About Our Kiwanis Club

Erie County Imagination Library

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was developed by Dolly Parton in 1995 to ensure that every pre-school child in her home county receive and grow their own personal library of books. It was her desire to instill the love of books to all children that inspired her to offer this program world-wide. Registered children are eligible to receive a new book each month from birth to five years old completely free.

The primary mission of Kiwanis is to support the needs of our community’s children. Research has proven that reading aloud to young children cultivates better vocabulary, cognitive abilities and sparks their natural instincts to learn. The added bonus is developing the close bond between parents and their children as they cuddle and read together. The Kiwanis Club of Sandusky is committed to its affiliation with the Ohio Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and is grateful for the grants and donations received from community citizens, organizations, and businesses.

Key Club Sponsorship

Key Club is an international, student-led organization that provides its members with opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership. Key Club aims to cooperate with school principals and teachers to provide high school students with invaluable experience in living and working together and to prepare them for useful citizenship. Our members develop initiative and leadership skills by serving their schools and communities. The Kiwanis Club of Sandusky is a long-time sponsor of the Key Club of Sandusky Central Catholic Schools.

Kiwanis Builders Club Sponsor

Builders Club is the largest service organization for middle school and junior high students, with more than 26,500 members worldwide. Members learn to work together and develop servant-leaders skills as they serve their school and community. The service club experience at a young age can help students accept their own ability to make a difference, enhance their knowledge of their own passions and talents, and develop their ability to empathize with those in need in their communities. The Sandusky Central Catholic Builders Club was sponsored in 2019 by the Kiwanis Club of Sandusky.

Erie County Foster Children’s Holiday Sponsorship

The Kiwanis Club of Sandusky sponsors between 60-75 holiday gift boxes each year for children birth to 18 years old who are registered for foster care in Erie County. Our club members purchase age-appropriate hygiene items, gloves, hats, socks, small toys, school supplies, treats and more to stuff into shoe-sized boxes which are wrapped and labeled. These gifts are then distributed to the children during a holiday party hosted by Erie County Children Services.

Keeping Our Highway and Community Clean

Our members are very involved with our community and want to leave our world a better place for today’s children. As part of our mission, we participate in four ODOT highway cleanups each year to do our part to help keep a stretch of the US Route 250 corridor clean. We also partner with Erie County and the City of Sandusky to clean up Kiwanis Park and the surrounding area each Spring, and continue to look for other opportunities to serve the neighborhoods where we live and work.

Scholarships, Seniors and More!

Our local club tries to make a positive impact throughout the Sandusky area. We are always open to collaboration with other non-profits and causes, but there a couple more projects that we would like to share.

Each year we offer a scholarship to five high schools including Sandusky, Sandusky Central Catholic, Perkins, Margaretta, and Huron. School administrators choose a student who has demonstrated their dedication to volunteer in their community. In addition to our mission to improve the world one child and one community at a time, we also recognize the importance of serving the senior population who raised children of their own and/or contributed to the success of our community. Through a grant provided by the Sandusky Kiwanis Bay Foundation, our club sponsors two special meals for the residents of the Bayshore Towers in downtown Sandusky

Kiwanis helps kids around the world. Our Kiwanis club looks out for our community and the Kiwanis international organization takes on large-scale challenges, such as fighting disease and poverty. Our Kiwanis club is generous with its time. We are creative with our ideas. We are passionate about making a difference. And we have fun along the way!

Join Us

Children need Kiwanis, and Kiwanis needs YOU!

Are you ready to help create communities that let all children thrive, prosper and grow? It’s pretty easy to do! Simply contact us with your questions and to apply for Kiwanis club membership.

The kids in our community and around the world are counting on you!