Thursday, April 30, 2009

One Day, One Way, One K

Better World Books Videos

Hi Everyone!

Looking for some cool directions to help your Better World Books Book Drives? My great account Representative Ed sent me these videos the other day. I highly encourage everyone to check them out and learn more about the Book Drive process with Better World.

1. Donation Guidelines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeweMRT3FT4
2. Prescreening Books: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM21-gkORV4
3. Boxing Books: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC8fees24Rs&feature=channel_page
4. Shipping via Freight: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3-YeZpGb_M
5. Shipping via UPS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07_XUgQNTI4



Thanks for reading and have a magnificiant day!


Live to Serve -- Love to Serve,

--Kristen

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

March for Babies - Plattsburgh, NY

Greetings All!

I just wanted to pop in and say Thanks a ton to everyone who has donated to my March for Babies campaign. I am super excited to be walking this weekend and the money that everyone so generously donated will be going to help make sure that every baby is born a healthy baby!

-Kristen

Walk, Donate, and Advocate TODAY for Healthy Babies!


The money we raise for March for Babies will help:

  • ...support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects
  • ...educate women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby
  • ...provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care
  • ...push for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children.

Please help our team help babies— click JOIN THIS TEAM at the top of the page and get started!

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.


***
Click Here to make a donation no matter how big or small:
http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=111018965&u=kristencki
***

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Click Here to walk with me and join my team and walk in Plattsburgh on April 26th: http://www.marchforbabies.org/teams/586090
***


Yours in the spirit of healthy babies,
KRISTEN REED, born prematurely at 34 weeks
Team Captain, SUNY Potsdam March for Babies ♥
E-mail Me: KristenCKI@gmail.com


~*~*~*~
DONATIONS:

Courtney Taylor - $15.00
Julia Smith (my grandma!!!) - $20.00
Mary Murphy - $20.00
Bascom Allen - $50.00
Michael Murray - $25.00 THANK YOU SO MUCH COURTNEY, GRANDMA, MARY, MICHAEL, AND BASCOM FOR YOUR DONATIONS! ♥

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

I'm planning a Better World Books Book Drive!

Hey CKI!

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was today when I got my shipment of Better World Books Book Drive boxes!

I've been organizing a Book Drive with BWB for April 22nd's Earth Day because by collecting books we are saving so much paper from landfills. Feel free to check out http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=81422457550 for the cool posters and information of how we are promoting our Book Drive. I'll keep all of you posted on how things go.

I love Better World Books so much and my Account Representative Ed has been the bomb with hooking me up with all the materials I need. I highly encourage your club starts organizing a book drive for the end of the semester. For more information check out www.circlek.org.

Off to Indianapolis in the Morning for the CKI April Board Meeting! I'll be checking in with you guys soon!

Yours in love for Better World Books & Books for Africa,
--Kristen



Sunday, April 12, 2009

In need of a new cell phone :)

Hey there CKI!

Whenever I am stuck with a big decision in life I usually turn to Circle K'ers to give me advice and help me through it. So, I figured I'd let all of you know that I am in the market for a new cellphone after mine has been through war and back (dog trying to bury it in the backyard and a fall into a toilet.) haha! Any suggestions for good phones I should look at on the Verizon network?

Thanks a ton and have an amazing week!

Yours in the spirit of communication,
--Kristen

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Frustration & Faith in New York City

Hey CKI!

I hope everyone had a great Kiwanis One Day, Passover, Easter, and any other holidays that have been occurring lately. Last weekend I traveled to Indianapolis to attend the Governor's & Administrator's Training Conference (GATC) with VP Ricardo and the great leaders of our organization. The weekend was a complete blast and I am so proud of all of the leaders that each district has elected to serve as their Governor this upcoming year - everyone is going to do such a great job!

So, if you know me you know that while I do fly often I run into troubles anytime I fly through LaGuardia airport in NYC. My travels on my way to GATC proved this theory correct! I was scheduled to leave Syracuse at 11:45am and after a 2 hours delay I finally left and landed in LaGuardia with only 30 minutes left to make my connection to Indianaoplis I really thought I wouldn't make it. Let me tell you I was wrong! After my flight failed to make it's 2:25pm departure the take-off time kept getting pushed up hour after hour after hour. Finally my fellow passengers and I found out we wouldn't be leaving NYC for Indianapolis until 7:30pm. As you can imagine I originally set out my day thinking I would land in Indianapolis at 4:45pm and now wouldn't be leaving until almost 3 hours after that I was a bit frustrated, cranky, and tired. I called our CKI Director Erin Fischer and told her "I am not a happy camper!" and some how her calming voice made me feel better.

