Kiwanis History

The first Kiwanis club was organized in Detroit, Michigan. The group received a charter from the state of Michigan on January 21, 1915, and this is regarded as the birth date of Kiwanis.

The first clubs were organized to promote the exchange of business among the members. However, even before the Detroit club received its state charter, the members were distributing Christmas baskets to the poor. A lively debate ensued between those who supported community service as the Kiwanis mission and those who supported the exchange of business. By 1919, the service advocates won the debate.

Kiwanis became international with the organization of the Kiwanis club of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1916. Kiwanis limited its membership to the United States and Canada until 1962, when worldwide expansion was approved. Since then, Kiwanis has spread to all inhabited continents of the globe.

Kiwanis was defined as “an organization for men” in the constitution and adopted in 1924. In 1987, after several years of debate and growing support, women’s membership received overwhelming approval.

Six Canadians have served as Kiwanis International President. The first International President elected from outside the two founding nations of the US and Canada was Ian Perdriau AM from Australia, who served in 1994-95. Eyjólfur Sigurðsson of Iceland was the 1995-96 International President, and Juan F. Torres Jr., MD, of the Philippines, was president in 2002-03.

Object of Kiwanis

The six permanent Objects of Kiwanis International were approved by Kiwanis club delegates at the 1924 Convention in Denver, Colorado. Through the succeeding decades, they have remained unchanged.

To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values of life.
To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships.
To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business, and professional standards.
To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship.
To provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities.
To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism, and goodwill.

FAQ

How/Where/When did Kiwanis begin?
What is the Kiwanis Motto?
What does the name "Kiwanis" mean?
How many Kiwanis clubs/members are there?
What is a Kiwanian?
What is the "average" Kiwanian?
Are women allowed to be Kiwanians?
What other organizations does Kiwanis sponsor?
How much community service is done by Kiwanis clubs around the world?
What does Kiwanis do on an international scale to serve the children of the world?

How/Where/When did Kiwanis begin?
The first Kiwanis club was organized in Detroit, Michigan, USA on January 21, 1915. A year later the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was chartered, and Kiwanis International grew rapidly into a leading service club in these two founding nations. In 1962, worldwide expansion was approved, and today Kiwanis clubs are active in every part of the world.

What is the Kiwanis Motto?
"We Build."

What does the name "Kiwanis" mean?
The name "Kiwanis" was coined from an expression in an American Indian language of the Detroit area, "Nunc Kee-wanis," which means, "we trade" or "we share our talents."

How many Kiwanis clubs/members are there?
There are more than 8,600 Kiwanis clubs with nearly 300,000 members in 89 nations and geographic areas.

What is a Kiwanian?
An active or retired business and professional man and woman who is member of a Kiwanis club.

What is the "average" Kiwanian?
The average Kiwanis member is 55.1 years old, a college graduate, married, and a homeowner. He or she is an owner or manager of a firm in the $25 million or less range.

Are women allowed to be Kiwanians?
Membership was opened to women in 1987. There are now more than 51,000 women members, and one in seven club presidents is a woman.

What other organizations does Kiwanis sponsor?
Kiwanis International sponsors several service clubs for young people: Circle K International has 11,000 members on 570 university and college campuses; Key Club International has 215,000 members in 4,600 high schools; and Builders Clubs have been organized in 2,000 junior high and middle schools. Other members of the Kiwanis family include K-Kids in elementary schools, young European adults in Kiwanis Junior, and Aktion Club, which involves persons with disabilities in community-service activities.

How much community service is done by Kiwanis clubs around the world?
In one year, Kiwanis clubs sponsored 147,000 service projects. To do so, Kiwanians raised and spent nearly $70 million and contributed 6.2 million hours of volunteer time.

What does Kiwanis do on an international scale to serve the children of the world?
Kiwanis' continuing service emphasis is called "Young Children: Priority One," which focuses on the special needs of children from prenatal development to age five. Projects conducted as part of the "Young Children: Priority One" service emphasis involved $14.3 million and 1.3 million volunteer hours.

In 1994, Kiwanis launched its first Worldwide Service Project, a $75 million campaign in partnership with UNICEF to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders by the year 2000. Iodine deficiency is rare in areas where iodized salt is used, but in other parts of the world, IDD is the leading cause of preventable mental and physical retardation. As many as 1.5 billion people are at risk, especially young children.