I recently sent an emergency appeal to all the Lt. Governors and various other leaders of the Illinois Eastern Iowa District of Kiwanis. It was an appeal to help us maintain our scholarships that will be awarded to deserving Key Club and Circle K members throughout our district. After I did that, I received a phone call that told me that perhaps some members do not understand why we need this funding.

Each year as we donate to the Kiwanis International Foundation so generously, we are awarded scholarships based on the amount of our donations to KIF (Kiwanis International Foundation). This year we received four Circle K and four Key Club scholarships. KIF will give $500 to each recipient and we must match that with $500.

In the past, we have been able to fund those through our budget. We are now at the point that many things cannot be funded through our budget. This is due, of course, to declining membership. There are funds for two of them. We must find funding for the others or our students will lose them. We have two Circle K applicants and over 20 Key Club applicants. So, we need to fund six scholarships, two of which will come from the budget. Therefore, we need to raise $2000 in the next month. I am so excited that already today, I received donations from South-West in Peoria and Steger Kiwanis Club. I have also made my personal donation.

Speaking quite frankly, this is a situation that should have been addressed by our leadership over the past several years and was not. I, too, have failed to respond until the 11th hour, hoping someone would come up with a good solution. It did not happen and we are appealing to the clubs and individuals to make donations to fund us for this year.

Any extra funds will be set aside and kept to hopefully start a funding program so that this does not happen again. My personal hope is that we can start the fund so that every year the money is available and we are working ahead instead of in the 11th hour.

Therefore, I do appeal to you all to please help us and trust me that I will do my best to see that this situation does not reoccur.

 

I sincerely want to thank you for all you do for the children of the world and hope that once again you can our own students right here in the II district.

 

All Roads Lead To Kiwanis,

Governor Judy