Brief History of Kiwanis
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.
For more, see the Kiwanis History Bulletins KH1 - KH9 by clicking the
links to the left or by visiting the "Forms
and Literature Section" and choosing the "About
Kiwanis" category.
|
