The Geneseo organization Circle K (pictured above) participates in various service and volunteer projects. Members recently raised money to help children in local foster systems, aiming to provide them with a happier lifestyle (Xavier Delcid / photo editor).
Circle K is an international volunteer and service organization under the umbrella of Kiwanis International; Geneseo’s branch of this service organization is student-run. The group’s mission is to serve the campus and the broader community to help those in need, and in the process foster a lifelong commitment to service among members. Circle K members seek to help the community in any way possible, and they are always looking for new ways to make an impact.
Recently, the organization held a table in the Union, selling stickers to help children in the foster care system. The organization they helped raise money for is Comfort Cases. The founder, Rob Chasteen-Scheer, began this non-profit. He was both a child in the foster system and a foster parent. Scheer said that children in this system could only bring so many of their own belongings with them as they switched homes. The Circle K organization commented on their initiative through an email interview.
“This story really resonated with us and we felt it was a great cause. We had never done any projects to help children in the foster system and hadn’t heard of any organization on campus that was doing so either,” biology major senior and Circle K President Christina Waite said. “We decided it would be a great new way to make an impact and help a group of people we had not reached before.”
This non-profit replaces trash bags with backpacks filled with pajamas, stuffed animals, coloring books and anything else that would communicate to a child that they matter.
In addition, in order to make a greater impact in the more local community, the members decided to send their “comfort cases” to neighboring communities.
“We decided to donate our ‘comfort cases’ to local communities [Erie County in 2018 and Livingston County in 2019 and 2020], rather than through the Comfort Cases organization so as to have greater impact in the local community, and give back to the region that has housed us during our college careers,” Waite said. “This project aligns with the Circle K mission to help those in need and make an impact on the community.”
Circle K achieved great success, as they had to restock their stickers twice in order to sell more to Geneseo students and faculty. The profit they made in sales is going towards purchasing new comfort cases for children in the nearby county.
“Our fundraiser was very successful—we nearly sold out of our initial 200-unit sticker pack within a few hours on the first day of sales. We had to restock twice and, ultimately, raised over $250,” Waite said. “This will go such a long way in purchasing comfort items and backpacks for kids in Livingston County, and we would like to thank everyone who purchased a sticker in support!”
The Circle K Geneseo organization acknowledges and thanks all community members who supported them in this important cause. They also emphasize that they are always welcoming of new members, whether for their weekly meetings or service and volunteer projects.