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The September Edition of our Division 12 newsletter "The Olympian"!
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Hey guys! Hope
you all had
great summers
and are ready to
get back to
school, hit the
books, meet up
with some
friends, and of
course, get in-
volved with Key
Club! I know I am! I’ve been travelling so
much and am ready to jump back into my
daily routine. And kudos to Lieutenant Gov-
ernor Rhea Singh for passing on her summer
newsletter to us while I was in Greece! If you
did not receive a copy, speak to your Club
President and/or let me know! It’s really infor-
mative, nicely summarizes ICON, and displays
some embarrassing pictures of me!
As school rolls in and new freshmen arrive,
September’s the perfect time to grow your
club! Be sure to advertise your club via flyers,
tee-shirts, word of mouth, and/or a Club/
Carnival Day if your school has one. Please
check out the following link to order abso-
lutely free (no shipping prices either) bro-
chures, posters, and introductory kits to adver-
tise Key Club: http://store.kiwanis.org/c-145-
literature.aspx Don’t forget though! The only
way to grow your club is to retain members as
well so be sure to keep your projects and meet-
ings fun and informative!
Not only is September a good time to adver-
tise your club but it’s a great time to start new
ones! If you, or a friend, would like to start or
reactivate a Key Club, K-Kids (the elementary
Kiwanis program), or a Builder’s Club (the
middle school Kiwanis program), let me know!
As the New Club Building and Reactivation
Committee Chair for the New York District
Key Club as well as the New Rochelle High
School Key Club Founder, I love dealing with
this stuff and will provide you with all the ma-
terials and contact information you need!
Although next month marks the half-way point
of the Key Club year, we still have a lot more
service to do! Be sure to continue fundraising
for our District Projects and continue to par-
ticipate in the Governor’s Project: Keys to Edu-
cation. There’s also monthly projects and
events such as various walks (for example, the
Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk in
White Plains in October), Trick-or-Treat for
UNICEF in October, and Key Club Week in
November. Lastly, there’s a ton of club specific
projects and events you can participate in! My
home club has special projects for the fall and
winter holidays and always loves getting new
ideas. Be sure to speak with your Club Presi-
dent if there’s any type of service you’d like to
do!
Hope to see you all at the next divisional and if
there’s anything feel free to contact me!
Greetings from your Lieutenant Governor!
THE OLYMPIAN
Important Dates!
• Divisional Meeting -
End of September and
Stay Tuned! Date TBA
• October 3 - Alz-
heimer’s Association
Memory Walk
• November 1-5 - Key
Club Week
• November 6 - Fall
Rally!
Contents
A Message from the
Governor
2
Articles from the
Exec District Board
2-3
Committee and Dis-
trict Articles
4-5
Division 12 Update 6
Club Spotlight! 7
Paperwork 8
Contact Info 9
Issue 3 September
K E Y C L U B
Lieutenant Governor James Florakis Division 12 N e w Y o r k D i s t r i c t K e y C l u b
By Lt. Governor James Florakis
The Olympian Page 2
Forms and Reminders
By Secretary Grace Na
Greetings from your Governor!
By Governor Nadyli Nuñez
Can you believe that it is
time to re-walk those hallways
and sit at your desk ready to
learn? Summer vacation is
over and I hope everyone had
a great time. Whether you
were working or getting to
the summer homework, I’m
sure you’ve created memories
that you will look back to and smile. Now the break has ended
and school has begun!
I still remember when I joined Key Club my freshmen
year. They were participating in a popular annual event called
the “Stay-Awake-A-Thon”. A lot of the upperclassmen where
going to attend so I figured it would be a great way to meet peo-
ple and make friends. Sure enough I made tons of friends from
every grade. Spending twelve hours with high school students
and some Kiwanis members can really bring each other together.
To recruit members, my home club appealed to students by pro-
moting a fun service project; do the same!
At the beginning of the year, students are deciding
what to join. Use flyers, shirts and announcements to get the
word out. Let everyone know how cool Key Club is. Ask your
principal if you can have a Key Club table during lunchtime
where people are informed about the organization. Promote
what will appeal to high school students. Remember, people join
for the friends (and sometimes food) but stay for the service.
This time of year is one of the most important to really get the
Key Club word out so start talking!
Summer is coming to an end very quickly which means that school is just around the corner.
This past summer, I have gotten many monthly report forms, which show the progress of each club. It
is amazing to see how clubs have raised so much money and have completed so many service hours for
their home, school, and community.
