KIDS (Kiwanis In Director Support) for Riley is an exciting program to benefit the families of Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana's only comprehensive children's hospital. Coordinated by Hoosier Kiwanians, this initiative helps meet the needs of Riley families through hands-on support and service projects that benefit children at the hospital and throughout communities statewide.

Since 2000, KIDS for Riley has served as the foundation for many special projects, partnerships, and new possibilities to improve the quality of life for children and families in Indiana and nationwide.

Explore the information and links below to learn more about KIDS for Riley and what Kiwanis Club around the state can do to participate. 

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Adaptive Bike / Pedal Power
Many children with special needs cannot ride a typical two-wheeled bicycle.  Riley Hospital for Children and Hoosier Kiwanians believe that every child should have the opportunity to ride a bike.  Kiwanians work with local physical therapists to locate children that are in need of adapt-a-bikes and then help to raise the money to provide adapted bikes, which typically cost between $1000 and $1500, to Indiana children with special needs so that they can ride with their family and friends.  The Kiwanians then work to schedule a Bike Safety day to present the bike to the child and hold a safety course for the community and friends to better enable bike safety.

Please contact Tom Dunham at thdunham@aol.com for more information.

 

EMSC Pediatric Bags
Children come in all shapes and sizes.  Emergency care for a 3-year old is very different from care for a 30-year old.  To be able to successful care for children, emergency medical technicians (EMT-A) and paramedics (EMT-P) in your hometown need the appropriate education and equipment to meet a child’s unique needs.
The Kiwanis-Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Pediatric Bag Project was designed to:
• Provide responders with a color-coded bag and pediatric equipment
• Provide emergency pediatric education and training

Please contact Jim Redslob at jimredslob@embarqmail.com for more information

Injury Prevention

 

 

Riley Hospital for Children and Hoosier Kiwanians know that the best way to prevent childhood injuries is through education.  Your club can partner with police and fire agencies, emergency medical services, and other community leaders to teach children about:
• Bike Safety – Pedal Power
• Fire Safety
• Home Safety
• Water Safety
Click here for more information

Jump Kids Jump Movement ®
The Jump Kids Jump Movement® is a statewide effort to encourage kids of all ages and abilities to get more active by jumping rope. Through the Jump Kids Jump Movement, communities statewide are provided with access to a wide variety of resources to help promote interest and develop skills in jumping rope.

The Jump Kids Jump Movement®  have been led by Clarian Health in partnership with a variety of local, state, and national organizations all committee to improving the health of kids.  Partners help contribute to the movement by using means that they already have in place and assist in getting the word out to the community and beyond.  A grant from the Indiana State Department of Health led to the development of the school based curriculum.

Download the F R E E  recreation-based Jump Kids Jump Movement® curriculum. Download the free recreation-based Jump Kids Jump Movement ® curriculum (that overviews basic and more advanced jump rope skills) and give the copy to a local after school program for children or teens. The curriculum serves as a useful reference to adult leaders, mentors, and educators who convene children/teens together regularly in after school programs or alternative recreation based settings.  The Jump Kids Jump Movement ® website is:  www.jumpkidsjump.org.
Click here to downlaod an information flyer.

Please contact Deryl Denney at dldenney@msn.com for more information.


Parent Comfort Cart

We all agree that making the stay for children at Riley Hospital the very best is always first and foremost in our thoughts and actions.  We do, however, empathize with the situations that parents find themselves in when staying with their child at Riley for any period of time.  The Parent Treasure chest will be manned by Kiwanis Volunteers and will go throughout the hospital providing comfort items to parents that may need a listening ear, just a kind pick-up, or a personal item to make themselves feel just a little bit better about confronting the next moment with their child.  We are asking your support to provide items to stock the Parent Treasure Chest.  Our first collection for items will be at the 2009 Mid Year Conference.  Please encourage your clubs to bring items to help with this new “find” that we have adopted!  After the Mid Year Conference send items to the District Office.  Continue to check this website for updated lists for “items needed” for the parent cart.

Click here to download a list of items that your club can donate.  The items on this list are listed by "Need". 

Please contact Marge Crouch at margecrouch@sbcglobal.net  for more information.

 

 

Reach Out & Read
You, as a Kiwanian, have the opportunity of volunteering to read in various clinics throughout the state.  You can go to the following link (click here) to sign-up to read in a location near  your community, to donate books to a location near you and/or to sponsor a reading corner in a clinic in your community.  Once you have signed up, you will be contacted by a person from “Reach Out & Read” to help coordinate your efforts at the local site that you may have chosen to read.    There are also reading opportunities are Riley Hospital for Children.   This project links very well with our Kiwanis International long-term project of Read Around the World.
Please contact Marge Crouch at margecrouch@sbcglobal.net  for more information.

