READ AND LEAD (WINTER)

The Read & Lead" program is a one-on-one reading improvement program conducted by high school students to teach young emergent readers in the early years of elementary school to love and enjoy books.

Key Club members are asked to mentor a child by donating one hour of their time a week to read stories and books to an elementary school child who is struggling with the task of reading. By reading books and becoming the child's reading friend, the Key Club member becomes a positive role model and mentor.   

Twenty percent of adults in the United States are illiterate. The number is growing. These adults can't even read to their own children. Educators tell us reading to children is the first step in learning to read. Key Club members are asked to help end this cycle by demonstrating the joy of reading as a "reading friend."  

The Key Club motto is "Caring - Our Way of Life." What better way to show that Key Club cares than by helping a young child love and enjoy books and reading!

MARCH OF DIMES (SPRING)

The March of Dimes was founded in 1938 by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to help fight polio. Within only 12 years, the March of Dimes had amassed more than $1 million in funds that helped researchers identify all three polio viruses. In 1954, the March of Dimes ran field trials of the polio vaccine with more than 1.8 million school children participating. This began what would become their concerted effort to save babies from birth defects.  

Key Club International began partnering with the March of Dimes in the 1960s by holding dances, carwashes, and bake sales to raise funds to further research in the medical field to help reduce birth defects. Key Club members around the world remember collecting dimes in hopes that someday children would be born free of birth defects.  

Though times have changed since the inception of this organization, one thing remains the same: Each day young children are being born with birth defects. Some are easily prevented while others still remain a mystery to modern medicine. Key Club is proud to partner with the March of Dimes as we join together to save babies. 

March of Dimes currently focuses on four main goals: 

• Reduce birth defects by 10 percent

• Reduce infant mortality

• Reduce low birthweight to no more than 5 percent of all live births

• Increase the number of women who get prenatal care in the first trimester

Each year 750,000 corporations and individuals participate in WalkAmerica to benefit the March of Dimes. Key Club members can form teams and join their local March of Dimes Chapter in this endeavor. All contributions will remain at the local level to help with the fight against birth defects. 

The March of Dimes also is promotes a Folic Acid/Vitamin B Campaign to help educate mothers and mothers-to-be about the importance of a daily dose of folic acid/vitamin B.  

Together we can make a difference. Together we can ensure that babies are born healthy. Together we can reach out around the world and know that we are ensuring a safe tomorrow for children everywhere.

CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK (SUMMER)

Hospitalized infants and children need special pharmaceuticals and equipment engineered to work with their small stature. From the tiniest tube or milliliter of medication to ECMO, a formidable device that acts as an artificial lung outside the body, medicines and machines that help sick kids get well are specialized - and high priced. Skilled pediatric professionals armed with evolving treatments and expensive tools  work  to  save   more  than  14  million  children  annually  from  life-threatening

injuries, birth defects, cancer, and numerous other ailments. 

In order to afford treatment, children's hospitals require funding. Children's Miracle Network (CMN) is a nonprofit organization that raises money to benefit hospitalized kids and increases awareness of its member hospitals. All CMN contributions directly benefit hospitals, helping to purchase up-to-date equipment, train staff, conduct life-saving research, implement outreach programs, and provide healthcare for children whose parents can't afford to pay.

In 1996, Key Club International decided to partner with CMN. Clubs participate in Service of Champions Day (a service-a-thon that raises money for hospitals and benefits communities simultaneously), sponsor dance marathons, and stage other fund-raising events. In addition to raising funds, Key Club members also can participate in service projects at their local children's hospital in the following ways: 

• Provide toys and dolls for kids going through trauma

• Contribute to or create video, toy, or book lending libraries or playrooms

• Help staff information booths or surgery waiting rooms

• Assist families with children who require long-term care or who live great distances from hospitals

• Support safety campaigns or parent education programs

• Purchase specific pieces of equipment

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