Presidents and Secretaries on record. If you are an Advisor and not receiving this email directly, ask your Key Club Secretary to update the club online OIS form.

Dear Advisors,

The purpose of this monthly email is to alert Faculty and Kiwanis Advisors of timely information that will help you carry out your Advisor responsibilities. It is also intended to educate Kiwanis Club leaders about their club’s responsibilities to their Key Club(s).

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN THIS MONTH . . .

Member Recruitment, Project Planning, Dues, OIS Forms, Monthly Reports, Kiwanis Budget, District Convention Planning

Needless to say, the first full month of school is a busy time for Key Club. Here is your checklist:

___ Club should be fully engaged in new member recruiting this month. Please make sure this is happening.

___ Clubs should have a calendar of service projects planned this month for the next several months. New members will want to see that the club is active and has something to offer them. As advisors, give guidance to the club leadership on the importance of planning.

___ Dues are collected from returning members and new members. Key Club International will be sending out to the Faculty Advisor at the school address the club’s password to access the Member Update Center to input members and produce the dues invoice. If you do not receive this by the end of September, contact your Key Club Lt. Governor. Do NOT produce this invoice before October 1 or it will appear that you are paying dues for last year. DO pay your dues by November 1 so that the club receives a banner patch for early dues submission. Deadline is November 30th.

___ Officer Information Sheet (OIS) is still missing or incomplete for a large number of our clubs. Every club’s secretary should log onto the OIS update site on the District website (floridakeyclub.com <http://floridakeyclub.com/> ) and fill out this form completely, listing ALL information for ALL officers and BOTH advisors. This is our only source of contact information. Otherwise, the wrong faculty member may be getting mail or emails or the Kiwanis Advisor may be getting nothing.

___ Monthly reports (“Pride Reports”) of your club’s activities are due at the end of the month and past due after the 10th of the next month. The months of June, July, and August are combined into one report due the end of August. Even if there was no activity during the summer, the report should be completed and filed. Be sure to click “save” as well as “send” when completing this report or it will not be submitted.

___ By now, each Kiwanis Club should have prepared its budget for the new year that begins Oct. 1. There should be a line in the budget for Key Club, particularly to assist in the cost of District Convention (April 15-18) for NEXT year’s (2010-2011) officers who will be elected in February. District convention will cost only $200 per member for a quad room this year. Don’t forget to budget for the Faculty Advisor ($325 for double room). Most attendees will also have a cost for transportation.

___ It is not too early to plan to raise money needed to attend District Convention. Cost information is above. Remember the rule of thumb:  member pays for 1/3, the Key Club pays for 1/3 (funds from fundraising), and Kiwanis pays for 1/3. One-third is about $70. Don’t forget about any transportation costs that may be required. And, again, Kiwanis, don’t forget to budget for the Faculty Advisor to attend.

What is a Service Hour and Ethical Reporting of Hours

This is an area fraught with controversy and confusion. Let’s see if we can clear this up a bit. Here are the rules:

Key Club International defines a service hour as “any hour of service performed by an individual Key Club member with the approval of his/her club’s Board of Directors.  The time expended in planning a project will not be counted as a reported service hour.” The Board of Trustees of the Florida District of Key Club International has adopted the following guidelines to help you determine those hours which may be counted as service for monthly Pride Reporting purposes.

What counts as a Service Hour?
 

• Projects that are pre-approved or organized by the individual Key Club
• Any project that contributes to the overall betterment of the community. Book drives, food drives, or any other drive benefiting others. The service is the time a member actually works to collect, count, package or delver the objects of the drive.
• Serving as a host club at the District Convention (actual time worked, not time attending the convention)

What Does Not Count as a Key Club Hour?

• Attendance at Divisional Council Meetings, Officer Training Conferences or Regional RalliesClub, Board, or planning meetings
• Socials or church services (attending worship services, etc)
• Anything that is considered a chore that is supposed to be done
• Fundraisers for Key Club’s own use
• Attendance at the District or International Conventions
• Providing transportation or time spent going to and from a service project

Please Note:  For the purposes of its own records or as an incentive for members, the Key Club may award hours for any of the above, but these should not be reported to the District as a part of the Key Club’s total service hours.

