Consider service through Builders Club

There is a well kept Kiwanis secret, which I bring to your attention, so that maybe it won’t be a secret much longer. I bet you didn’t know that Circle K clubs are allowed, under Kiwanis guidelines, to co-sponsor Builders Clubs, and get service credit for their interaction with middle school students just like Kiwanians do with Circle K clubs.

Since I am not sure that many Circle K members even know what Builders Club is, I should tell you that Builders Club is a student led organization which, like Circle K, builds leaders through service. Builders Club members are middle/junior high school aged students between the ages of 12–15. Like Key Club, they have service partnerships with UNICEF and the March of Dimes, and the members of the respective clubs perform various service projects, such as fundraising for HIV/Aids prevention in Africa, reading to kindergarteners or kicking off a recycling program.

Hopefully, you remember what it was like to be in your early teens, floundering and looking for positive adult role models who were NOT your parents. This is not to say that parents are not role models, they surely are, however, young teens can often be somewhat rebellious, and don’t always accept what their parents say without questioning them. As members of CKI, you could mentor these young folk, and help improve their self esteem and lead them to higher academic achievement. God knows they would probably rather listen to a college student than some “older” Kiwanian anyway.

We all know that middle school years are a pivotal age, and Builders Club helps to steer kids on the right path, and give them a chance to have fun and show that they can do through a commitment to community service. You can help in this process. Circle K, in conjunction with a Kiwanis club (perhaps your own), can join together and form a Builders Club in your community. Presumably the Kiwanis club can provide the funds and the CKI members can provide the time to help install the Kiwanis-family tradition in these very impressionable teens.

So the next time your Circle K club is looking for a way to obtain more service hours, consider forming a Builders Club nearby. You only need 15 student members to sign up, and they need not even be coordinated through a formal school program. You can set up a Builders Club program through a local Boys & Girls Club or at the local public library with a study group that meets there. Obviously you need to have advisors, but you should think “outside the box,” the possibilities are endless and the positive effects of your time would be immeasurable.

For more information on Builders Club, check out the Web site at www.buildersclub.org or contact Kiwanis International at 800-KIWANIS, ext. 411.

By Mark G. Esposito, 2009-10 District Governor, New Jersey District Kiwanis