By Jeanne Robinson//The Circle K International Club raised enough money to vaccinate 97 women against maternal and neonatal tetanus during their inaugural cutest baby contest held Feb. 16 – Feb. 20.

Members of the club collected donations and shared information via their board in Whitaker for the week with the baby pictures of four professors who had given their image for the fundraiser. Students and faculty “voted” for their favorite baby with any spare change or cash they had to offer, and learned of the effects of maternal and neonatal tetanus.

“It’s a way to talk to people about the cause and create awareness,” said sophomore Dana Lewis, first year CKI member.

The club raised around $175 for the project in total.

Circle K members raise contributions and awareness to combat maternal and neonatal tetanus. Photo by Jeanne Robinson.

CKI, a branch of Kiwanis International, paired with UNICEF to create The Eliminate Project. The goal of the project is to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus that is still a problem in 24 countries, according to the group’s webpage.

This is the third year of the project, said sophomore Hanna Martinez, co-president of Hood’s CKI group. With people around the world collecting money, Martinez says the hope is to have enough funds in the next five years to eliminate the disease.

Martinez first thought of Hood’s CKI hosting a cutest baby contest because she participated in a similarly successful one with her Key Club in high school, she said.

Maternal and neonatal tetanus kills one baby every 11 minutes, according to Martinez’s research. Mothers and babies get sick when the birthing process is unhygienic and tetanus gets into their systems, she said.

Symptoms of the infants include painful convulsions and extreme sensitivity to light and touch. Mothers cannot take care of their newborns, and 60,000 babies die every year, according to the project’s webpage.

Women need to receive three vaccines for protection against the bacteria. Each vaccine costs 60 cents, for a total of $1.80 needed to save the woman’s life and all of her future children’s, said Lewis.

For less than two dollars, “that’s a cup of Starbucks coffee,” Martinez said, admitting she had not heard of maternal and neonatal tetanus before the fundraiser in high school.

It costs about 90 cents to vaccinate a child, Lewis added.

On the club’s board, the babies were numbered one through four instead of having their identifying names. This was so the fundraising did not become a popularity contest among the professors, Martinez said. Voters could ask which baby was who after they had voted.

Professors Susan Ensel, Joy Ernst, Lisa Marcus and Marie Mayfield donated their baby pictures for the contest.

Sophomore Manika Panwar, biology and psychology double major, gave her money for Baby 3. She did not know anything about the project before reading what the club provided, she said.

“It’s spare change; anyone can donate a dollar,” Panwar said.

Baby 3 was Ensel, whose photo gathered the most money, according to Martinez. It was close between the four candidates, she said.

Through The Eliminate Project, maternal and neonatal tetanus is eliminated in 35 countries. The disease is still most prominent in Africa, according to the project’s webpage.

“It’s real. It doesn’t have to be that way, and you can make a difference,” said Martinez.

CKI is an organization that is dedicated to service, leadership and fellowship.

Those interested in service can join CKI meetings on alternating Mondays at 7:45 p.m. in Whitaker 220