Big Bear Valley Kiwanis Club - About Kiwanis

In 1994, Kiwanis adopted its first Worldwide Service Project, a $75 million campaign in partnership with the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). Iodine deficiency is rare in areas where iodized salt is used, but in other parts of the world, IDD is the leading cause of preventable mental and physical retardation. The fund-raising goal was exceeded in September 2001. Kiwanis-raised funds are now at work in more than 90 nations, and these IDD programs are saving millions of children per year from mental retardation.

Kiwanis Sponsored Organizations

As Kiwanis membership has grown and enthusiasm for its service ideals has spread, Kiwanis has created additional volunteer opportunities for people at every stage of life through its sponsored programs.

Circle K International: Circle K is a service club for collegians and has nearly 13,000 members on more than 500 university and college campuses in 13 nations.
Key Club International: The oldest Kiwanis sponsored-youth program is Key Club. Seventeen boys in Sacramento, California, made up the first Key Club in 1925, and today the organization is active in 20 nations and includes 4,700 clubs and 244,000 members.
Builders Club: The Builders Club program for middle school and junior high students was launched in 1975 and has grown to include more than 1,500 clubs and 44,000 members in 13 nations.
K-Kids: This organization for elementary school-age students was adopted as a sponsored program by Kiwanis in 1998. Today, 18,000 K-Kids in 500 clubs and 11 nations are actively creating opportunities for community service, leadership development, and citizenship education.
Aktion Club: In October 2000, Kiwanis extended service opportunities to adult citizens living with developmental disabilities through the formation of Aktion Clubs. These clubs provide members with opportunities to develop initiative and leadership, to serve their communities, to be integrated into society, and to demonstrate the dignity and value of citizens living with developmental disabilities. To date, there are more than 2,900 members in 125 clubs.