In the late 1980s, it was not customary for women to be a part of Kiwanis Clubs, but once bylaws were changed, Terry Kunze said she held her ground, stuck around and became the fifth woman to join the Kiwanis Club of Joliet.
“She helped pave the way for the rest of us, meaning women, after Kiwanis International changed its bylaws in 1988 to provide admission for women in Kiwanis,” fellow Kiwanis Club of Joliet member Karla Guseman said.
In 2006, Kunze was elected president of the club. It was through that position that she learned of another group, Aktion Club.
Kunze worked for Trinity Services, a service provider for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health needs. She also had a daughter with a disability. Therefore, she was determined to start an Aktion Club in Joliet.
Aktion Clubs within the Kiwanis organization are clubs for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Kunze said. She said she knew it would be a good way for others to see people with disabilities differently and be more aware of their needs in the community. The club mimicked the Kiwanis Club, as it allowed these individuals opportunities to be active members of society.
“I saw the need for the club because as people with disabilities graduate out of the school system at age 22, they no longer receive services. There are agencies, but the need is so huge, and state funding has not yet matched the need,” Kunze said. “I know a lot of people with disabilities are sitting at home, and they lose skills they developed over the years in school, so the Aktion Club gives them somewhere to go.”
The Aktion Angels of Joliet club meets twice per month or more for social activity and community service events. But Kunze did not stop there; she decided to move into the high schools in Joliet.
She created the Transition in Aktion of Joliet, a club within the transition programs in the high schools, with combined projects with the adult Aktion Angels of Joliet. This creates a seamless transition after graduation, and the former students move into the adult club.
The groups accomplished activities such as Feed My Starving Children, Northern Illinois Food Bank, social events, planting flowers at Bicentennial Park and more.
Kunze went even further and became an administrator of the Aktion Clubs in the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District of Kiwanis, where she travels throughout the states and starts new Aktion Clubs. One town wanted an Aktion Club and did not have a Kiwanis chapter, so one was created in order to host the Aktion Club.
“Working with disabled people, I see the joy they find in it,” Kunze said.
Kunze said she cares for her daughter with a disability, but she herself has Multiple Sclerosis with varied times of strength and energy levels. When asked what keeps her going, she responded, “I don’t know; only thing I can think of is it’s a miracle. It’s my faith, a prayer, before I do anything I take it to the Lord, and he’s taken me this far. I also have a wonderful support system in my husband.”
Guseman, who described Kunze as caring, genuine and a leader and advocate, said Kunze does not know how to say no, and she makes sure each event goes off without a hitch in order to better the lives of the 130 Aktion Club members in Joliet.
“She’s an everyday hero because she is aware of what people with disabilities are up against, and makes sure to have safe place in the world (for them) and helps them to become productive members of society,” Guseman said.