Meet the DAK Member - Ayaz

Name: Ayaz Siraj

Length in Kiwanis family: Officially… around a year and half but longer if you count the months leading up to the club chartering.

Why did you join Kiwanis: To help children in guiding them and showing them the meaning of community service plus I can’t expect my kids to do community service or volunteer and serve their community I don’t do it.

Postions held: Board Member and President Elect

Favorite service project: I really liked the Metro cards for Veterans and Bingo is fun.

Where do you live? Herndon, VA

Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? India.

Do you have any children? Yes, 2. One boy, Saif who is 12 and one girl, Amani who is 8 going on 16.

What's currently on your Ipod? Honestly… too many to list as it’s about 5 gigs worth of music but I will always have the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, AC/DC, Metallica, RUN DMC, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Marley, the entire audio from the movie Caddyshack… like I said, too many to list.

Last Book you Read? Books? That’s old technology…. Didn’t finish but started Barack Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream”

When I go out for a meal my go to menu choice is... mmmmm….. Chinese

One thing people don't know about me... I once was kidnapped and had my watch stolen.

Dulles Area Kiwanis Presents...

By: Ayaz Siraj, Dulles Area Kiwanis President-Elect

On March 1, 2009, there will a presentation on a special Kiwanis project known as the Initiative For Africa. The Initiative For Africa is a Kiwanis campaign whose goal is to make a sustainable difference in the lives of children and families in Africa. This initiative is in partnership with Kick Start International (www.kickstart.org), a non-profit organization that provides education and training to farmers so that they can grow sustainable crops for years to come. Kick Start also sells to the farmers a revolutionary new human powered water pump, for a small subsidized fee, that helps irrigate land and grow crops where before not possible, or very difficult. The Kiwanis goal is to raise $25,000, to help purchase these irrigation pumps, which in turn will be matched by the Kick Start Organization, dollar for dollar. With monies raised by Kiwanis and matched by Kick Start, 160 African families, or more than 800 men, women and children will get an opportunity for a better life and to permanently end their poverty.

The Initiative For Africa committee member Katherine Bronson will present this presentation at the next Dulles Area Kiwanis club meeting which are held at the Cascades Library at 3 PM. This meeting is open to the general public.

The Best Part of Kiwanis

by: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

This past weekend we had a DAK strategic planning meeting at Brendan and my house. It was a very productive discussion about our club growth vision over the next 7 years and how we can attract more members from the local community. At the meeting the members present agreed on one thing: the best part of being in Kiwanis is the connection to our local youth. I love being a part of Kiwanis because it's a family of clubs that start as early as elementary school and can take you all the way to adulthood. Here is a little about each branch of the Kiwanis family:

For Elementary School Students....

Kiwanis K-Kids: Young Leaders Helping Others

K-Kids clubs provide elementary school students with their first opportunity t learn about organizing projects that help others. This program provides opportunities for students to work together in service to school and community, develops basic leadership potential and fosters the development of strong moral character.

For Teens....

Kiwanis Builders Club: Building Leaders

Builders Club allows middle school and junior high students to contribute service to school and community on more than 1,200 campuses in 18 nations. Leadership development and guidance at this critical stage of personal development makes Builders Club an effective contributor to any service-learning cirriculum. Builders Clubs are encouraged to support a service focus supporting children's hospitals.

Key Club International

Key Club International, the largest high school service organization in the world, empowers its members to lead and serve by cultivating leadership skills, developing friendships, and performing community service. Key Club members have a passion for helping others and gain leadership skills they will carry with them for a lifetime.

Currently, the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club sponsors three Key Clubs in Loudoun County: Park View High School, Dominion High School and Potomac Falls High School.

Kiwanis Key Leader

Key Leader is weekend experiential leadership program for today's youth leaders. It focuses on service leadership as the first, most meaningful leadership development experience. By participating in a hands-on, weekend event, Key Leaders learn that leadership comes from helping others succeed. This program is designed to identify and empower emerging student leaders and move them beyond where most other leadership programs end.

For University Students.....

Circle K International

Circle K International is the premiere university service organization in the world, having gotten its start in 1936 at Washington State University. Programming is based upon the three tenents of service, leadership and fellowship with service being the most important of the three.

For Adults Living With Disabilities....

Kiwanis Aktion Club: Serivce in Action

Aktion Club is the only community-service club for these adult citizens. It provides its members an opportunity to develop initiative and leadership skills in serving their communitites, while enabling their integration with society.

