About the K-Family

Kiwanis International was founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. The organization was originally called the Supreme Lodge Benevolent Order of Brothers. A year later, the name changed to Kiwanis, which was selected by the organization’s founders based on their understanding that the word was translatable to “we build” from the Algonquian Native American language family. That same year, Kiwanis became an international organization with the founding of the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Initially focused on business networking, the organization changed its focus to service in 1919 — specifically service to children. Over the years, more clubs were created in the U.S. and Canada, and worldwide expansion was ultimately approved in the 1960s. Today, there are Kiwanis clubs in nearly 80 nations and geographic locations. The K-Family includes K-Kids, Builders Club, Key Club, Kiwanis Club,  and more, allowing people of all kinds to join and help people in need. Each year the K-Family devotes more than 18.5 million hours of community service and gathers more than $100,000,000 for both local and global causes.