

-Governor Michael

The 2009-2010 NYCKI District Board

The NYCKI District Board is comprised of four executive officers, eight lieutenant governors, and a number of committee chairs.

At present, the Board consists of:

Executive Board:
District Governor - Michael Zebrowski
District Secretary - Alex Allen
District Treasurer - Allison Jean Carruthers
District Editor - Gabby Martineau

Lieutenant Governors:
Bronx-Hudson LTG - Heather Brown
Capital LTG - Jacquie Fable
Central Lakes LTG - Josephine Lukito
Empire LTG - Imran Yassin
Long Island LTG - Rickie Santer
Northern LTG (Acting) - Kari Martin
Southern Tier LTG - Angela Cortese
Western LTG - Vacant

Chairs:
On To International Convention Chair - Kristen Reed

We are currently taking applications for those interested in chairing standing district committees. If you are interested in applying to be a NYCKI Committee Chair, you can download the application here. The chair positions available for the 2009-2010 service year are: Awards, Club Building, Conferences and Conventions, K-Family Relations, Laws and Regulations, Membership Development and Education, Program Development (District Project and Governor's Project), Public Relations, and Technology. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Applications are due by midnight on April 19th, so be sure to get them in soon!

Welcome to the New Service Year!

Hey NYCKI!

Welcome to another year of service! My name is Michael Zebrowski, and I was elected to serve as your 2009-2010 New York District Governor at our District Convention at the end of March! I hope that all of you who attended had a good time, and I am so excited to see what this year has in store for us!

I have decided to set up this blog to keep in touch with all of our members, providing you with updates on important events and service initiatives, ideas for service projects, and as a means of showcasing any big projects that you might have in your clubs or divisions. Let me know if there is ever anything that you would like included! I want this blog to help serve as a connector between your clubs and the district, so I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Please let me know if you ever have any questions or need anything at all!

-Governor Michael

Receiving the home club banner while being installed as 2009-2010 New York District Governor. (L-R) NYU Circle K President Becky Weinstein, Me, IP Southern Tier LTG Matt Carney, and IP Governor Mike Ott.