I have been very fortunate to work with such flexible secretaries that could deal with the
Monthly Report Form issue. There has been some error in the online submission and our Webmas-
ter, Emily Lew, is working on it. For now, however, the PDF version of the MRF has been posted back
up so that you are able to mail the MRF. Also, some new ideas of submitting MRFs have been
brought to my attention. Secretaries can try submitting online, email a print screen of the MRF, or
copy and paste a filled out online submission. I will respond back within a week to secretaries who
have decided to email me a print screen or a copy and paste. If secretaries have submitted online and
have received a receipt back, I received the MRF as well. It is extremely important to send in an MRF
even if no projects were done within the month.
Shout Out To Division 12 Secretaries!
District Secretary Grace Na has received about
4.8% out of all our MRFs! Be sure to get these
in by October 7th! Check out page 8 for your
club’s paperwork status. If you need any help
on them please contact me.
Page 3 September
As Key Clubbers are transitioning
back to a life of balance, I want to
take this time and space on the
page to remind clubs to continue
sending me service spotlights.
Again, a service spotlight is a small
article and some photographs or a
service event that the club partici-
pated in. The number I have re-
ceived is going up exponentially
and I hope to receive more. Please
send me your service spotlights on
www.nydkc.org or e-mail them to me at jen-
Since many of your schools commence at the beginning of Sep-
tember, I chose to publish the next Empire Key at the end of
September. That will give you time to get back into school
mode. This next Empire Key will feature information that will
prove to be very useful in your Key Club. Make sure to read it
and also understand it. It will also include all the rallies and
divisional training conferences dates.
Lastly, I hope all clubs have a circulating newsletter. If not then
that should not be a problem. I am working to create a manual
on how to make a newsletter. I do not believe in templates as
they do not represent a club rather a generic plug-it-in docu-
ment. I hope for this manual to be released very soon. As always,
you may e-mail me your newsletter for advice and comments!
If you have any problems or concerns, please e-mail me or call
me.
Service Spotlights and Public Relations By Editor Jensen Cheong
Webmaster’s Message By Webmaster Emily Lew
Welcome back to school Key Club-
bers! It’s a brand new year, and
although it’s only the beginning,
you can all begin preparing for
later Key Club occasions. One way
to do that is to use the committee
pages as your source. It is a great
resource to see the changes in this
Key Club year, for example the
new K-Family tree, and a new com-
mittee being the Public Relations Committee. The committee
pages will be continued to be updated, be sure to look out for
new advocacy topics, award booklets, and much more. Take
advantages of these pages to update your clubs once the year
begins!
It’s that time of the year again. Yes, we’re all heading back to school, but what I’m talking about is time to col-
lect dues. The amount of dues to be paid by each member is the same as last year’s—$6.50 for international,
$5.00 for the district, and $1.00 to $3.00 for your club. Ask your club officers about the total amount you owe.
If you’re a club treasurer, visit http://www.nydkc.org/leadership/membership-update for details on the dues
submission process and membership update center. Note that in order to get “early bird” status, dues for a
minimum of 15 members must be received on or before November 1st. If 15 members’ dues are not in by De-
cember 1st, your club will be listed as delinquent, and after February 1st, a club will be listed as suspended until
the payment is received. Keep in mind that your school may take awhile to process your request to send out a
check and mailing takes a few days. Therefore, you should pay your dues as soon as possible.
With the new school year begins a new fiscal year. As a chapter of a non-profit organization, it is especially im-
portant that your club works well with your advisor and treasurer to manage your club’s account. All treasurers
should join the NYDKC Treasurers Google group (http://groups.google.com/group/nydkc-treasurers) to stay
updated on financing advice and dues submission. Of course, don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected] with any ques-
tions. Have a great year!
Dues and Club Finance Management By Treasurer Safanah T Siddiqui
What if your Key Club has a great idea for a service project and you simply just don’t have all the start up
cash needed to fund this great event? The Youth Opportunities Fund may be just what you need. The
Youth Opportunities Fund or YOF is an endowment from Kiwanis International that usually provides
grants from $100 to $2000 for clubs to fund projects they have planned. Typically the YOF funds clubs
planning larger scale projects who ask for a portion of the total cost of the project. Many times the clubs
that are asking for funds are working with other organizations to finance and complete the project. In or-
der to apply for the grant you must fill out and application it can
be downloaded here. The application must be mailed and submit-
ted to Kiwanis International 3636 Woodview Trace Indianapolis, IN
USA, 46268. This application must be received by October 15. If your club has been chosen
to receive the grant, notification of the Key Club International Board’s decision will be mailed
no later than January 15. If you would like more information through Key Club International
it can be found here. Start planning those large scale service projects!
