Founded in 1915, Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time. Mission
Serving the Children of the World
Company Overview
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time. How we started
An informal talk session following the annual meeting of Monroe’s Ly
ceum and chautauqua bureau directors on March 8, 1921, sparked the first interest in organizing a Kiwanis Club in Monroe. King became actively interested in the Kiwanis idea. A Kiwanis state organizer was invited to an April 19, 1921, meeting and addressed 50 business and professional leaders in the Circuit Courtroom. Thirty of those attending signed a future Kiwanians. The temporary organizing session was held April 25 at the Citizens Bank. Permanent organization was achieved May 3. Forty seven of the original 51 members attended the first luncheon program May 12, 1921 at Ruf’s Garden. The club’s first project saw members placing 100 “Monroe” signs on roads leading to the city. Harold Tuttle won the first attendance prize—500 pounds of “Ziegler coal.”
The club received its charter July 15, 1921 at the Lincoln School Gym with guests from Beloit, Freeport, Rockford, Janesville, Kenosha, and
Madison clubs. Thus the Kiwanis club of Monroe received its official baptism and eight decades of service to our community had been initiated. Objects of Kiwanis:
To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than 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, through Kiwanis Clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to 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 good will. According to the Kiwanis magazine, sponsors of the organization searching
for a name in 1915 found an Otchipew Indian expression, “Nun-Kee-wan-is,” which meant variously, “We gather together for self-expression” or “We Trade”. Webster’s New World Dictionary says the word simply means in Indian language “to make oneself known.”
The International founders decided simply upon “Kiwanis” and adopted Roe Fulkerson’s suggestion in 1920 of “We Build” as the official motto. That motto now is “Serving the Children of the World!”
Storage Building:
In addition to the Youth Cabin, Kiwanis also provides a building for youth groups to store their property. In 1963, Kiwanis built a Scout Chalet on 14th Avenue across from Twining Park as a meeting place for the Scout units they sponsored. The Palm Sunday tornado of April 11, 1965, totally destroyed it. Kiwanis, at the suggestion of Scout leaders, did not feel it advisable to rebuild the same type facility, but
in 1971 decided to build a storage building on the site. Using the cement slab from the original Chalet, the club erected the current building. It has ten separate rooms for various youth groups to store their property in one central location rather than have it scattered in members’ basements and garages. Again, use of the separately locked , organization accessible rooms is provided at no charge. Kiwanis also uses a room in the building to
store their brat stand equipment.
