History of Kiwanis

Kiwanis was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, The Janesville Kiwanis club was chartered in 1921.  Kiwanis International is a thriving organization of service and community-minded individuals who support children and young adults around the world.

More than 500,000 Kiwanis-family members in more than 80 countries make their mark by responding to the needs of their communities and pooling their resources to address worldwide issues. Through these efforts, Kiwanis International truly is "Serving the Children of the World." 

OUR MEETINGS

The Janesville Noon Kiwanis Club meets every Thursday at noon, at the Elk's Lodge, and offers an atmosphere of fun, learning, and fellowship. In addition to attending the meetings, the typical Kiwanian volunteers each month to assist with club service projects. Service projects often are linked to the Kiwanis program, "Young Children: Priority One." This initiative places continuing focus on the needs of children in pediatric trauma, safety, child care, early development, infant health, nutrition, and parenting skills.

OUR SPONSORED YOUTH PROGRAMS

Kiwanis also plays a special role in developing future generations of leaders. The Janesville Kiwanis club has sponsored the Parker High School Key Club since 1969.  The club also sponsors the Craig High School Key Club, and offers support to the UW Whitewater and UW Plattville Circle K clubs. Key Clubs and Circle K are part of the Kiwanis family for high school and college age youth.  They teach community service and leadership skills to young people.

In 2005 and 2006, the Janesville Kiwanis Club chartered a total of four K-Kids clubs at Roosevelt, Madison, Wilson and Van Buren Elementary Schools.  K-Kids is he newest club in the Kiwanis family, which now provides leadership and service opportunities for Elementary students through adults.  The Kiwanis organization is the only international service organization that can make that claim!

MORE ABOUT KIWANIS INTERNATIONAL

Guided by six permanent Objectives, Kiwanis clubs view their role within their respective communities with a great deal of foresight. Key aspects to operating an effective club include:

Evaluating both children's issues and community needs on an ongoing basis Conducting service projects to respond to those identified needs. As an example, the Janesville Kiwanis club has been conducting a "Breakfast with Santa" for special needs children in the community since 1956. 

Worldwide, the entire Kiwanis family is committed to eliminating the devastating effects of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), the world's leading preventable cause of mental retardation. More than 1.5 billion people are at risk of suffering IDD because they do not receive enough iodine in their diet. 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.

For more in-depth information on the history of  Kiwanis International please click here.