Page 4 September
I hope everyone is really enthusiastic about all the great District Projects we have chosen for this service year. I assure
you that you will discover a District Project that you are really passionate about. This year the New York District Board
has chosen Fisher House, Make-A-Wish Foundation, St. Jude’s, The National Down Syndrome Society, The American
Cancer Society, Kamp Kiwanis, Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center, Kiwanis Pediatric Lyme Disease Foundation, Doc-
tors Without Borders, and Local Causes. All of these charities are doing amazing things to make the world a better
place. I highly encourage all clubs to get in touch with the local chapter of the District Project that interests your club.
Many of these charities host events in your area. On the dates and locations listed below, the National Down Syn-
drome Society will be having their annual Buddy Walk. St. Jude’s Children's Hospital will be having their “Give
Thanks Walk” at the locations below, please check with your local chapter for dates. Keep up the great service to your
“Home, School, and Community”.
What is Youth Opportunities Fund (YOF)?
By Lt. Governor Domenick Pesce
District Projects
By Lt. Governor Zachary Baum
(NDSS) Buddy Walk Dates:
September 18th- Binghamton, NY
September 19th- Plattsburgh, NY
September 25th- New York, NY
September 26th- Rochester, NY
September 26th- Liverpool, NY
October 2nd- Potsdam, NY
October 3rd- Schenectady, NY
October 24th- East Islip, NY
St. Jude Walk Places:
Albany: Crossgates Mall
Poughkeepsie: The Poughkeepsie Gal-
laria
Syracuse: The Carousel Center Mall
West
Nyack: Palisades Mall
New York City: Time Warner Center
Page 5 September
As many of you know, the 2010-2011 Key Club Year has adopted a Governor’s project geared
towards education. The project is formerly known as “Keys To Education” and is an incentive
for spreading the knowledge in education. Most recently, the Governor’s Project committee has
continued its efforts in setting forth multiple ideas that help strengthen its goals. The project
truly is a wonderful way to share simple things others might not know. It seems that the aspect
people love most about its incentive is that education is not only shared to young children, but
also the disabled, seniors, and people of all ages. It is
important to pay mind to this project because it opens the door to really make a difference! A
Key Clubber can simply go to a library and read to a group of children, or visit a nursing home
to play scrabble. Overall, the most important thing we must remember is that no one should be
excluded from an education and we as Key Clubbers can help and also inspire others to follow
our example!
As the school year comes to a start, it becomes important to initiate and maintain contact with your local
Kiwanis family branches, which may include Kiwanis clubs, Builders Clubs, and K-Kids clubs. These K-
Family Branches truly have the power to enrich any club’s activities. These different branches will inform
you of new project ideas and will often incorporate Key Clubbers into their events. When planning events,
you will also have new groups to work with that offer new strengths. For example, K-Kids might excel at
making cards for a local nursing home or hospital, but they will likely not be able to raise money on their
own. It is especially important to maintain contact with your sponsoring Kiwanis Club, as they can play a
powerful role with your club. Kiwanians, as your elders, will often be able to help you plan events and over-
come any challenges that you may face as a club. If you have contact with your local Kiwanis, you will be
able to get in touch with other K-Family branches, as Kiwanians oversee these clubs. If you do not have contact with your Kiwanis
clubs, you should contact your Lieutenant Governor, who should be able to get you contact information.
Governor’s Project
By Lt. Governor Stephanie Salinas
K-Family Relations
By Lt. Governor Roberto Cantos
Page 6 September
Hello D12 Key Clubbers!! To many of you, I have not been officially introduced. My name is Caylin
Acosta, and I am the Division 12 Secretary of New York District. I applied and was chosen for this position a
couple of months ago, and have done many things since. As Secretary, I assist James in many of his duties. This
includes organizing divisionals, submitting status reports, contacting clubs, any other paperwork, etc. Along with
James, the Lieutenant Governor, and Sam, the Executive Assistant, I work to bring Division 12 together, and to
connect it to New York District. We are currently working on getting into contact with those clubs that have
lost contact with the Division and the District as a whole and making sure that each club is working as efficiently
as possible. I look forward to meeting more of you throughout my term as Division Secretary! Have an awesome
year and continue serving!!!
By Division Secretary Caylin Acosta
New York District Key Club Division 12 Update
Greetings from your Division Secretary!
Division Secretary Caylin Acosta Division Executive Assistant Samantha
Suarez
Page 7 September
Club Spotlight!
By New Rochelle Secretary Sunu Mathew
We, as New Rochelle High Schoolers, take advantage of the fact that our school is able to have a senior prom. The nursing
home residents at the Sarah Neuman Nursing & Rehabilitation Center must have wished to have a senior prom of their own when
they were in high school, but weren’t fortunate enough to have the opportunity. On June 23, 2010 the NRHS Key Club went to Sarah
Neuman to volunteer for their first ever Intergenerational Prom! They really just needed
volunteers to help setup for the event so Key Club was readily willing to help. The nursing
home recreational staff arranged this event in the hope to prove to the residents that
dreams can be made possible if they just believe together.
