Kiwanis Club of Riverside has supported Longfellow Elementary for over 35 years and continues to provide continuous support into the future. As our adopted school the Club is providing the children with:

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Shoes: the Club has provided hundreds of pairs of shoes to students in need. Every year students are selected by the schools administration and the Club provides shoes for each one.

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Pajamas: Every year the school has a “Polar Express” day and the kids dress in pajamas for school. Many kids don’t have pajamas and the Club steps in to provide those kids with a pair so they don’t feel left out.  This has a significant impact on their well being and social life.

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Socks: Shoes require socks. They go hand in foot, so to speak so the Club provides socks to kids that have been identified as needing socks.

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Bicycles: The Club partners with the City of Riverside and the Riverside Community Health Foundation to provide a bicycle to every 4th grade student. The Club also provides a bike for every student with a perfect attendance. Each year the Club achieves this goal with hard work behind the scenes.

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Pumpkins: Each year the school has a Fall Festival, usually right after Halloween. The Club usually provides between 30 to 50 pumpkins that are used to decorate the event and then are given away at the end. This is exciting for the families and the kids alike.

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Books: The Club donates a children’s book in the name of each speaker we have at our weekly meetings. Over 35 years of book donations!!

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Christmas: Each year the Club supports families in need by partnering with the Salvation Army in Riverside. The school administration selects families that are both in need and with children that may not get a gift. The club donates money and members contribute time to provide those families with food and children’s gifts. The Club members are also bell ringers around various stations in the city.  This symbiotic relationship has streamlined our giving by arranging food and gifts suited to a particular family. 

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Spring Festival: Club members donate to help with things like piñatas and other items for the kids celebration of Spring.

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Calming Room: The club has sponsored a Calming Room on campus. This is a new concept devised by the Principal wherein kids that are acting up, either from something happening at school or acting out because of something happening at home, are allowed to find some quiet and respite without being thrown into a formal adult setting that could prevent them from talking about the trouble with a counselor. This unique concept has been successful in other districts, but this is a first for the Riverside School District. Structured to explore problems rather than immediately punish kids the Club is instrumental in providing furnishings for the room.

 

K-Kids:  K-Kids is the division of Kiwanis geared to elementary school children. The Club sponsors the K-Kids Club on campus. A teacher is an advisor to the group and the group operates much like any Kiwanis Club with a President, Secretary and Treasurer. They explore leadership tasks and perform service projects either on campus or outside of school. Our Club also sponsors a K-Kids Club on the Ina Arbuckle campus in the Jurupa Valley School District.

 

 

 

 In the distant past the Club has:

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1990’s era - Dental Screening – Kiwanian Dentists  provided a free exam on approximately 900 students and provided them with toothbrushes and miscellaneous dental supplies.

· 1990’s – present -- Food Drives – Each Christmas the club collects and distributes food baskets to families that over themany years amounted to about 8 tons of food. Plus, we maintain a food cupboard at the school throughout the year to assure our students do not experience hunger during the year.

· 1990’s – 2000’s - We collected and distributed over 1,000 Gifts to needy students at Christmas.

· 1990’s -2000’s - We have painted a map of the United States on the playground to help with geography lessons.

· 1990’s 2000’s - We provided musical instruments so a music class could be started and supplement the purchase of additional instruments. 
· 1990’s 2000’s - We helped start a Cub Scout and Brownie Troop at the school and make uniforms available to those children that can’t afford one. 

· 1990-2010’s Club members have read to the youngest students on a weekly basis.

· 1990’s 2010’s - We have installed new playground equipment.

· 1990’s – present We have provided and continue to provide sports equipment and playground aids.

· 2000’s – present - We established and funded innovative pre-school and after school program which has become a State funded, district wide success.

2010’s – 2024 - We furnished good used and new bikes as awards for perfect attendance.

2010’s – 2025 We donated hundreds of shoes, socks, clothes, backpacks and school supplies

2010’s – 2025 We donated hundreds of books to the Longfellow school library.