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Kiwanis FAQ
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
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
has 13,000 members on 560 college
campuses.
Key Club International
has 245,000 members in 4,700 high schools.
Builders Club
has clubs in more than 2,000 junior high and middle schools.
K-Kids
in elementary schools.
Kiwanis Junior
is for young adults in
Europe.
Aktion Club
is 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.
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Kiwanis
is a world wide service organization of men and women volunteers who share the
challenge of improving their community and world.
There are more
than 8,000 Kiwanis clubs in more than 96 nations, with nearly one
third of a million Kiwanians of different cultures helping to
improve peoples lives. 
Our members are a snapshot of our community, with members from
all walks of life and at every step of the career ladder. They are
unified in their belief that children and their communities benefit
from the efforts of a proficient group of caring and involved
volunteers. 
