During the 60th annual Pancake Festival held today at Naperville Central High School, large plastic containers on every table welcomed patrons to support a new initiative supported by the Kiwanis Club of Naperville.
Similar to their street presence during their annual Peanut Days in September, club members will take to the sidewalks on May 8-9 with small packs of pretzels in exchange for donations to help raise awareness for The Eliminate Project, an initiative focused on the need to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.
Joining forces with Kiwanis members across the globe, The Elimination Project aims to eliminate the painful disease that kills one baby every nine minutes, or about 160 newborns each day.
The Eliminate Project: Kiwanis eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus is a global campaign that will save or protect millions of mothers and newborns. The disease is typically contracted through unhygienic childbirth practices. The goal of the project is to eliminate this swift, painful and highly preventable disease by immunizing women of childbearing age, protecting them and their future babies.
“It’s really an exciting opportunity if you just think about it,” said Gary Reese, Naperville Kiwanis President. “How often do you get to help solve a worldwide problem, to really make a difference? That’s exciting. That’s satisfying.”
Kiwanis International is raising $110 million, which will ultimately protect more than 61 million women and their future babies and make Kiwanis the world’s largest single donor to MNT elimination efforts. The Kiwanis Club of Naperville has pledged to raise $65,000 of that total.
New Kiwanis ‘Pretzel Days’ May 8-9
Kiwanis members and volunteers will host a Pretzel Days fundraiser on May 8-9 at most local Jewel-Osco stores, Casey’s Foods, and the Chicago Ave. at Sleight St. intersection. Contributors will receive a “thank you” bag of Kiwanis Mini-Pretzels.
The funding supports UNICEF and its partners who have already eliminated MNT in 35 countries. With Kiwanis’ global volunteer network, along with UNICEF’s field staff and technical expertise, The Eliminate Project will serve those who live in some of the most remote and underserved areas where healthcare is limited—and wipe out this cruel, centuries-old disease.
“For $1.80 we can protect a woman and her future babies from this deadly but preventable disease,” said Stan Soderstrom, Executive Director of Kiwanis International. “We need the support of our local clubs to eliminate MNT, and with their participation, our ambitious goal is achievable.”
The Eliminate Project will also help create a path for other services, such as health education, clean water, nutrition and other vaccines.
For more info, visit www.TheEliminateProject.org.
The Eliminate Project
Kiwanis International’s Global Campaign for Children will save or protect millions of mothers and their future babies. In partnership with UNICEF, Kiwanis is eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus, a disease that kills one baby every nine minutes and a significant number of women each year. UNICEF and its partners have already eliminated MNT in 35 countries, and Kiwanis’ pledge to raise $110 million will help fund elimination of the disease in the 24 countries that remain at risk.
About Kiwanis
Founded in 1915, Kiwanis International is a global organization of members dedicated to serving the children of the world. Kiwanis and its family of clubs—including Circle K International for university students, Key Club for students age 14–18, Builders Club for students age 11–14, Kiwanis Kids for students age 6–12 and Aktion Club for adults living with disabilities—dedicate more than 18 million service hours annually to strengthen communities and serve children. The Kiwanis International family comprises nearly 600,000 adult and youth members in 80 countries and geographic areas. For more information about Kiwanis International, please visit www.kiwanis.org.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. Visit www.unicef.org or www.unicefusa.org for more information.
About global MNT elimination efforts
The MNT Elimination Initiative is an international private-public partnership that includes national governments, UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, GAVI, USAID/Immunization Basics, CDC, UNICEF National Committees, the Government of Japan, Save the Children, PATH, RMHC, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Kiwanis International, Pampers – a division of Procter & Gamble, and BD.
Information about The Elimination Project provided by Fred Jacobs, Evening Kiwanis Club of Naperville
