What we do
Here are many of the projects and activities in which we are currently involved:
- Each year the club offers grants to community nonprofit organizations. This year, the club will give $30,000 in grants.
- The Read Me Program where members and community volunteers read every week to pre-school children from families with limited means and give each child a personal copy of the book to keep. This is the Club’s Kiwanis Signature Project, and it has been operating since 2002, serving thousands of children in the community since it began.
- Weekly support for the senior citizen luncheon program at the Jocelyn Center.
- See's Candies Holiday Store (a convenience to the community and a source of funds used to support charitable projects throughout the community)
- Pancake breakfasts at the City of Claremont Spring Celebration and Fourth of July Celebration, both in Memorial Park.
- Food service at the Fourth of July Fireworks
- Sponsorships of the popular Monday Night Concerts, including food service at the concerts and funding to pay for all of the bands that play at each summer.
- Food Service for the Down's Syndrome Buddy Walk.
- Route 66 Party (a fun evening that also raises funds for charitable projects)
- Support for Service Leadership Programs, including Builders Club at El Roble Intermediate School, Key Clubs at Claremont High School and San Antonio High School and Circle K at the Claremont Colleges
- Four-year academic and two-year career-technical scholarships to students graduating from Claremont High School and San Antonio High School
The Read Me Program
The Read Me Project serves pre-school children from limited means families, special needs children and transitional kindergarten children. Each week during the regular school year volunteers read selected books to children in the program. They read to kids in small groups, averaging 7-10 children per group.
Each child in the group receives a personal copy of the book to take home and keep. If a child misses the weekly reading, a copy of the book that was read is held and given to that child when she or he returns to class. In this way each child builds a personal library of books at home. The family is encouraged to read the books at home with the child as well.
Currently, ten Claremont Kiwanians and one non-Kiwanian are readers in the program. The Read Me program is operated by Claremont Kiwanis at two elementary schools in the community. 50 different children are read to each week of the school year, with each child receiving about 35 different books for a personal library at home.
Each year, over 1,500 books are given to students through the Read Me Program. Since the the program began in 2002, over 50,000 books have been given to students in the Claremont schools.
Each child in the group receives a personal copy of the book to take home and keep. If a child misses the weekly reading, a copy of the book that was read is held and given to that child when she or he returns to class. In this way each child builds a personal library of books at home. The family is encouraged to read the books at home with the child as well.
Currently, ten Claremont Kiwanians and one non-Kiwanian are readers in the program. The Read Me program is operated by Claremont Kiwanis at two elementary schools in the community. 50 different children are read to each week of the school year, with each child receiving about 35 different books for a personal library at home.
Each year, over 1,500 books are given to students through the Read Me Program. Since the the program began in 2002, over 50,000 books have been given to students in the Claremont schools.
Sponsor Service Leadership Programs from Middle School through College
Youth ProgramsOur sponsored leadership groups independently initiate service projects and community service activities throughout the school year. Our club works through an adviser in each youth organization to coordinate our participation with their activities or to have them work with us on major service programs and fund raisers.
Kiwanis International is a "family" of organizations that focuses on teaching about the responsibilities of good citizenship, community service, and building future leaders.
Claremont Kiwanis sponsors four service leadership organizations for students:
- Builders Club at El Roble Intermediate School
- Key Club at Claremont High School
- Key Club at San Antonio High School
- Circle K at the Claremont Colleges
We also sponsor a service leadership program for adults with disabilities:
- Aktion Club of the Inland Empire
We are very proud of our youth groups and their accomplishments, which make our community a much better place to live. The activities listed below are a small portion of the many projects they are involved in:
- Throughout the year, Circle K and Key Club members volunteer and support Kiwanis Club projects, such as the Fourth of July celebration, as well as carrying out their own service projects.
- Key Club members helped plant trees in partnership with Sustainable Claremont, Claremont Kiwanis, and City of Claremont staff members.
- Claremont High Key Club members served as guides at the Pilgrim Place Festival, which draws nearly 15,000 Festival attendees.
- CHS Key Club assisted in our most recent Kiwanis 1 Day, painting the wooden fences along Thompson Creek trail.
- CHS Key Club assists the Kiwanis Club at Village Venture, all the pancake breakfasts, Monday Night Concerts, and other club service projects.
- CHS Key Club has helped with the Children's Foundation of America gift wrapping program, Rose Parade float decorating, a Adonai (children with cancer) Halloween party, and the Oakmont School fall dance.
- SAHS Key Club held successful winter coat collections for the homeless for the past two years.
- In 2023 SAHS held a campus wide discussion on date rape on Denim Day.
- SAHS Key Club members help in serving food at the SAHS Community Thanksgiving Day luncheon, which feeds members of the community.
- Builders Club at El Roble is new and excited to begin their service projects.
Raise Money
Fundraising activities are essential for supporting the work Claremont Kiwanis and other non-profits and community groups. We not only raise vital funds but also enhance community engagement and awareness.