Just what is Kiwanis?

“Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.—Kiwanis International’s new defining statement

“Sometimes when I tell people I am a Kiwanian, they want to know if they can ride in the crazy car,” notes Bob Kress in a letter to the editor of the Olmstead Falls, Ohio, We ST LIFE newspaper with a reference to another organization renown for parading in miniature vehicles. Bob, lieutenant governor of the Ohio District’s Division 14, then uses K-I-W-A-N-I-S as an acronym to explain what Kiwanis means to him. “K,” for example, is about “kids.” (For the full text of Bob’s letter, click here.)

Bob is not the first Kiwanian faced with defining the purpose of the organization; nor will he be the last. To help him and others, the organization recently adopted an official “defining statement,” designed to give Kiwanians a succinct and meaningful way of explaining Kiwanis. The statement—published above—is being communicated around the globe to Kiwanians, who are encouraged to put it to memory and take it to heart.