FAQs
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 are 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?
Founded in Detroit, Michigan, on January 21, 1915, Kiwanis started with one club. A year later, the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton, Ontario, was chartered. Worldwide expansion began in 1962, and today Kiwanis clubs are active in every part of the world.
What is the Kiwanis Motto?
"Serving the Children of the World"
What does the name "Kiwanis" mean?
”We trade” or “we have a good time.” The expression, Nunc Keewanis, comes from an American Indian language of the Detroit area.
How many Kiwanis clubs/members are there?
About 8,000 Kiwanis clubs with more than 260,000 members in 96 nations and geographic areas.
What are Kiwanians?
Volunteers from all walks of life, united in their commitment to serve children and their communities worldwide.
What other organizations does Kiwanis sponsor?
Kiwanis International sponsors several service clubs for young people, under what is called Service Leadership Programs. These include:
- Circle K International, which has 13,000 members on 560 university and college campuses.
- Key Club International, which has 245,000 members in 4,700 high schools.
- Builders Club, which has clubs in more than 2,000 junior high and middle schools.
- K-Kids in elementary schools.
- Kiwanis Junior, for young adults in Europe.
- Aktion Club, for persons with live with disabilities.
How much community service is done by Kiwanis clubs around the world?
Annually, Kiwanis clubs sponsor 150,000 service projects, spend nearly $100 million, and contribute some 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 5. In one year, projects conducted as part of the "Young Children: Priority One" service emphasis typically involve $14.3 million and 1.3 million volunteer hours.
In 1994, Kiwanis launched its first Worldwide Service Project, a 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. The initial fundraising goal of $75 million was surpassed in 2001. IDD projects have now been funded in 100 nations.
