Statements
Mission
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. The Kiwanis Club of Greater Music City Foundation focuses on improving the health, education and welfare of the children in Nashville and adjoining counties.
Background
This foundation was established on March 21, 2019. However, the membership based club associated with it was established in 1957 as the Kiwanis Club of Donelson, then consolidated and relocated, taking the name of the Kiwanis Club of Woodbine, then in 1989 changed its name to the Kiwanis Club of Nashville South, changing its name again on October 1, 2019 to the Kiwanis Club of Greater Music City. The service program has been operated until formation of the foundation as the service fund of the club with separate financial management and obviously limited in fundraising.
Impact
During the 2020-2021 Kiwanis year, the club continued its KCHEW - Kiwanis Children's Health Education and Welfare Program for 4 Title I elementary school sites with 5 monthly book donations for all children (Pre-K through 4th Grade) totaling over 12,000 books. During 2021-2022 Kiwanis year we have donated over 20,000 books, and returned to the classrooms at 9 Title I elementary schools reading and interacting with the children and giving books to each child and books and materials to the staff for use in the classrooms using books and materials developed by Children's Kindness Network and other agencies based on social-emotional learning themes.
We were able to reactivate our sponsored Key Club at Brentwood High School and met with them monthly. We have several potential Kiwanis sponsored Service Leadership Programs for the 2022-2023 academic year as schools open their doors and are striving to enrich the education and development of the children. We hae a goal to charter K-Kids Clubs at 10 elementary schools including the Bring Up Grades and Terrific Kids incentive and recognition programs, Builders Clubs at 3 middle schools, Key Clubs at 5 additional high schools, and a community based Circle K Club of Greater Music City with students from any college or university in Davidson and surrounding counties.
We have also added a new program to implement the training of facilitators for an Improving the Odds program based on Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success,
These programs were identified as the highest priority objectives in response to specific requests by Tennessee state departments and commissions to partner in supporting the Building Strong Brains Tennessee and Read to Be Ready initiatives to address the prevention and/or resilience of Adverse Childhood Experiences among children and youth and their families and to improve literacy from the current 28% reading at grade level in the third grade to 75% by 2025. We have been requested to develop successful programs and to help replicate them statewide, and we commit to share them with Kiwanis clubs and their foundations globally.
Needs
Funding support is needed in the form of grants, corporate sponsorships, individual gifts and bequests. The initial budget for the upcoming 2022-2023 fiscal year is $408,000. Some individual, corporate and grant funding and gifts in kind have already been committed, but far short of the amount needed to satisfy the community needs we strive to address.
We have increased our number of available volunteers each of the past 3 years, and have a goal to double the count in the next year. Volunteers are needed to sort and deliver books and resources for children, teachers and parents, and to assist with the reading and mentoring projects, preferably as members of the Kiwanis Club .
We also need education, business, non-profit and community professionals who are willing to share their expertise as advisers and consultants with us to enhance our mission and serve more children and families for the benefit of our communities and society.
CEO Statement
Our Kiwanis club and foundation have vastly expanded our base of volunteers, the scope of our programs, the geographic area served, and our vision for the tremendous impact that we can have on the children and community and society in the past 3 years. However, the pandemic and social unrest and struggles have increased the need for community support of the children and their families and their teachers. Kids need Kiwanis, and we have a strategic vision to respond actively and successfully to maximize our impact. We can and we will make a positive difference in the lives of children and families in Middle Tennessee. And we can work with other Kiwanis family clubs to replicate and multiply our programs nationally and internationally.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Development Programs |
| Secondary Category: | Community Improvement, Capacity Building - Community Service Clubs |
| Tertiary Category: | Youth Development - Youth Community Service Clubs |
Areas Served
Our focus is Davidson and Williamson and adjacent counties and areas not having a Kiwanis club to provide similar programs and projects for children, but we are interested in sharing our program information and resources to Kiwanis clubs throughout Tennessee and nationwide.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Humphreys |