These programs bring volunteer service directly into a school and community: involvement increases, student achievement improves, the attitude of an entire school can be postively impaceted.

DAK is proud to be a sponsor of four youth clubs: Key Clubs at Dominion HS and Potomac Falls HS and K-Kids at Guilford ES and Hillside ES. Have you ever been a part of any of the Kiwanis branches? Do you want to get involved with our local students? Why not get connected by attending a DAK meeting or project in the near future!

Meet the DAK Member - Kate

Name: Kate Richards

Length in Kiwanis family: A bit more than six years. I spent four years in CKI at Mary Washington College and for the last two and a half years I’ve been with the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club.

Why did you join Kiwanis: I missed the K-Family and the ability to volunteer with a great group of people. After taking a break from the K-Family to get my Master’s degree, I was looking for a Kiwanis club that fit my schedule and Heather came along with the idea to build a Kiwanis club that meet on the weekends. How could I resist?

Positions held: Charter DAK Secretary (and despite what you may have heard, I will not be secretary for life). :-) I’m also the contact for the service committee and a co-chair of our Fall Coat Drive with the Loudoun County Holiday Coalition.

Favorite service project: It’s a toss up between our monthly bingo game at the Monroe Assisted Living Facility (the residents are a hoot and will give you a run for your money) and the Loudoun Foundation’s Summer Music Concert Series. I think the Music Concert Series wins out because who can resist volunteering at a music concert where you get to listen to great music (INXS, Lynyrd Skynyrd or K.C. and the Sunshine Band anyone?) and have fun, all the while helping the Loudon Foundation raise money for the charities they support.

Where do you live? Reston, VA

Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? Italy

Do you have any children? No, I just have Monroe (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and Hellyon (a Siamese/Tabby Mix) and they only count as four legged grandchildren when I decide to tease my mom because she is commenting on her lack of two legged grandchildren.

What's currently on your Ipod? Nickelback, Rascal Flatts, Lifehouse, Michael Bublé, Stone Sour, Lady Antebellum, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Tori Amos, Enya, O.A.R., CCR…

Last Book you Read? Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs

When I go out for a meal my go to menu choice is.... some version of a Cobb salad.

One thing people don't know about me...I’m in the midst of reading about 20 different book series (and I have the potential to pick up at least three more that are currently sitting in my to-read pile). I’m thankful all the authors I read do not release their books at the same time.

Kiwanis Midwinter Convention: A New Member's Perspective

By: Kalonji Samuel, DAK Member

One of the hallmarks of a great organization can be found in the quality of education and training it avails to its members. Oftentimes, the most effective way for this to occur is through the sharing of ideas and discussion among peers, mentors, and coaches about best practices and lessons-learned throughout the organization. As a new member to the Kiwanis family, and more specifically, to the Dulles Area Kiwanis Club, I was recently able to experience high-quality fellowship through practical education and training by attending my first Mid-Winter Regional Conference.

I arrived at 9am, and as promised by the program guide I received, the conference fulfilled its parallel obligation of being “diverse and entertaining”; replete with reception-area breakfast, lively music, a Kiwanis Store, and a floating Raffle which supported the Capital District Kiwanis Foundation and Children’s Pediatric Trauma Centers. As events got underway, Capital District Governor, Tom Ganse the opening session with a candid presentation on the future growth strategy and the myriad challenges we face as an organization. This established a framework for theoretical discussion that we visited throughout the day in each of the subsequent working sessions that would follow. From discussions on meeting membership challenges, with respect to ongoing cultural shifts, to how to best integrate and leverage technology, we shared, synthesized, and positioned innovative ideas for immediate future action; all with a healthy dose of humor in between.

Each session at the Mid-Winter Regional Conference revealed a striking dynamism not only about the quality of service Kiwanis engenders, but about the quality of people involved as well. From the morning session with the Governor discussing Kiwanis support systems, to ‘Kiwanis Bingo’ with sweetheart candy for bingo chips, to a lesson in fundraising over lunch, to learning how to save children in Africa, to learning about Kiwanis committee support and involvement, and finally to a capstone closing session with the Raffle event (I’ll win something next time), I can easily say that the caliber of fellowship and the level of idea exchange throughout the conference was enriching from start to finish. My single act of attending reinforced in me why the mention of Kiwanis proudly connotes service, leadership, higher ideals, and genuine concern for global citizenship. There is little doubt that all who attended returned home invigorated, recharged, and better prepared to serve. This was indeed a great opportunity to gain the proper footing as one of DAK’s newest members.

