Kiwanis Club of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois

Kiwanis Club of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois Kiwanis Club of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois Ready to help children and families in your community? Ready to change the world? Kiwanis is ready for you!

Altogether, more than 7,000 Kiwanis clubs make Kiwanians a powerful force for serving children and changing lives. Our earliest project, starting in 1922, still continues: C-U Kiwanis annually honors the University of Illinois basketball team in what is believed to be the longest-running annual collegiate honors banquet. The welfare of our young people is not only a goal but also a reality for tho

se we serve. Over fifty years ago, early in the history of Little League baseball nationally, Champaign-Urbana Kiwanis introduced Little League to the twin cities and continues to be its sponsor today. In 1990, a new league, the Peanut League, was added to the program. The innovative Challenger League baseball program, serving those youngsters who are physically and/or mentally challenged, has been a rewarding opportunity for our members to serve the community since 1997. Young Children, Priority One has been an important local effort in carrying out a Kiwanis International program. Club activities include a child identification/safety program at Day in the Park, Spinoza Bears for chronically and critically ill children, Champaign Pre-K Program, Washington School Partner program, and Swann School. C-U Kiwanis helped establish an Arrowhead Council Boy Scout camp, which was named after a club member. The club also purchased land near Lake of the Woods for a Girl Scout camp, which bears the name Camp Kiwanis. The club has continued to offer money and volunteer hours for development and upkeep of the camp. Our sponsorship of Circle K at the college level, Key Clubs in the high schools, and Builders Clubs in the middle schools has been a continuing project. Among our many long-standing traditions is the honoring of outstanding 4-H members in the area, the recognition of retiring teachers in the Champaign-Urbana schools, and the presentation of college scholarships to outstanding high school graduates. Of at least equal, and probably more importance than these publicized projects, is the help we have given to thousands of individuals. Food and clothing have been sent to flood and other disaster areas, radio headsets were provided for TB patients, clothes and books have been given to children in need, a refrigerator secured for a needy family, hospitalization costs paid for a baby, school lunches made available for needy children. The list goes on and on. This is Kiwanis at work. This club is one of the great ones and fortunate ones. In our university community, it has had many talented people among its members. There have been mayors, publishers, coaches, prominent attorneys, musicians, legislators, leaders in business, humorists, and of course, world respected educators. This is a capsule history, leaving out many, many important parts and events. We are a team, and by working together, we hope to make the world a better place tomorrow for today's children.

Unfortunately, Tom Jones Challenger League games are cancelled for tonight, June 16th.
06/16/2026

Unfortunately, Tom Jones Challenger League games are cancelled for tonight, June 16th.

Tuesday, June 16th @ AMBUCS Park.
06/14/2026

Tuesday, June 16th @ AMBUCS Park.

Wednesday, June 24th! From 5 to 8 p.m. at the Chipotle in front of Harvest Market.
06/14/2026

Wednesday, June 24th! From 5 to 8 p.m. at the Chipotle in front of Harvest Market.

06/10/2026

🎉⚾ The season isn't over yet, Challenger League family!

We've got a BIG finish to June with exciting game days, special events, and one of our most important fundraisers of the year!

🌯 **CHIPOTLE FUNDRAISER ALERT!** 🌯

Skip cooking and support Tom Jones Challenger League at the same time! Grab dinner at Chipotle, invite your friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family, and a portion of sales will go directly back to our league to help provide incredible experiences for our athletes. More details to come!

💙 Every burrito, bowl, taco, and order helps make a difference.

Be sure to check out the June calendar for:
⚾ Remaining Game Days
🌯 Chipotle Fundraiser
🎉 League Events
📅 Important Dates

Let's pack the stands, fill Chipotle, and finish the season strong together! Thank you for supporting our athletes and helping make Challenger League a place where everyone belongs and everyone plays.

Way to go, Kiwanians! Our annual pancake breakfast on May 30th welcomed around 200 people and with the raffle we raised ...
06/03/2026

Way to go, Kiwanians! Our annual pancake breakfast on May 30th welcomed around 200 people and with the raffle we raised around $2,000. It couldn't have happened without you. Extra special thanks to Alison Dupre for her exceptional work in organizing logistics and volunteers (and still finding time to document everyone's hard work with these photos), and to Donna Kessler for her great work on a successful raffle!

05/16/2026

Special thanks to the members of Kiwanis Club of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, TJCL’s primary and founding sponsor, for providing awesome buddies this morning!

The Tom Jones Challenger League 2026 ⚾️season begins today (weather permitting)! Two games at AMBUS Park in Urbana at 6:...
05/05/2026

The Tom Jones Challenger League 2026 ⚾️season begins today (weather permitting)!
Two games at AMBUS Park in Urbana at 6:00 and 7:10 p.m.

Get ready to help out as a club THIS Saturday, May 9th!! You can assist as a buddy and help a player or help fill the stands and cheer for our teams. ⚾️
The first games begins at 8:00 with additional games at 9:10 and 10:20. You can come at any time. Please bring family members and acquaintances too to check out our club’s signature project.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

We had the great pleasure of hosting speaker Kevin Mitchell at our meeting this week. Kevin is the Director of Developme...
04/18/2026

We had the great pleasure of hosting speaker Kevin Mitchell at our meeting this week. Kevin is the Director of Development for the Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CICM). He shared some of the amazing innovations at CICM, the first fully accredited engineering-based medical school in the world. He also discussed the school’s rural outreach program, which presently impacts 8 community hospitals, as well as empathy training with regional police and fire departments.

While the information about CICM was exciting, perhaps the most inspiring part was what Kevin shared about his journey to CICM. He played on the UofI football team in the mid-aughts (including a trip to the Rose Bowl!), and the dedication and drive that he showed while he was a student athlete helped shape his career. He shared some of the opportunities that came his way because of his work ethic and didn’t shy away from discussing the opportunities that got away. Each step along the way led him to the next right thing. “Keeping your hands on the plow” and having faith are key to making dreams become reality. Good advice for kids of all ages.

Thank you for everything you shared, Kevin!

Ready or not, April is upon us. Spring brings longer days, buds to the trees, blooming flowers, warmer weather, so many ...
04/04/2026

Ready or not, April is upon us. Spring brings longer days, buds to the trees, blooming flowers, warmer weather, so many singing birds, and a bumper crop of volunteer opportunities for Kiwanians. A couple that are coming up soon are helping with parking at the Illinois Marathon (April 23-25), and assisting at our annual Pancake Breakfast (May 30).

We were pleased to welcome Claire Stewart, Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to our meeting this past Thursday. It was exciting to hear about the many library endeavors happening on campus right now.

The Kiwanis motto is “serving the children of the world.” At Thursday’s meeting we were honored to welcome two groups th...
03/21/2026

The Kiwanis motto is “serving the children of the world.” At Thursday’s meeting we were honored to welcome two groups that we proudly support. Members of the CU Kiwanis basketball team, champions of the First String 3rd-4th Grade League, joined us for lunch along with the coaching staff, parents, and other family members to celebrate their successful season. Also joining us were members and parents of the Uni High archery team. The team used a donation from our club to expand practice facilities for their inaugural 2025-26 season—much needed support after 25 kids showed up to the parent/student kick-off meeting in November.

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1408 W University Ave
Champaign, IL
61821

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