New York District Key Club, Division 15- June 2013 Newsletter, Volume 1

Page 3 Greetings from your Lieutenant

Governor, Reminders and Upcoming Events

Page 4 Saratoga Springs Service Spotlight

Article

Page 5 Fort Ann Service Spotlight Article and

Pictures

Page 6 Emily Heald’s Senior Farewell

Page 7 Youth Opportunities Fund

Page 8 Sudoku Puzzle

Page 9 Lieutenant Governor’s Divisional

Competition!

Page 10 Kaitlin’s Story

Page 11Secretary’s Update &

District and Divisional Contact Information

Hello Division 15!

For most of you the school year is finally at an end. I hope you all

had an amazing year! For those of you attending the International

Convention in Washington DC, it’s almost here! In less than one week you

will be meeting Key Clubbers from all over the world, and it’s bound to

be an awesome time. I plan to be visiting clubs in the fall, so once you

guys get started again please email me and let me know your meeting

day/time and I will come and visit for sure! If your club held or attended

an awesome event this month write something up about it and send it in!

Pictures are very much appreciated, and they look nice. You will be

featured here in my divisional newsletters, and will be posted in either The

Empire Key by Hannah Song or on the NYDKC website. I am currently

planning a divisional for September, and if all goes well we will also be

having a Fall Rally at Shaker High School with Divisions 15, 16, 17, and 18

in October. What is a Fall Rally? A Fall Rally is usually held every year

around October to train new officers, answer any questions you have, do

a service project, and hold an advisor workshop. Have a suggestion for

the service project? Email me! Also, at LTC, the kids who did the Stars for

Troops cut out starts from tattered American Flags along with a little card

to thank the Veterans for everything they do. If you or your club know of

any veterans that you would like to give one of these stars to just email

me and let me know how many you would like and I’ll send them out

right away. Good luck and have a great summer!

Yours in Service,

Olivia Austin

LTG Division 15

Oliviaaustin.ltg@nydkc.org

Reminder(s):

•Please remember that all Fundraising Report Forms and Monthly Report Forms should be

submitted throughout the summer.

•Also, when Webmaster Jimmy Lin sends you a receipt for your MRF’s if you could forward

them to me that would be great, this way if the Secretary’s report says that you are

missing something I can just go through my computer and say: “Oh! Here it is!” Then send

it on its way and you’re all set!

•If you have any questions you can find my contact information on the back page of this

newsletter & at the end of my greeting.

Upcoming

Events:

•International

Convention in

Washington

DC (July 3-6)

•Coming

Together for

Kaitlin Benefit

(August 24)

•Back To

School

(September)

•Fall Rally

(October)

•

Possibl

e Divisional

(October)

Strawberry Social

In early June, the Saratoga Springs Key Club organized a

Strawberry Social at the Senior Center of Saratoga. The members

got together and cut up well over a dozen donated cartons of

fresh strawberries. The strawberries were then used to make

strawberry sauce for mini strawberry shortcakes, strawberry sorbet,

and chocolate dipped strawberries. There were also strawberry

cupcakes and strawberry cheesecake slices. Along with the

strawberry desserts, there was chicken soup and chips and salsa, all

of which was donated from local businesses. The event was open

to all members of the Senior Center, and the number of seniors in

attendance was fantastic! This event was a huge success and will

definitely be happening again next year!!

Submitted by:

Katherine Horne- Saratoga Springs Key Club President

Elementary Field Day

This month our club helped out during our elementary field day. This is a

day when the younger children in our school get to take the day off of

classes and participate in team activities like relay races, water bucket

races, jump rope games, and just general physical activity in a fun way.

Our Key Clubbers each got to run a station at this event. Richard, one of

our newer Key Clubbers ran a hopping relay race, where teams had to

hop through a course he set up. Another one of our Key Clubber ran a

station with a huge rainbow parachute that the kids ran around together

with, and sat inside. I got to run a relay race that involved little scooters

that the children sat on, and rolled out to a dot, then back around. Then

the next person went. It was really fun helping out and listening to the

children cheer for their team, and even the other team after their team

had finished! It was a very nice day.

Photo 2: The Parachute Station currently

being used by some 1st graders.

Photo 1: An overview of the field

most of the stations were on.

Although Key club has been one of the most influential clubs that I have

been involved in throughout my high school there comes a time with

EVERYTHING in life that you must leave behind. I may physically leave this club

behind but I will never leave the lessons and memories and connections

behind. I hope that each and every one of you does the same and never give

up on service. It is the work that each of us has contributed that help to make

the world go around. Key Club has the potential to open many doors within

your career, your life, and your mind IF YOU LET IT. I hope that each and every

one of you continues to work hard, provide for our beloved community while

keeping that positive and open mind that I know many of you have. I am so

proud of everything that our Club has achieved together and it is my hope that

together with fresh blood and new growing leaders your club can achieve as

much if not more than what we achieved together under our old leadership.

Good luck in all of your future endeavors and remembers to never give up, and

never forget that this town or even this world would not be the great place it is

without the hard work and dedication of service leaders such as yourselves!

~ Emily Heald

Hadley-Luzerne Key Club President

2010-2013

We all know that funding certain events can be difficult, and let’s

face it, money is tight. Your club may want to hold a fundraiser for a

specific cause, but it’s not in the budget. Not everything is free, and

sometimes you may need a little help in the funding area to make this

event as amazing as possible. Well, the YOF is a special fund that

gives grants to Key Clubs and Key Club Members to help fund service

opportunities that you may not have enough money to completely

cover the cost.