Connect to DAK using Web 2.0 Tools

by: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

DAK is on the cutting edge of new technology! Did you know we have a page on facebook and a profile on Twitter just so you can keep in touch and up to date on the new happenings in our Kiwanis club? Do you know what these tools are and how they can be useful for you? If not here is a breif description of each. Hopefully you'll friend us and we'll see you on one or both of these sites soon!

Facebook (www.facebook.com): Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life. You can send notes, see status updates, play games, get the latest news, post videos or music, and join groups of interest (including the Dulles Area Kiwanis). Groups can post events and send updates for upcoming events and activities. 13 DAK members are already a part of our facebook group and are using it to post, share and RSVP. We can't wait for you to join us too!

Twitter (http://twitter.com/DullesKiwanis): Commonly called microblogging, Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to the one simple question: What are you doing? The best part about twitter is these short communications can be recieved via the twitter webpage, email, or even on your cell phone! What a great way to stay connected to DAK and our upcoming events.

Meet the DAK Member - Brendan

Name: Brendan Geoffrey Young

Length in Kiwanis family: 2 years (but I tagged along in Circle K activities for a year and a half prior to joining Kiwanis)

Why did you join Kiwanis: I wanted to help my wife form this new club, meet new people, and contribute my time to the community.

Postions held: Charter DAK Treasurer

Favorite service project: The Fareshare Metro card project. We converted used metro cards to SmarTrip cards to be donated to disabled veterans for them to use when traveling around DC for job interviews and other things.

Where do you live? Stone Ridge in Aldie, Virginia

Where is the farthest you've ever been from home? Ensenada, Mexico

Do you have any children? My wife and I have two kitty babies, but we plan on having human babies eventually.

What's currently on your Ipod? I am proud to say I have never owned an Ipod, but some of my favorite artists include Chimaira, Dax Riggs, Kamelot, and Pantera.

Last Book you Read? I recently finished reading "I Hate Your Guts" by comedian Jim Norton.

When I go out for a meal my go to menu choice is.... chicken tenders and/or fingers.

One thing people don't know about me...professional wrestling is my favorite sport to watch. I have watched regularly for the past 16 years.

Guilford Elementary School K-Kids Club Charters

By: Heather Talbert, DAK SLP Chair and Immediate Past President

Over 80 came together to celebrate and recognize the chartering of the new K-Kids Club at Guilford Elementary School on January 13th. Under the guidance of Faculty Advisors Karen Thompson and Valerie Wade, plus Kiwanis Advisors Beryl Young and Heather Talbert, 20 students were inducted as charter members of the club during a night of celebration which included a slideshow of the recent events the club has participated in.

The evening started off with a complete pasta dinner donated by Mimi’s Café, Bottom Dollar and Crown Plaza Herndon. It included words of wisdom by Guilford Principal David Stewart who gave gifts to the officers and had proud parents witnessing each member receive their member pin and certificate plus take the K-Kids oath administered by DAK SLP Chair Heather Talbert. It was truly a night to remember for the students.

The club has more events planned as we get closer to the spring including a school beautification/landscaping project that got a boost from us as their Kiwanis sponsor with a nice gift to help their efforts. We look for more good things from this club in the future.

Why Do You Serve?

By: Beryl Young, Dulles Area Kiwanis President

Those of us in Kiwanis have joined because we all believe in the Kiwanis mission of "Serving the Children of the World". However, our reasons for doing service in the first place are varied and fortunately being a member of such a new chapter of Kiwanis give us the unique opportunity to define and develop our role in the local community. We decide the projects that will give us the most enjoyment and provide the most benefit.

Service is a very personal thing. Some serve to benefit a specific cause that is meaningful to them. Others serve because it's "the right thing to do". And then there are those who serve for the social rewards they reap. There are many other reasons to serve, but the most important part is that it is fulfilling to the individual doing the service.

So I ask you this week, why do you serve? At what age did you begin doing community service? What kinds of projects are most meaningful to you? If you are in Kiwanis, how can we make your experience more powerful? If you are not in Kiwanis, what would make you drop everything on a lazy weekend or busy weekday and serve?

As the Dulles Area Kiwanis continues to grow, build, adapt and take on projects that allow us to make our community the best it can be it is your answers that will help us chart our path and create a meaningful experience for those who serve with us .