Aktion Club Looks to Give Back to the Community

The SEASPAR Aktion Club provides a unique and powerful opportunity to adults with disabilities. Making it distinctive is the fact that the members, all of whom have some degree of disability, are in the position of providing service rather than being on the receiving end.

“Lots of times people do things for people with disabilities, but they don’t get a chance to participate and give back, which I think is very important,” said Nancy Brown, the mother of a young woman who is an Aktion Club member.

The Aktion Club, which is part of the International Kiwanis organization, has more than 200 chapters in seven countries with a total of approximately 9,000 members worldwide. It was first conceived and tested in 1987, and became an official service leadership initiative in 2000.

South East Association for Special Parks and Recreation (SEASPAR), which is located in Downers Grove, provides programs and recreational activities for individuals with disabilities. Susan Friend, who is both executive director of SEASPAR and a member of Kiwanis, decided to kick-start the local club in 2006.

The Downers Grove and Lombard Kiwanis Club sponsor and provide mentors for the Aktion Club, which operates through SEASPAR. “We selected individuals who we thought would work well together," Friend said. "We sent out invitations to individuals who could do community service with minimal supervision and from there, it took off.”

SEASPAR Aktion Club has business meetings twice monthly.  The meetings clearly reflect one of the defining objectives of Kiwanis International, which is to develop leadership. “That’s what our local Aktion clubbers are learning, how to lead a meeting and make decisions together,” Friend said.

Holding an office in SEASPAR Aktion Club is so desirable, that additional slots were created in order to further encourage members to seek leadership roles.  JoAnn Adamski of Downers Grove, who is serving her second year as president, recalled when she first learned about the club.

“Susan (Friend) invited some of the people from SEASPAR who she thought could be trusted. I was happy and thrilled to be part of it, to help out the community and to give back to them,” Adamski said. Serving as president has helped her to develop leadership skills. “It’s very important and good to get this experience of listening to ideas and helping decide what to do.”

Aktion Club members decide which charities are to become beneficiaries of their fundraising efforts. “In past year’s they’ve selected Ronald McDonald House and St. Jude’s,” said Friend. “This year we talked about local groups in need. They’ve collected a lot of items for Operation Support Our Troops in Illinois, and have determined they’d like to donate a large portion of proceeds. PADS will also get money as will local food pantries, and Senior Home Sharing.”

The club members also decide on, and then coordinate, their projects and events.  Service projects of the Aktion Club have or will include “planting flowers, reading to children, spring clean-ups, making cards for Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day, and more," Adamski said. "Those are ideas we’ve thrown out there. We hope we get to do them. That’s really what we’re hoping for.” A recent fundraising dance, which included a neighboring Aktion Club, raised more than $1,200 for local charities.

In addition to operating their own service projects, the Aktion Club will support the local Kiwanis Clubs with theirs. “We’ve signed up to help them with Peanut Day, ring a bell for the Salvation Army, and help with the House Walk,” Adamski said.

“They like having their own club and making decisions and that’s certainly a terrific attribute of the club,” Friend said. “A lot of these young adults aren’t in a position to make big decisions in their lives. In this environment, they all vote, get to speak and get to be heard. Everyone is respected and they’re all making a difference in other peoples’ lives. They love to do things that make a difference in other peoples’ lives. Their hearts are big.”

In addition to service projects, the Aktion Club members participate in popular international speech, poster and scrapbooking contests.  “These are voluntary," said Friend. "We thought that we wanted to push our guys to see what they could do. We have an amazing record with this. We’ve even had an international speech winner three of the five years. They’re judged with those from all over the world.  It’s just amazing that we have knocked off the competition for five years. Shoot, I’m bragging about it. They’ve been superb.”

This year Darien resident and Aktion Club member placed first in  the International level of the speech competition, addressing the theme “How Are You a Hero in Your Community.” 

 “I talked a little bit about what a hero is," said Brown, 25. "A hero is when you help other people and see how much they care about you.”

Brown is a national public speaker, but not all of the competitors have prior speaking experience. “At first we only had two people willing to try," Friend said. "Then each year we’ve had a few more. Three years ago we had nine enter the speech contest, and a bunch are folks who would never have spoken in public before. It’s no walk in the park. This is truly an effort.”

The population comprising the Aktion Club “has a lot to give, a lot of time, and a lot of talent," Friend said. "They need an avenue to channel this all to do good for other people. Aktion Club accomplishes that.

"They also need opportunities where they get to be leaders," she said. "Here, they get to raise money and decide how it will be given away. Those aren’t typical decisions that adults with developmental disabilities get to make. This is an important part of their lives now.”  

Friend, who has been with SEASPAR for 32 years, said that Aktion Club has been “one of the coolest and most gratifying” programs with which she’s been involved. “Watching them grow has been a joy to be part of,” she said. Friend added that the SEASPAR Aktion Club has far exceeded her initial expectations. “I wanted to form an opportunity for service, providing service to the community. But the impact that this has on individual members has been even more amazing. I have been blown away at the insight these individuals show and the ideas that they have. We can’t keep up with them,” said Friend. “They have more ideas and things that they want to do. They have so many ideas. We want to help make their ideas come to fruition.”  Since Aktion Club has surpassed her initial expectations, Friend admits that she has no idea where it will lead. “That’s the fun part.  Who knows what way they’ll sail.  They have the ideas and opportunities and they’re not afraid to pitch in and make stuff happen,” she said.