FALL INTO service

The Keystonian Pennsylvania Key Club’s Official District Publication

Leaf through the Pages

Governor’s Message……………………Page 1

District Administrators Message………. Page 2

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF……………..Page 3

Robbie Mathis International Trustee……Page 4

International Convention Recap………...Page 5

Membership Recruitment………………Page 6

International House of Delegates……….Page 7

Fall Service Ideas……………………… Page 9

More Service Ideas ……………………Page 11

Back To Service

Governor’s Message Hey, PA Key Clubbers!

With school finally back in session, I hope you're all getting into

the swing of things--both with classes, and of course, with Key

Club! Back to school means back to service, and there's no

better time than now to get your Key Club out there! Recruiting

members can be difficult, but is always rewarding, and I can-

not wait to see what we can all do together to raise money for

The Eliminate Project through Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF! Don't

forget to look out for Divisional Rallies to get all of your club

members pumped up for an unparalleled year of service! Let's

make this year one to remember. If you ever have any ques-

tions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact your Divi-

sion Lt. Governor, or myself at governor@pakeyclub.org. Final-

ly, don't forget it, ain't no party like a PA party 'cause you can't

spell party without PA! Pinky the Flamingo loves and misses

you all.

Yours in Service,

Elissa Hill

Pennsylvania Key Club District Governor

District Administrator's Address According to the dictionary, a symbol is a thing that represents or stands for

something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

We see symbols every day. The U.S. flag, corporate logos and religious items

come to my mind. There are other symbols that come to my mind as. And, they

should come to your mind as well.

The Key Club banner, the Key Club gong (I know, we call it a BELL quite often but

it’s a gong, trust me) a Key Club membership pin. These items are all symbols.

They represent the service we do and the leadership experience we derive from

active membership in Key Club. Heck, even the Key Club banner has symbols

within itself. The predominant blue color stands for leadership. The white in the

lettering and boarder stands for purity and the gold color of the fringe stands for

loyalty. These symbols represent all that we do in Key Club. It gives face to the

service work we perform in our schools, homes and communities. It also gives

face to the leadership aspect we gain though the planning and implementation of

this service. When people see Key Club in action and make the connection to

these symbols they recognize the organization more easily as something honora-

ble.

Your club most likely has these symbols at your disposal. It’s up to you to use

them in an effective way. When you are holding your board meeting and your reg-

ular club meeting, these items should be in use for all to see. Why? If your board

members or general membership are sitting at a meeting and discussing ways in

which they will be giving of their valuable time and talents they should be re-

minded of why they are sacrificing of themselves. Seeing that banner, that gong

or that membership pin reminds you and your fellow members why you are doing

what you are doing. It may be to support Eliminate or a local Ronald McDonald

House or a local food pantry. Whatever the project may be, when we see that

Key Club logo, that symbol, it makes a connection in our minds. It gives us

something to support. It gives us something to find identity with and rally

around. Without these symbols at your meeting, it is possible for members to

lose focus on why we are doing what we are doing.

The same holds true with the general public. That Key Club logo can become

very recognizable within your school and community if you make sure people see

it every time you are out there performing service. It may not be feasible to have

the banner hanging at every project that you conduct but you should display it

whenever you can. And for those times that you can’t, that pin or a tee shirt with

the logo and perhaps our motto, “Caring, our way of life” is a great visual for

those witnessing our good works. The more people see that Key Club symbol the

more likely they are to not only remember it but respect it. There is nothing

wrong with being proud of who we are and there is nothing wrong with promoting

who we are. Use these tools at your disposal and you will be helping to make

Key Club all the more respected and admired.

-Bob Orlando

District Administrator

Everyone’s back at school, which means Halloween is just around the corner. It’s almost time for eccentric costumes of witches, cats, Star Wars characters, and just about anything. It’s time for candy, and doorbells ringing. It’s time for spooky mu-sic. And it’s also time for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. UNICEF is an incredible organization dedicated to bettering the lives of children. They fight for survival, development, and protection. After World War II, UNICEF protected the starving children of China, Europe, and the Middle East. Today, their influence reaches 190 countries. They created the Trick-or-Treat program, which allows kids to help kids. Children run to doorbells, with UNICEF collection boxes and scream “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF”. They collect money for the children of the world. $170 million has already been raised from this program. It’s an incredible mission, and needs to be supported. Please, inform your clubs and members of the community. Help UNICEF. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

Dues for a New Year

of Service

Every year as the new school year begins and Key Clubs get back into the swing of things, we begin to look at dues collection. Early bird dues are due November 1

st. By turning in

your club’s dues early, your club will receive a patch for their banner. The final dues deadline is November 30

th.

