Tip Me: 7 social events to warm you up

1. Plan a bonfire. A night of s’mores, campfire songs, and stories is a great way to keep warm during the winter season.
2. Start dancing. A dance party is a popular and fun way to get everyone off their feet.
3. Go roller skating. Or try the roller rink.
4. Have a coffee house social. Coffee houses are great places to socialize and get to know other CKI members.
5. Hold a Wii social. It’s easy to plan and is a great indoor activity.
6. Host a baking night! The goodies can be used as a treat for a club meeting or a fundraiser.
7. Plan a game night and get the whole gang involved with Twister or Limbo.

Source: Heather Waite, Immediate-Past Capital District Governor and SPICE Committee Chair

Tip Me: 10 service projects to do at meetings

One of the best parts of Circle K International is making friends through performing service. Try out some of these funky and fun service projects at your next meeting. It’ll help engage new members by showing them the joy of service, spice up your meetings and get some extra hours in.

1. Puff paint socks—Decorate the soles of socks with puff paint to create safety grips. Give them to senior citizens in nursing homes.
2. Warm blankets—Make homemade fleece blankets by tying the ends of long yards of fleece together. Donate them to your local neonatal intensive care unit waiting room.
3. Letters from home—Write thank you letters and cards to soldiers overseas.
4. Coloring books—Create coloring books by drawing shapes and objects on white paper with black markers. Donate them to your local library or daycare center.
5. Peanut butter jelly time—Make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to donate to your local food pantry or neighborhood center.
6. Make a child smile—Visit www.makeachildsmile.org to find terminally ill children who could use a smile or two. Create cards for them during your club meetings.
7. Keep warm—Host a “learn how to knit” session for your club and make scarves, hats and mittens to keep children warm this winter.
8. Door stoppers—Paint holiday themed door stoppers to give to your local nursing home or hospital.
9. Pillow hugs—Decorate plain white pillow cases with sunshine and flowers for your local hospital or kid’s camp.
10. Craft dough—Make and mix homemade modeling clay and donate it to your campus day care center or children’s library.

Source: Service Committee Chairwoman Kristen Reed

Tip Me: 10 tips for planning a large scale service project

1. Use everyone's strengths. Members have varying levels of experience with different aspects of a project, so use that to your advantage.
2. Set SMART goals. This will help you determine the impact your project had on the people who were involved.
3. Make friends. Become familiar with the organization(s) you are working with, and have the organization’s leaders educate the members about how the project will impact others.
4. Have fun. Although it is a lot of work to plan a large scale service project, don't forget to have fun.
5. Organize your budget. Large projects often require large amounts of funding. Make sure you are utilizing your resources wisely and not overspending.
6. Solicit donations. Every little bit counts when you are working with a large group. Make sure you’ll have the funds needed to do the job right!
7. Advertise. Make sure everyone knows about your project. You've put in the work, so make sure people are excited to come.
8. Have an open mind. Never put down an idea or write it off as too big for your group to handle until you make contact with an organization to learn more about it.
9. Be resourceful. Ask for supply donations and other help.
10. Look for something tangible. Complete a project that your group and the public can see (i.e. building a playground, or painting). Each member of the organization can feel like they were a part of something that made a difference.

Source: The CKI Large Scale Service Project Committee

Tip Me: 6 ways to do service in the sun

Northern LTG Kari Martin of SUNY Potsdam created a list of “6 Ways to do Service in the Sun”, which currently appears in the “Tip Me” section on the Circle K International website:

1. Clean up your local beach.
   
2. Hold a water and playground safety day at a local elementary school.
   
3. Adopt a highway and commit to cleaning it once a month as a club.
   
4. Walk animals at your humane society or SPCA.
   
5. Do crafts with children at a playground or camp.
   
6. Organize a sand castle competition or 3K walk/run to benefit a cause.
   

Source: Northern LTG Kari Martin

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

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