Kiwanis
Kiwanis International is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization began to accept women as members. Kiwanis and its affiliated clubs have more than 600,000 members. Kiwanis clubs raise over $100 million each year and report over 18.5 million volunteer hours to strengthen communities and serve children.
Kiwanis International is a volunteer-led organization led by a Board of Trustees with 19 members, including 15 trustees, four elected officers, and an executive director. The trustees are elected for three-year terms, with five trustees being elected each year. According to the bylaws, nine trustees are elected from the US and Pacific Canada Region, one trustee from the Canada and Caribbean Region, two trustees from the European Region, two trustees from the Asia-Pacific Region, and one trustee elected "at large" from any region other than the US and Pacific Canada Region. The elected officers included : the vice president, president-elect, president and immediate past president. These officers, along with the United States and Pacific Canada Region trustees, are elected at the annual convention of Kiwanis International. All trustees and officers are unpaid volunteers. The executive director is a full-time employee who is responsible for the organization's paid staff and serves as a non-voting member of the Board.
There are seven regions in Kiwanis: Africa; Asia-Pacific; Canada and Caribbean; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; and the United States and Pacific Canada. The United States and Pacific Canada Region incorporates the 50 states of the United States as well as British Columbia and the Yukon Territory of Canada.
There are fifty-three administrative areas called districts. District boards typically consist of a governor-elect, governor, immediate-past governor, secretary, treasurer, and several trustees or lieutenant governors. Districts are further divided into service areas called divisions, comprising 5 to 20 clubs and headed by a lieutenant governor. Clubs have boards consisting of a vice president, president, immediate past president, secretary, treasurer, and typically about five directors. At both the district and club level, the secretary/treasurer may be combined by one person and may be a volunteer or a paid employee; all other positions are unpaid.
Etymology
The name “Kiwanis” was coined from the Ojibwe language expression derived from the word giiwanizi meaning to "fool around": ningiiwaniz, which is found in the Baraga Dictionary as "nin Kiwanis", meaning "I make noise; I am foolish and wanton" or "I play with noise". Although Random House Dictionary states that it comes from one of the Algonquian languages and means "to make oneself known", in Ojibwe and other related Algonquian languages, this expression would be gikendami'idizo. Whatever the original meaning may be, the organization's founders translated it as "We Build", which eventually became a motto of Kiwanis. In 2005 the organization chose a new motto, "Serving the Children of the World". Members of the club are called Kiwanians.Ideals
Defining statement
"Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time."Motto
Kiwanis' motto is "Serving the Children of the World." The original motto was "We Trade". A new motto of "We Build" was adopted during the 1920 International Convention and represented Kiwanis for more than 80 years.Objectives
The six permanent Objectives of Kiwanis International were approved by Kiwanis club delegates at the 1924 Convention in Denver, Colorado.- 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, 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
History
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.
The original purpose of Kiwanis was to exchange business between members and to serve the poor. The debate as to whether to focus on networking or service was resolved in 1919, when Kiwanis adopted a service-focused mission. In 1924, the Objects of Kiwanis were adopted and remain unchanged today.
Each year, clubs sponsor nearly 150,000 service projects, complete more than 18.5 million hours in volunteer service and raise more than $100 million. As a global project in coordination with UNICEF, members and clubs contributed more than $80 million toward the global elimination of iodine deficiency disorders, the leading preventable cause of intellectual disability. Beginning in 2010 Kiwanis International joined with UNICEF to launch a new worldwide health initiative, The Eliminate Project, dedicated to wiping out maternal and neonatal tetanus, which kills more than 100,000 babies worldwide each year.
Until 1987 the organization accepted only men as members. By action of the International Convention in 1987, the rules were changed to admit women as well. Women constitute about 26% of total members. At the 2013 International Convention, Sue Petrisin was elected as the organization's first female international vice president. She became the first female president of Kiwanis in 2015, which made her the first woman to lead any international service organization.
Service
Kiwanis clubs decide for themselves what projects to do in their community, based on their own community's needs and their members' interests. Service to children is a primary focus in Kiwanis. Clubs are encouraged to conduct a community survey each year to determine what unmet needs exist in their community. In some cases, clubs in a geographic region may take on a project of shared interest, such as paediatric trauma, or children's cancer.Service may be provided directly or through raising funds in the community to meet a community need. Common fund-raising events include breakfast such as pancake feeds, peanut sales, or food concessions. Areas of service may include assistance to those living in poverty, projects that benefit children and youth, and services for the sick or elderly.
As a global project in coordination with UNICEF, members and clubs contributed more than $80 million toward the global elimination of iodine deficiency disorders, the leading preventable cause of intellectual disability. Beginning in 2010 Kiwanis International once again joined with UNICEF to launch a new worldwide health initiative, dedicated to wiping out maternal and neonatal tetanus, which kills more than 50,000 babies and a significant number of women each year. The clubs are known for the "Kiwanis doll". Kiwanis dolls are simple white fabric dolls which is distributed to children and allows the children to color them in to represent themselves or someone else.
In 2007, the charitable financial arm, Kiwanis International Foundation, was awarded the top rating by an independent evaluator.