Kiwanis Club launches match challenge with Children’s Guardian Fund

The Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key hopes to make a $10,000 donation to Children’s Guardian Fund into $20,000 with a challenge in which they’ll match any donation made in their name. 

From now until the date $10,000 in donations is reached, any donations that mention Longboat’s Kiwanis Club will be matched, and all funds will go towards tutoring for the foster children in Children’s Guardian Fund’s care. 

“It’s a great combination of helping kids in need with the education component of tutoring so they can catch up in school and … have an opportunity to get to a point where they can even get a scholarship,” Longboat Key Kiwanis Foundation President Bob Gault said. “So Children’s Guardian Fund is a perfect match for what our mission statement is.”

Longboat’s club has long focused on education, offering scholarships throughout the years, so helping children in unstable circumstances get a solid grip on schooling aligns with its goals. It costs about $1,000 to get a child professional tutoring for six months, Children’s Guardian Fund executive director Svetlana Kaminsky said, so if the match program goes as they hope, 20 children will receive professional tutoring. 

“We’re hoping to make the most impact with the funds we can give them,” club President Lynn Larson said. “It’s money well spent to make a big difference in the lives of children for years to come.”

Children in foster care often get moved from place to place, sometimes from traumatic situations, so it’s difficult to keep up with schoolwork. Professional tutoring affords them a chance to get a grip on school, because the tutor can focus on them them and their needs. 

Kiwanis’ match challenge is in lieu of the annual Kiwanis Foundation Lawn Party, the longstanding philanthropic event that drives the bulk of the club’s fundraising for the year. Last year, the event was on Dec. 7 and all proceeds went to benefit All-Star Children Foundation in Sarasota, another organization that benefits local children in foster care. Because of the pandemic, it was not possible to host the huge function this year, which drew 700 attendees in 2019. Gault said he hopes those who attended in 2019 will continue the charitable tradition with a donation this year instead. 

“It’s kind of a virtual Kiwanis Lawn Party,” Gault said. “We’re trying to carry on the tradition, but do it virtually, but next year we will be back with a great party.”