Amy, the director of volunteers at Sarah Neuman, directed our group to first in-
teract with the Main 1 residents who were to take part in the Intergenerational Prom. We
had a blast meeting all these different people, from different backgrounds, that all come
together in this one nursing home. Our Key Clubbers got to have long, deep conversations
with some of the residents. Residents, such as Charlie, told Diana, a Key Club member,
practically his whole life story. Diana even said herself that Charlie’s “story was amazing”.
Most of the residents said that it was very nice and that it was a pleasure to see young peo-
ple, like us, volunteer their time to have conversations with them. Most teenagers wouldn’t
want to volunteer at a nursing home just to talk to senior citizens, but it was really a great
opportunity for Key Club to be able to do. It’s always wonderful to bring a smile to at least
one person’s face every day, and that day, at Sarah Neuman, together we were able to bring
smiles to many, if not all, of the residents we visited. We also spent a good amount of time
going around playing piano for the residents. Emily, the New Rochelle High School Key
Club President, and James played beautiful music, and the residents couldn’t get enough.
It was practically like giving a free concert, so many people, and such wonderful applauses
after every song! Unfortunately the only song I could really play for them was “I Got
Rhythm” by George Gershwin, which everybody there knew and sang along to. We came
across so many different people that day. We were even able to speak to some of them in their native tongue. Diana got to speak quite a
bit of Spanish. I got to speak in Italian to one of my favorite Italian residents, and Emily was even able to speak a little French with that
same Italian lady, who, we learned, lived in France for 15 years of her life.
Helping out for the Intergenerational Prom was a very enriching and worthwhile experience. It
was a fun way to volunteer three hours of our time to residents of a nursing home that were able to have
a prom, while when they were in high school, they didn’t have the opportunity. Not to mention, it was a
great way to meet people from different backgrounds who all come together in one nursing home.
Dreams were made possible and we were able to see many brilliant shining stars (the residents) going to
the prom of their dreams.
New Rochelle High School Key Club: Intergenerational Prom
The Olympian Page 8
Important Note to Secretaries: Please be sure to get in all your MRFs - both past and present ones - by the
next due date, October 7th! I will be making calls to all the secretaries who do not have all their MRFs in by
this date. Each MRF is due the 7th of every month.
Paperwork Status
ERF and MRF Chart ERF Mar April May
Alexander
Hamilton
Ardsley X
Mamaroneck
Mount
Vernon X
New Rochelle X X
North Rock-
land
Ramapo X
Rye Neck X
Saunders
Spring Valley X
Ursuline X X
Woodlands X
Yonkers
Yorktown
Heights X
Sept
August
X
June
X
July
X
X
Page 9 September
New York District Executive Board
• Governor Nadyli Nuñez
• Secretary Grace Na
• Treasurer Safanah Siddiqui
• Editor Jensen Cheong
• Webmaster Emily Lew
• Executive Assistant Jillian Harmon
New York District Division 12 [email protected] - Please use for RSVPs
• Lieutenant Governor James Florakis
(914) 523-2837
329 Stuart Drive
New Rochelle, NY 10804
• Division Secretary Caylin Acosta
(845) 709-7809
• Division Executive Assistant Samantha Suarez
(914) 882-5428
• Kiwanis Committee Member Mr. Ed Sexton
(914) 523-6126
For contact information of the entire New York District Board, please visit: www.nydkc.org/board/contacts
Contact Information
New York District Committee Chairs
• Governor’s Project - Lt. Governor Nicole Murray
• District Projects - Lt. Governor Rhea Singh
• International Projects and Programs - Lt. Governor
Susanna Novick
• New Club Building and Reactivation - Lt. Governor
James Florakis
• Advocacy - Lt. Governor Katie Cieplicki
• Distinguished Key Clubber - Lt. Governor Sharif Mahfouz
• Kiwanis-Family Relations - Lt. Governor Dylan Gross
• Public Relations - Editor Jensen Cheong
• Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Center - Lt. Governor Yasmin
Soliman
• Laws and Regulations - Executive Assistant Jillian
Harmon
Reminders!
• Visit the New York District Key Club website at www.nydkc.org
• Submit articles and pictures of exciting projects from your club to:
District Editor Jensen Cheong ([email protected])
District Webmaster Emily Lew ([email protected])
• Pass on this newsletter to all your friends
• Attend divisional meetings
• Continue serving your home, school, and community!
Fun Fact!
Key Club International has over 250,000 members!