Some of us, including myself, are approaching our senior year of

high school. College is expensive, but the Youth Opportunities Fund

also grants academic scholarships for higher education as well.

THIS SOUNDS GREAT! But how does someone even begin to go

about getting these grants or service opportunities or helping seniors

get a little bit of help paying for college?

Well, clubs may request funding assistance anywhere from $100-

$2,000 for these opportunities. For more information or a

downloadable application check out the link below and see if your

club can apply for a grant to help out for one of your service

opportunities this year!

http://keyclub.org/service/fund/yof/yofgrant.aspx

I know reading a lot can be boring… SO ENJOY A NICE

“RELAXING” SODOKU PUZZLE!

(I can NEVER win at these… Can you?)

Hello Division 15 Clubs and Advisors!

This year I have created a Lieutenant Governor’s Divisional Competition

to help out an organization that has hit me close to home. There is a rare

terminal disease out there that affects the lives of children all over the

world that has no cure, no treatments, and is in no way preventable, it’s

called Batten Disease. Batten Disease is a rare disease that effects about

every two to four of every 100,000 births in the United States, but no one

knows how many children it will affect in the US or all of North America or

anywhere else in the world. Batten Disease is also commonly known as

Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis or NCL. Even though NCL is classified as a

rare disease, it is not uncommon for more than one person in the same

family to get the disease. The forms of NCL are classified by age of onset

and have the same basic cause, progression and outcome but are all

genetically different, meaning each is the result of a different gene. Over

time, affected children suffer mental impairment, worsening seizures, and

progressive loss of sight and motor skills. Eventually, children with Batten

disease/NCL become blind, bedridden and unable to communicate,

and, presently, it is always fatal.

“The Batten Disease Support and Research Association (BDSRA) is the

largest support and research organization in North America with affiliates

around the world. We provide education, advocacy, family support

services and research funding to create a hopeful future for future for

families coping with Batten disease.” 47% of all proceeds go directly to

research, 33% to member services, 10% to fundraising, and 10% to

Administration. On the next page you can read the story of a little girl who is

struggling with NCL, and see what children with this disease battle everyday

of their lives. Kaitlin is my inspiration, and children like her need our help.

So what is this whole competition thing? Well, I would like to try and raise

some money for this organization to help some of these kids who are

struggling. So each club would compete against the other clubs in the

division to see who can raise the most money for the BDSRA, and who

completes the most service hours working with children who need it the

most. You would be competing for multiple prizes & certificates that I would

hand out personally either at a divisional at the end of the service year or

at LTC during free time. The exact prizes have yet to be determined, but I

will let you all know (if you have any suggestions, let me know!).

For more information on the BDSRA please visit: http://www.bdsra.org/

Good luck to all!

The competition starts: NOW!

Kaitlin is my world. She’s now 7 years old (almost 8), and she has lived with Late Infantile

NCL since she was almost 3 years old. She was born completely healthy, and then around

Easter before her 3rd birthday she became very “clumsy”, and started having issues

speaking. On April 29th of 2009 she was diagnosed with this terminal disease, but through it

all she hasn't given up. She was a “go- getter” from day 1. Those threats of becoming

blind, bedridden, tube fed and so much more, have now become promises. She can’t

control anything in her body, and she fights to make any sounds, but that moment when

she manages to smile, it’s a game changer. Even though she can’t see, can’t do anything

on her own, and this disease with no treatments is robbing her of her life, she keeps

fighting, and she isn't giving up. Kaitlin doesn't have much time left, and her life will soon

be coming to an end, but for others, it’s not too late. We can still find a cure, some kind of

a treatment, or something, but we can’t do it alone. Kaitlin has changed my life, and she

will forever remain my hero, even long after she’s gone.

To Learn more about Kaitlin please visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgb94zdRjzA ,

http://comingtogetherforkaitlin.blogspot.com/

(Also, there will be a benefit for Kaitlin in Saratoga Springs at the Eagles Club on August

24th. It is a $20 donation to get in, and if you or any member of your club attends the

benefit, you can meet Kaitlin in person, AND if you come find me and tell me what club

you’re from I will mark you down for your donation & service hours towards the

competition!)

CLUB NAME ERF’S MARCH MRF’S APRIL MRF’S MAY

MRF’S

Bolton X

Fort Ann Central X X X

Glens Falls X X

Hadley-Luzerne X X X

Hartford X

Queensbury X X

Saratoga Springs X X X

South Glens Falls X X

Southern Adirondack (B O CES) X

SECRETARY’S UPDATE

(Please note that this update was before many of the clubs sent in their missing reports, if you

feel that something is inaccurate please contact me and we will get it straightened out.)

CONTACT INFORMATION

Paul DeSantis

District Governor

Pauldesantis.gov@nydkc.org

Olivia Austin

Division 15 Lieutenant Governor

Oliviaaustin.ltg@nydkc.org

Cell Phone: 518.225.4079

Mr. Goldstein

District Administrator

nydkca@nydkc.org

Helen Wong

District Secretary

Helenwong.sec@nydkc.org

Hannah Song

District Editor

Hannahsong.editor@nydkc.org

Jimmy Lin

District Webmaster

Jimmylin.tech@nydkc.org

Shelby Wadsworth

Executive Assistant

Shelbywadsworth.ea@nydkc.org