The Levittown Kiwanis Club recently presented scholarships to three students in the Levittown School District so they could attend Kiwanis' new Key Leader Program. The Key Leader Program replaces the HOBY program in which Kiwanis formerly participated.

The three students selected to receive the scholarships are MacArthur Key Club President Kristin Leverone, 1st Vice President Grace Zinnel and G.C. Tech Key Club President Rachael O'Mara. Kristin and Grace attended the Levittown Kiwanis Club's Sept. 28 meeting to receive their scholarships. Rachael was unable to attend that meeting but all three students will visit the club after the conference to tell the club what they learned.

The Key Leader Program is intended to inspire young people to achieve their personal best through service leadership. Among the themes presented at the conferences are: Personal Integrity- doing the right thing; Personal Growth-developing in mind, body, and spirit; Respect- showing consideration for self, others, and property; Building Community- developing relationships to achieve positive goals; and Pursuit of Excellence- expecting and achieving the best.

With this program, Kiwanis will be the premier provider of programs that develop competent, knowledgeable, and ethical youth and adult leaders. The program is designed to focus on teaching ethical leadership skills to teens, ages 14-16. The program is open to any student from any school.

The Levittown Key Clubbers attended the Conference in Warwick the weekend of Oct. 6-8.

While at the Sept. 28 Kiwanis Club meeting to accept their Key Leader scholarships, MacArthur Key Club President Kristin Leverone, 1st Vice President Grace Zinnel reported on some of their club's activities so far this year. With more than 500 members participating in MacArthur's Key Club this year, they have been busy. Among their activities so far this year have been, raising $186 for the Alzheimer's Foundation through the Memory Walk and helping out at the walk, selling ribbons for the Light the Night Walk, collecting items to send to the troops in Iraq and Read and Lead, a program in which they go to local elementary schools and read to the students.

Terrific Kids is a program that provides schools with a tool to reward students for special achievements that may otherwise go unnoticed. The Levittown Kiwanis Club has begun scheduling the Terrific Kids Programs in each of the elementary and middle schools in the Levittown and Island Trees Districts for the current school year.

The following are the Terrific Kids Programs that have been scheduled for the 2006-2007 school year: Thursday, Oct. 19 at 2:25 p.m. at East Broadway School, Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 9:15 a.m. at Wisdom Lane Middle School, Friday, Nov. 3 at 9:15 a.m. at Salk Middle School, Thursday, Nov. 16 at 2:25 p.m. at East Broadway School, Friday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. at M.F. Stokes School, Monday, Nov. 20 at 9:45 a.m. at Summit Lane School, Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 2:15 p.m. at Northside School.

Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time- locally, through Kiwanis club sponsored activities and programs and globally through the Kiwanis International Worldwide Service Project and other worldwide initiatives. Kiwanis members are service-minded men and women united in their commitment to and compassion for others.

Kiwanis International's continuing service focus is called "Young Children: Priority One." This program seeks to serve the special needs of young children from prenatal development to age 5 in four areas: maternal and child health; child care and development; parent education and support; and safety programs and pediatric trauma care.

The Levittown Kiwanis Club is a very active part of our local community. Levittown Kiwanis hosts food drives, sends underprivileged children to camp, gives scholarships, sponsors community events and more. If you are interested in learning more about this philanthropic organization and the good works the club does come to a meeting. Guests are welcome to attend. Levittown Kiwanis meets every Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at La Focaccia Restaurant, 70 East Village Green, Levittown, NY 11756. Telephone: 796-4461.

Look for the Kiwanis Korner in the Levittown Tribune every week.