WESTPORT — Applications are being accepted for the annual grants program for local high school seniors sponsored by the Westport Kiwanis Club.

The grants are awarded to Staples High School graduates to help with their first year of college expenses. Application deadline is April 15.

Criteria include demonstrating financial need and performing “significant public service through quantifiable direct service to the community,” according to the Kiwanis announcement

Applications must include a letter of support from the agency or individuals that benefitted from a student’s service, a transcript and financial aid information. For details and to apply, check the online application.

Funding for the Kiwanis grants program and the club’s other philanthropic activities is raised, in part, by the annual Westport Kiwanis Minuteman Triathlon.

This year’s event will take place Sept. 11 at Compo Beach. For more information about the triathlon, click here.

Funds raised by the Kiwanis also recently enabled the club to make a $5,000 donation to Save the Children for its programs to support humanitarian needs of children in Ukraine.

For more information about the Westport Kiwanis Club and membership in the group, email westportkiwanis@gmail.com.