Fellowship & Service

Kiwanis offers an opportunity for personal involvement in the leadership and improvement of the community, the nation and the world. While community service is what Kiwanians are known for, their club offers much more. Meetings and projects provide fellowship - fellowship that is sincere and lasting.

Since its founding in 1915, Kiwanis has grown to about 8,000 clubs in 96 nations, with more than 260,000 adult and 320,000 youth members.

In Malaysia, there are 53 Kiwanis clubs across the country, with more than 1,400 members. The first club, the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur was chartered in 1976 by the then returning Ambassador to the US, "Bapak Kiwanis" Tan Sri Khir Johari.

Kiwanians are engaged in a variety of industries, commerce and profession. They are corporate officers, businessmen, professionals, and homemakers. They are young individuals embarking on careers, successful executives, and active retirees.

What Kiwanis Offers the Active Individual:

• Insight into issues affecting the local and global community.

• An opportunity to expand business, professional and social networking.

• An arena in which to develop and use leadership skills.

What does the name "Kiwanis" means?

The name "Kiwanis" stems from an American Indian phrase which, roughly translated, means "to express one's self".

The Motto of Kiwanis is : "Serving the Children of the World"

How to contact Kiwanis?

To know more about Kiwanis, to join as a Member, or to find out how you can contribute for the benefit of your community, please call any of the Kiwanis clubs listed in this website.

"Kiwanians achieve together what an individual cannot accomplish alone".

Quick Facts

History
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.

Motto
"Serving the Children of the World"

Number of clubs and members
There are more than 8,000 Kiwanis clubs with more than 260,000 adult members in 96 nations and geographic areas.

Type of membership
Active or retired business and professional men and women.

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.

Women in Kiwanis
Membership was opened to women in 1987. There are now more than 51,000 women members, and 1 in 7 club presidents is a woman.

Kiwanis youth organizations
Kiwanis also plays a special role in developing future generations of leaders. K-Kids clubs at the elementary school level, Builders Clubs in middle school and junior highs, Key Clubs in high schools, and Circle K clubs at the collegiate level all are Kiwanis organizations that teach community service and leadership skills to young people. In addition, Aktion Clubs are made up of adults with mental and physical disabilities who enthusiastically perform service to help others.

Circle K International has 10,800 members on 560 university and college campuses; Key Club International has 250,000 members in 4,574 high schools; and Builders Clubs have been organized in 2,000 junior high and middle schools.

Kiwanis service
In one year, Kiwanis clubs sponsored 150,000 service projects. To do so, Kiwanians raised and spent almost USD 107 million and contributed 6.2 million hours of volunteer time in the communities around 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. 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 USD 80 million campaign in partnership with UNICEF to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders by the year 2000. Iodine deficiency is rare in areas where iondized 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. But, because of Kiwanis’ efforts, many parents who have been affected by IDD are able to watch their children grow up healthy and reach their full physical and mental potential. The results of the IDD program will benefit every future generation.