The Kiwanis Family
History of the Kiwanis Family
Kiwanis was founded in 1915 by Joseph C. Prance and Allen S. Browne, originating in Detroit, Michigan as a fraternal organization with health benefits. It became international in 1916 with the first Kiwanis club in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and began accepting female members in 1987.
What is Kiwanis?There wouldn't be Circle K without our sponsoring parent organization. Kiwanis is a co-educational, and volunteer-led service organization with nearly 600,000 members in clubs from all over the world. They are the origin of the "k" in Circle K as well as the dedication to service that we pride ourselves on, and while we are a self-governing organization, Kiwanis has always guided and supported us since our inception.
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Long Beach KiwanisThe direct sponsoring club of CSULB Circle K is Long Beach Kiwanis. They are located at 4500 E Pacific Coast Hwy # 300 and can be reached at (562) 881-7623. Long Beach Kiwanis has their weekly meetings every Tuesday from 12:00 PM -2:00 PM in the Grand Hotel on Willow St. and Lakewood Blvd.
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Circle K is not the only organization sponsored by Kiwanis International. Under the umbrella of the Kiwanis Family are a myriad of student-run community service groups called Student Leadership Programs, or SLPs.
Key ClubKey Club is a high school service program founded and supported by Kiwanis. It is the oldest and largest organization of its kind, with 250,000 members in 5000 clubs in 30 nations all over the world. It was founded in Sacramento in 1925.
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KiwinsKIWIN'S is a high school-based SLP like Key Club, but it operates solely within the Cal-Nev-Ha District. While KIWIN'S falls under the same umbrella as Key Club, they maintain a measure of autonomy from it and elect their own leadership.
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Other SLPOther SLP include K-Kids (for elementary schools), Builders Club (for middle schools), and Aktion Club (for the disabled). Unlike Key Club and Circle, these organizations do not elect their own officers and are led by Kiwanis advisers.
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