Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. Our members develop youth as leaders, build playgrounds and raise funds for pediatric research. We help shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, mentor the disadvantaged and care for the sick. Working together, members achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. And along the wa
y, club members share friendship and laughter. Kiwanis’ Service Leadership Programs provide service and leadership opportunities for young people and adults with disabilities around the world. Elementary school students Kiwanis Kids provides three programs—K-Kids, Terrific Kids and Bring Up Grades—for students ages 6 to 12. In each, children learn to plan, set goals, work with others and celebrate successes. Teens Kiwanis offers three meaningful, interactive programs that allow students to discover their own leadership potential—Builders Club, exclusively for middle and junior high school students; Key Club, the largest high school service club in the world; and Key Leader, a weekend leadership experience for students age 14–18. Young adults Circle K International is the premiere university and college service organization in the world, with clubs on more than 500 campuses in 17 nations. Adults living with disabilities Aktion Club is the only community service club that provides these members opportunities to become integrated in their communities while developing initiative and leadership skills. Global results The Eliminate Project: Kiwanis eliminating maternal/neonatal tetanus, is Kiwanis’ global campaign for children, announced in June 2010. Today in 39 countries around the world, one newborn dies every 9 minutes from tetanus. That’s equivalent to 160 newborns every single day. By partnering with UNICEF, Kiwanis will bridge the funding gap and provide 387 million vaccine doses to 129 million mothers and their future babies, effectively eliminating maternal/neonatal tetanus from the Earth by the year 2015. In its first global campaign for children, the Worldwide Service Project for IDD, Kiwanis worked to virtually eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), the leading preventable cause of mental retardation. Today, about 70 percent of the people in the developing world have access to iodized salt, and UNICEF has hailed this project as one of the greatest public health triumphs of the 20th century.