Dues are collected by the International board and the dis-trict boards. Pennsylvania Key Club has a dues fee of $13.50 this year. The districts are $6.50. Over the summer at In-ternational convention it was decided to increase Internation-al dues from $6.50 to $7. This means each member in the Pennsylvania District is respon-sible for $13.50.

So what does this money go to? Well it is used for re-sources for all of the clubs, Dis-trict Convention, International Convention, officer trainings, official websites, awards, mem-ber materials, insurance, and much more. Dues are important to keep our international organi-zation running. They allow us to have more service and connec-tions around the world.

So now you have heard the news, get your dues in, and

Hello, Pennsylvanian Key Clubbers!

My name is Robbie Mathis and I have received the

honor of serving your great district as International

Trustee for the upcoming year! I am from the good

ole Kentucky-Tennessee District and could not be

more excited to work with all of you and your Dis-

trict Board!

While serving as your International Trustee some of

my duties include, serving on an International Com-

mittee, voting on any policy changes proposed by

the I-Board, and most importantly voicing your

opinions on the International level.

I am extremely excited to meet and get to know all

of you throughout the upcoming year so please feel

free to get my contact information from my signa-

ture below!

I am truly honored to be working with you and

your sister districts of La Miss Tenn and Jamaica this

year and I can't wait to hear from all of you!

Yours in Service,

Robbie Mathis

Key Club International Trustee

robbiemathis@hotmail.com

Robbie Mathis

The 71st annual Key Club International Convention took place this

past month, July 2nd through the 6th at the Anaheim Marriott in

California. Many members of the Pennsylvania District Board at-

tended, including Immediate Past Lieutenant Governor of Division

18 South, Barry Seng, who won a position as International Trustee

on the International Board! Not only did District Board members

and other PA Key Clubbers meet new people from all over, they

took a district tour around the area which included trips to Disney-

land/Downtown Disney, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Venice and Hun-

tington Beaches, and America's first amusement park, Knott's Ber-

ry Farm. Friendships were built and many lessons were taken from

the entire experience. Workshops, some similar to those presented

at PA's District Convention, offered useful planning tips and service

opportunities, as well. International Convention personally gave

me an even wider perspective of Key Club and just how big of a

difference we can make in the world as Key Clubbers and as people.

If you are ever given the opportunity to attend ICON, I strongly en-

courage you to take it! Do not forget to email me with any ques-

tions you may have regarding the ICON experience!

International Convention Recap

Membership Recruitment

Every Key Club has the desire to recruit additional members, but how

should Key Clubbers effectively achieve this goal? Key Club membership re-

cruitment is an easy task when one simply brainstorms some creative ideas.

Officers and current members may go to the middle school in their school

district and talk to new, possible Key Club applicants while handing out fly-

ers and applications! Another great way to approach membership recruit-

ment is to hold an ice cream social or to set up an informational booth dur-

ing freshman orientation and parent night within the high school! A fun idea

for going about gaining new members would also be to have each member

bring a friend from outside of Key Club to a meeting to show him or her

what Key Club and the Kiwanis Family are about. Additionally, Key Clubbers

should publicize large local service projects and events that their clubs par-

take in. At such events, not only will more people be attracted to the idea of

Key Club, but members can even hand out flyers and tell others about serv-

ing the community as members of Key Club, adding some more names to

the Key Club roster. Overall, many high schoolers will become interested by

the demonstrated passion, dedication and effects of

service through Key Club. When one person takes the

lead to educate others about the world’s largest and

oldest student-led service organization, the possibili-

ties for adding more members are endless. So, what

are you waiting for?!

Hey PA Key Clubbers! If you couldn’t make it to Anaheim, California back

in July for the International Convention don’t worry! We’ll get you up to

speed so you know exactly what happens and how it affects you. Even

though the convention was three days long and included luncheons,

workshops, and guest speakers, you’re going to want to know about what

happened at the House of Delegate sessions. There were two House of

Delegate sessions, the first designated for changes in the international by-

laws and the second session for elections to international office.

There were 6 proposed amendments during this round presented

to the attendees. They dealt with topics from membership dues to

guidelines on how to maintain a district.

