In Schenectady County, NY, according to the most recent census there is a population of 160,093, with  21.1% of these being under 18 years old, 5.8% under 5 years old. Our work is all about the youth sector.

Each month, as a club, we carry out an outreach project to help one of the many local nonprofit organizations in our community serving youth. Some examples include City Mission, the YWCA, Boys & Girls Club, Crossroads Center for Children, and Kids’ Art Fest.

In addition, each year, our Foundation provides monetary gifts to local nonprofit organizations and scholarships to seniors from the county’s school district, to help build the future of our community’s children.  

For example, in August, Irene won a Kiwanis Foundation scholarship to help with her college costs. She’s the first in her family to attend college. Mathias won a scholarship, too, and reported that his scholarship would support needed textbooks for his first year of college. Victor used his scholarship towards tuition payments. While names have been changed to honor confidences, Kiwanis Foundation has supported individual students at all of our county’s high schools for over 104 years.  

Nonprofits have also benefited. Crossroads Center for Children received a Kiwanis Foundation grant, which is helping the school to purchase materials to help children with autism learn communication systems. The Boys & Girls Club received a grant to help students enjoy programs for education and career development, character development, fitness, and more.  The YWCA’s grant is helping them to eliminate racism and empower women and children.  Kiwanis has been an annual sponsor for the Schenectady Kids Arts Festival, and also provided sponsorship and support for the Key Clubs at Schalmont, Schenectady, and Niskayuna High Schools.  And those are just a few of the organizations Kiwanis Foundation is helping. 

All along the way, kind people such as yourself have been in our corner, attending our fundraising events, and making donations to help build futures. You can help this year, when more help is needed than ever before. Every donation will provide scholarships and grants just like these. 

When you make your donation, we also request that you follow us on Facebook where we’ll provide transparency and information when our scholarships and grants are awarded. We’d also welcome you at a meeting, held bi-weekly. We’d love your thoughts and hands as we face the coming year in helping our community’s youth.

Thank you for your kindness and caring!