By Nicole Bole, President, Aktion Club of Janesville; Becky Green, Agency Advisor; Jim McMullen, Kiwanis Advisor
The Aktion Club of Janesville became aware of The Eliminate Project when our Kiwanis advisors, Jim McMullen and Jayme Roth, shared what they learned at their Kiwanis meeting and a Kiwanis conference. Our club was sad to learn about all the mothers and babies who are dying in other countries. It’s hard to believe that US$1.80 can make the difference between life or death for them. We learned how lucky we are to have good health care. Our club decided that we had to do something to help eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus in 34 countries around the world.
At an officer’s meeting, we brainstormed ideas on how to raise money. We decided to make and sell buttons. This would raise money while also creating more awareness of The Eliminate Project when the buttons are worn. We thought about what the buttons should look like and decided to include a picture of a mother with her child. We decided to price the buttons so that each button sold would cover the cost of materials plus a US$1.80 profit, the cost to save or protect a life. As a result, we decided to include a statement on the buttons: I saved a life. You can too.
We’ve sold these buttons to family, friends, co-workers, Kiwanians and people in our community. We’re so happy to be able to help with The Eliminate Project and we get excited when we see people wearing our buttons!