Amendment #1

A change in what it takes to form a new district

The original bylaws stated you must have more than 25 clubs and 375 active

key clubbers in that district

The amendment, which was passed, states that the requirement is now at least

15 clubs but 450 members

If the district fails to maintain these requirements for three years the Inter-

national board can suspend, or even decertify, the district

Amendment #2

This is a change in what defines an Honorary Member in Key Club

The original bylaws stated an Honorary Member is a person who is not in high

school or an educational equivalent but has performed some distinguished public

service

This Honorary member does not have to pay dues and will be considered

a full key club member

The amendment, which was passed, changes the last part so that the Honorary

Member does not have to pay dues but will not be entitled any of the privileges

of a Key Club member

Amendment #3

A change in how the money International Key Club has is handled

Previously, fifty cents of each Key Clubbers dues would go into a the Youth Op-

portunities Fund to pay for grants and scholarships to clubs

Because there is enough money in the Youth Opportunities Fund it can sur-

vive off the interest in generates so no more money needs to go into it

Because of this, an amendment, which was passed, was created so that this fifty

cents can be redirected into the general fund

This extra fifty cents into something other than the Youth Opportunities

Fund could cut Key Club International’s deficit in more than half which is

why it was passed

Amendment #4

This was a change in the dues required by each Key Clubber

Originally each member needed to dedicate $6.50 of their dues to Key Club In-

ternational

The proposed amendment wanted to increase that amount to $8.50 so there

would be an increase of two dollars for international dues

After much discussion the House of Delegates reached a decision to only

increase dues by 50 cents so instead of going to $8.50 it went to only $7.00

Increasing dues gives Key Club financial stability and will help cut our

deficit by a lot which are the primary reasons for the increase in the

first place

Amendment #5

This was a change in how long a key clubber could hold office for at any level of

Key Club International

The original bylaws stated that a Key Clubber could hold office for however long

their secondary school lasted (5 years in most other countries, such as Canada)

In America our secondary schooling, high school, is only 4 years for some-

one who did not get held back or skip ahead

In other countries it is usually one or two years longer ours so this amend-

ment dealt with Key Clubbers from other countries

The amendment was to change the duration of how long a member could hold

office for, limiting them to four years

The reasoning behind this is to ensure that everyone gets an equal oppor-

tunity to lead at an officer level

However, this amendment was not passed so nothing changed

No matter where you lived, you could be an officer in Key Club for as

long as your secondary school lasted

Amendment #6

This was a very small change which stated that membership in Key Club should

be within the person’s high school career

More of a rewording from the original bylaw than anything, the actual

change between the original and the amendment is very small

Fall Service Ideas Go out in your community and volunteer to rake leaves in your local park, for older mem-bers of the community, or anyone you want to lend a helping hand to. It is a great way to do service while having fun with friends.

Collect gently used coats in your schools, and community for those who cannot afford them. The weather is starting to change and every-one deserves to be warm in Pennsylvania.

On Halloween grab your best costume, little orange Unicef box, and a group of Key Clubbers and go Trick-or-Treating for Unicef. Collect money which will all go to the Eliminate project. More to come about this pro-ject on our YouTube channel.

Host an event where you volunteer to babysit children for an hour or two, have pumpkin decorating, story time, and fall themed games. Give parents a break and children a chance to interact with responsible role models, you!

Do your younger siblings have tons of excess Hallow-een candy? It’s a great project to collect extra candy in your school district and donate it to your local home-less shelter.

As the school year begins students head back to the halls, but some do not have the necessary supplies they need to succeed. Hold a drive where students can bring in folder, notebooks, pencils, book cover, back packs, and any other school supplies one might need. It’s a great way to have your entire school help other students.

Host a large event partnering with a local farm. Have an eliminate night where profits are split and you receive half for the Eliminate project. Find a farm with hayrides, corn mazes, apple picking, and other fun fall events. Students will come out for an evening of fun.

More Service Ideas It time folks! Summer is officially

over. School is back in session,

which means your volunteering

needs to kick start back into action!

Now, I know how difficult it is, to

get back into the grove and think

beyond the fog of exhaustion that

coats all of your eyes, so I have writ-

ten some examples of ways to help

your community, to make the tran-

sition a little bit easier.

The first thing is to help with

animals. Contact a local shelter and

see if they need help taking care of

the animals. A friend of mine works

at Animal Friends and she feels it is

one of the most rewarding experi-

ences of her life.

If there are any juniors out

there, it’s your prom year! Yah!

Prom committee’s are a great way

to help your school. Volunteer to

fundraise for your fantastic night.

Try to find a tutoring club attached

to your school, a local church, li-

brary, or some other local place.

These places are great to help ele-

mentary or middle school kids with

their homework. Nothing beats

their smile when they finally under-

stand a smile.

Or, volunteer at a local elderly

home. Try reading to some of the

elderly, playing games, helping

with bingo nights, etc.

These are just some of the

many things that you can do with

the back to school season!