Young Children Priority One (YCPO) is an ongoing community service program of Kiwanis International that addresses the needs of children age 0-5. All clubs are encouraged to carry out at least two YCPO projects per calendar year, though many clubs can perform more projects serving children, families, and communities. Young Children Priority One focuses on four key areas:

• maternal and child health
• childcare and development
• parent education and support
• safety and pediatric trauma

Youth Services major focus is “Serving the Children of the World,” The Youth Services Committee approves grant applications that assist and promote the education, health, and welfare of school-aged children. The club assists over 25 local, child-related charitable organizations ranging from Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, YMCA La Jolla and Peninsula, Camp Fire USA, Community Campership, Coastal Bay Girls Softball League, Summer Bridge, Reality Changers, Voices for Children, Connor’s Cause, Monarch School and Salvation Army Youth Programs to name a few. The checks presented to these organizations go a long way toward helping children play, learn, and develop in a secure environment.

Community Services supports projects that benefit the community, including Meals on Wheels: members deliver meals and financial support is provided. The club helps with the Halloween party at the La Jolla Parks and Recreation by providing funds for the prizes. The club supports the La Jolla Community Center, and the Mt. Soledad Association for its Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day services. Every December, the club enters a float in the La Jolla Christmas parade. Beyond La Jolla, the club is proud to support the Semper fi Fund, which helps wounded soldiers and their families, and Guide On. The Kiwanis Club of La Jolla has helped Project Wildlife to provide care for injured animals and SNAP to spay and neuter animals of families that cannot afford to do so. The club has also contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Association, Braille Institute, and the ALS Association.

International Committee reaches out to the world by identifying not-for-profits in need beyond our borders. The club sponsored the Kiwanis Club of La Joya de Tijuana and has supported projects such as: Holy Innocent’s Children’s Hospital to assist in the building of a Children’s Hospital in Uganda, Africa, and La Casa de Pobres in Tijuana, Mexico, to purchase food, books, and blankets for children who live in the dumps and hills of Tijuana. In concert with the Tijuana Rotary Club, the La Jolla Club has supported an orphanage in Tijuana; the Military Outreach of the La Jolla Community Church, which supports families that have loved ones serving in Iraq and Afghanistan; and El Refugio in Tijuana, Mexico, a senior citizen facility that houses the poorest of the poor. Compassion has no boundaries. That’s why we are proud to be Kiwanians.

Scholarship Committee distributes funds that are part of the annual budget in line with Kiwanis’ philosophy of changing the world by serving children. In recent years, the club has set aside approximately $75,000 each year to support needy and deserving youth in eight schools. Graduating seniors receive scholarships for college at the following public high schools: La Jolla High School, Preuss School, San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, Monarch School, and University City High School. The club supports students who might otherwise be unable to attend two local independent schools: The Bishop’s School and Gillespie School (founded by the first president of the Kiwanis Club of La Jolla Kiwanis, Dr. Samuel Gillespie). Scholarships are granted to students with need at Muirlands Middle School so they can participate in the annual east coast trip to learn first-hand about American history.