Time away from home overnight while sleeping, traveling to a project, planning a project, attending meetings, etc. are not examples of time spent in service, according to the rules above. The above guidelines are not “suggestions” open to interpretation based on whether we agree with them or not; they are rules that must be followed so that there is consistency and fairness in reporting.

Character development is one of the core values of Key Club. As adults, it is our role to encourage ethical behavior, such as that involved in reporting service hours. The goals of the Key Club experience do not include winning awards at any cost, including the costs of cheating/lying. Let us not communicate the wrong message to our young leaders by allowing our Key Club members to “pad” their hours or report time that does not follow the Key Club rules for service hours. Be sure that club leaders and members know the rules AND follow them. Have them go back and correct the Pride Reports filed since April and monitor future reporting. Following the rules and behaving with honesty is part of the Key Club experience.

Featured Kiwanis Responsibility to Your Key Club . . .

#1 through #10: Defining the Common Theme in Kiwanis Responsibility

Instead of addressing a particular responsibility this month, I want to step back to address the larger picture. Did you know that the existence of a Key Club is based on a signed contract between two parties who have agreed to respective responsibilities? In other words, a Key Club is a partnership between a high school principal and sponsoring Kiwanis Club’s board of directors. Kiwanians, are you treating your Key Club like it is a partnership between you and the principal? Do your share with the Faculty Advisor the adult oversight required to have a Key Club? If not, you unfortunately are not alone. But doing so would solve about 99% of all the challenges we face with our Key Clubs.

Here is what the Kiwanis Club agreed to (from the charter petition that you signed when you started your club):

The Kiwanis club agrees to annually support the following Requirements of Sponsorship for the Key Club:Appoint a Kiwanis advisor to the club and ensure he/she receives adequate orientation.

1. Ensure Kiwanis members attend every meeting.
2. Maintain an expense line item in the Kiwanis club’s service account to support the activities of the club.
3. Meet with the school principal before the beginning of the school year.
4. Ensure that dues are paid for every member of the club.
5. Ensure club officers receive proper training following election.
6. Hold a planning session involving the leadership of both clubs.
7. Host or participate in two joint activities involving the membership of both clubs.
8. Invite two members to attend every regular Kiwanis meeting.
9. Ensure members attend conventions and conferences.

In addition, the Kiwanis club agrees to appoint an active committee of members to support the Key Club and designate one member as the Kiwanis Advisor to the Key Club

Are you fulfilling your agreement?

Here is what the principal agreed to:
The school agrees to provide the following terms of sponsorship to support the Key Club:

1. Provide a faculty advisor (print below), designated by the school administration, to advise and counsel the Key Club, attend all meetings of the club, and ensure the club abides by the regulations of the school and all other local, state/provincial, and/or federal laws.
2. Ensure the Key Club conducts service-related projects and activities within the school and community.
3. Confirm the Key Club pays International and district dues annually.
4. Encourage the Key Club to send representatives to district and International conventions and conferences.
5. Encourage parents of members to be included in active participation with Key Club activities.

Is the principal fulfilling his or her agreement
(generally through the Faculty Advisor)

Many Kiwanis Clubs feel they have no rights or obligations with respect to their Key Club, that the club is a “school responsibility” for which the Kiwanis Club has no input. I hope you now understand that not only do you have a contractual right to be involved in your Key Club, but you have an obligation as well. And this includes the obligation to uphold your end of the agreement. This might be a good time for your 2009-2010 Kiwanis Club president and Kiwanis Advisor to fulfill point #4 above and renew your relationship with your partner. See my June issue of this Key Club Information email series for more on #4 (attached).

As always, we thank you for all you do for Key Club and our youth.  Feel free to contact me or your Assistant Administrator for your zone if you have any questions. Have a great month!
David McCampbell
District Administrator
Florida District of Key Club
431 NW 197 Avenue
Pembroke Pines, FL 33029
954.436.3830 (W & F)
954-436-4698 (H)
954-562-0014 (M)
DistrictAdministrator@FloridaKeyClub.com

Key Club is an international, student-led organization which provides its members with opportunities to perform service, build character, and develop leadership.

- Leadership – Character Building – Caring – Inclusiveness –

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 6th, 2009 at 6:12 pmand is filed under Key Club Information for Advisors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.