BOOKPLATES available to insert into the books being donated for Reach Out & Read.  You will need 2x4 labels with ten labels per page to print these.

Reach Out Indiana

Families of children being treated at Riley Hospital often arrive in a rush with little time to think of their needs back home.  Reach Out Indiana is an ideal way for Kiwanians to join together and create an extra level of support for families.  Volunteer as a local Reach Out Indiana Ambassador to help Riley Hospital families in your community by offering the following services:
• Transportation
• Child Care for Siblings
• Home Maintenance (cutting grass, pickup up mail, raking leaves)
• Fixing or delivering meals
• Additional family needs
 Please contact Denny Yoder at denny@unqpete.com for more information.

K.I.D.S. FORM for DRIVERS to use for Consent & Release of Liability for transporting children for Riley Hospital for Children


From time to time, we have a few stories that are great examples of how Kiwanis is helping to help in many different ways by being able to help with our "Reach Out Indiana" program.  Here area few:

From:Jami Turman

I wanted you to know that I called Denny on 3/30 at 4:00pm regarding a need for discharge transportation to Anderson for that evening for a child who was treated for severe asthma and RSV. The mother is a single parent, father was killed in some sort of accident, and grandparents could not drive to the hospital to pick up this family. The patient’s MK is still pending and the family had no family members or friends to call. To note, this mother had been at Riley for over 45 days without any visitors. Denny was able to locate a “Kiwanis leader” in the area and he tried to find a volunteer. He was unsuccessful with finding a volunteer so he personally agreed to come get this child. This patient was discharged on 3/30 around 7pm. The volunteer transported this patient, his mother, and younger sibling. I am truly appreciative of Denny and his assistance with this case. This volunteer should be praised for his dedication to the Kiwanis association and his willingness to assist a family in need. - Thank you Kiwanis!!!

Meredith-update

 

Meredith Lough works with a 15yo girl from Lafayette who has been on dialysis for over 4 years, and who had recently needed hemodialysis 3 days a week.  Riley Hospital is the only pediatric hemodialysis center in the state, and this girl’s mother was unable to drive her, because the mother did not have a driver’s license.  She is a single mother with three children who works cleaning homes.

Kiwanis members have provided transportation for this girl and her mother throughout their move from Lafayette to Indianapolis, and then back to Lafayette.  Jack and Tom from the Lafayette club continue to work closely with Meredith and the family to arrange transportation to and from Riley Hospital at least two days a week.  They even work with the mother’s schedule allowing her time to put her two other children on the bus for school.

These Kiwanis members have truly gone above and beyond to help this child and her family.  Without their dedication, there is no way that this mother could get her daughter to Riley for life saving dialysis. 

 

Ceil

 

Last Christmas, Ceil Hanley, was working with an infant that was having failure to thrive.  The mother was 17 yrs. old and caring for two other children and two siblings of her own.  They lived in Terre Haute, and were financially devastated. 

 

They were matched with a donor through Riley Hospital’s Social Work Department for Christmas presents, but had no transportation to get the gifts.  The Kiwanis club played Santa and picked up the gifts at Riley and delivered them to the family in Terre Haute the day before Christmas Eve.  Without the assistance from the Kiwanis club, this family would not have had presents.  What a great example of the holiday spirit. 

Stacey:  
A few months back, I had a family from the Evansville area that had premature twins. One twin remainded at the birth hospital and was doing well, while the other twin had a poor prognosis and came to Riley for treatment.  Kiwanis was able to set up transportation for this young Mom a few times so she could see her daughter in the NICU.  The family really struggled financially and they also only had one car.  Eventually, the "healthy" twin went home, which made it even more difficult for Mom to find rides, but Kiwanis did help out.

Sadly, our Riley twin passed away, but I'm glad that Kiwanis could help us allow Mom to see her daughter a few times before she passed away.  -Lacey Bacon Stonebraker, MSW, LSW

Stacey:
I have a family that just used Kiwanis Transport (Reach Out Indiana) today.  Medicaid was not guaranteeing them transportation for two (2) outpatient appointments today.  The last time she had used Medicaid transport the return trip was not available and she ended up needing to spend the night and have major concerns about the appropriate medical care for the patient in delaying feeding pump schedule, etc.

I called Denny Yoder yesterday to see if he could help and within thirty (30) minutes the mom had a ride scheduled for today and the appropriate type of transportation to guarantee a medically stable day for the patient and a stress-free day for mom.
-Jamie M. Rivas, MSW LSW


Volunteer Opportunities 

If you would like to give of yourself by donating time to volunteer at Riley Hospital for Children, please contact Marge Crouch at margecrouch@sbcglobal.net for more information and to discuss the exciting volunteer opportunities that Kiwanians have at Riley!