Key Club International
 |
|
| Founded | 1925 |
|---|---|
| Type | Service |
| Focus | Leadership, Character Building, Caring, and Inclusiveness |
| Location | |
| Origins | Sacramento, California, USA |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Method | Community service |
|
Members
|
270,046 (2015) |
| Owner | Kiwanis International |
|
International President
|
William Sims |
|
International Vice President
|
Minyoung Kim |
|
|
|
Revenue
|
US$4,114,151 (2011) |
| Slogan | "Caring—Our Way of Life" |
| Website | www.keyclub.org |
Key Club International, (Kiwanis Empowering Youth) founded in 1925, is the oldest and largest service program for high school students. Often referred to as simply Key Club, it is a student-led organization whose goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. Key Club International is a part of the Kiwanis International family of service-leadership programs. Many local Key Clubs are sponsored by a local Kiwanis club.
The organization was started by California State Commissioner of Schools Albert C. Olney, and vocational education teacher Frank C. Vincent, who together worked to establish the first Key Club at Sacramento High School in California, on May 7, 1925. Female students were first admitted in 1977, ten years before women were admitted to the sponsoring organization, Kiwanis International.
Key Club offers a range of services to its members: leadership development, study-abroad opportunities, vocational guidance, college scholarships, a subscription to the Key Club magazine, and liability insurance.
In 2002 Key Club officially adopted "caring, character building, inclusiveness, and leadership" as the core values of the organization.
The organization maintains partnerships with UNICEF, AYUSA Global Youth Exchange, the March of Dimes, and Children's Miracle Network Telethon. Through the partnership with UNICEF, a major initiative was launched in 1994 to address HIV/AIDS education and prevention in Kenya.
At Key Club International's first convention in 1946, the organization was given the responsibility of instituting a program that would bring together all Key Club's direct members' efforts and energies into an area that would truly make an international impact. This tradition is still followed through the development of the Major Emphasis and its Theme.
"Children: Their Future, Our Focus" is Key Club International's Major Emphasis theme. Officially, any project conducted by members or clubs that serve needy children locally or globally is considered a project of the Major Emphasis. The three preferred charities of Key Club International are paramount to the organization's success in serving children. These are the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, March of Dimes, and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Key Clubs contribute to a global organizational total of more than 12 million hours of hands-on service and millions of dollars donated to the aforementioned partners and other programs.
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Wikipedia