So why am I blogging about annoying and nagging travel arrangements? I may not have landed in Indianapolis until 12:00am but I was reaffirmed a very important life lesson in NYC's LaGuardia airport and that is that there is a silver lining to every cloud. While waiting on my 5 hour delay I had the opportunity to meet 2 of the sweetest children I've ever met.

The first kid I met was named Danny and he was a 6 year old African-American boy traveling home with his dad after having surgery. He was in a wheel chair and had a hard time speaking. The reason why he had surgery his father told me was because he was terribley burned in a house fire last year. He wore a helmet, mask on his face, and had a prosthetic leg but he also had a beautiful smile. Danny and his dad sat next to me at Gate 2 and his wheel chair was parked right next to my seat at the end. His dad set up a coloring book and crayons on his lap and when I setting down my book Danny looked at me and asked if I would color with him. I looked at his dad with a chuckling smile and his dad handed me a coloring book and crayons as well. Danny and I must have sat there for 45 minutes comparing pictures, colors, and drawings and while I was getting my art skills on with this sweet boy I couldn't help but think of how amazing the concept of the innocence of children is. I think this is why Kiwanis is so important. I always have loved the Kiwanis motto of "Serving the Children of the World" but it really is ridiculously beautiful if you think about it. All around the world children are suffering from things like disease, hunger, neglect, and to know that as Kiwanians and as a Kiwanis Family we can make a difference and make the world a better place is an amazing thing. No, I didn't count my art project time with Danny as service hours but I wish he had a monthly report form to fill out. If he did he could list 45 hours of service to me because this little boy showed me that no matter how bad your circumstances are there is always time to make a new friend and there always time for crayons. :)

The second little girl I met couldn't have been more then 4 years old. I met her in the bathroom when she was trying to reach for the sink to wash her hands and couldn't climb or jump to get to the sink. I put my bags down and looked around to see if any parent, grandparent, or family member was with her but afer a really long wait realized she was all alone. Now don't get me wrong I don't go around lifting little children to reach sinks but this little child started to cry. I first had a lot of fury inside of me just thinking about the concept that a parent would let their 4 year old kid go to the bathroom in an airport alone but secondly wanted to help if I could. I crouched over and asked if she was by herself and after shaking her head yes she began to cry and repeated "I can't reach! I can't reach!" I lifted her up so that she could wash her hands and then after leaving the bathroom she realized she didn't know which gate her mom was sitting at. She grabbed my hand and started to essentially take off running. For a moment I was super nervous that someone (possibly her mother) would see us together and think I was trying to kidnap her kid. After she roamed around and couldn't find her mom she started to cry again. I took the girl to a US Airways agent who made an announcement for her parents to meet her at the gate. Come to find out her mom and sister were sitting up at the foodcourt located on the other side of the airport. I couldn't believe this kid had traveled this far! All that mattered at the end of the day was that she found her mom and I was happy to help by being dragged along by her. About 20 minutes later I'm sitting at home sweet home Gate 2 again and I have a half of a piece of an oatmeal raisin cookie thrown at my face and falls in my lap. Truthfully, I was like "what the heck!?" I looked up and it was the same girl I just helped (I wish I could remember her name.) She walked by with her mom and spotted me and apparently took off running again and wanted to give me half of her cookie. I gave her a hug and said thank you very much and her mom thanked me for returning her child.

I apologize for this blog post being so long but I just had to tell you guys about these 2 really sweet kids. I learned from Danny that no matter how hard you think your life is there is always someone who has it worse and to be sure to stop and enjoy the little things in life such as coloring. I also learned from the girl I helped in the bathroom that kids are extraordinary and her compassion and gratitude by giving me half of a cookie was one of the sweetest sentiments ever. To top things off at Gate 2/3 in LaGuardia there is a huge advertisement for the March of Dimes. Apparently, fate put me at that gate and I like to think that fate was the reason why I learned faith in children and the future amidst frustration at the airport.

In closing, always remember that you're never too old to learn/re-learn a lesson and you're never too busy to make a difference in the life of a child.

Have a great weekend CKI!

In the spirit of helping children around the world,
--Kristen

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New Reflectors for District Officers

Hi all:

Below you will find a list of the newest reflectors created for April 1st, 2009. Please be sure to pass these along to any/all of the new officers that may find these resources helpful.

Thank you in advance.

-Kristen R.
  • Club Officers and Members
    Facebook:
    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204663922&ref=ts
    Google Reflector:
    http://groups.google.com/group/CircleKInternational
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the World Together,
Kristen M. Reed
International President, Circle K International
president@circlek.org - www.circlek.org

"Developing college and university students into a global network of responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to service."