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History
THE KIWANIS CLUB OF WATERBURY
On May 17, 1922, a group of businessmen met in Waterbury, CT for the purpose of forming the Kiwanis Club of Waterbury. With the assistance of the Kiwanis Club of New Haven, approximately twenty-two citizens from greater Waterbury became charter members of the Kiwanis Club of Waterbury. In keeping with the club motto, "We Build," and its stated purpose, "Service to Youth, Community and Nation," the original group adopted its first project... assistance to needy children.
Today, the Kiwanis Club of Waterbury is composed of men and women engaged in education, government, banking, marketing, manufacturing, health services, trade, non-profit organizations, and many other fields. They are corporate officers, managers, small-business owners, lawyers, teachers, retirees and self-employed professionals. They are young individuals embarking on careers, successful executives and active retirees.
KIWANIS IN ACTION: COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Kiwanis Club of Waterbury performs community service in many ways. The primary tool which the Club uses for this purpose is the non-profit corporation known as Kiwanis Community Programs, Inc. The income of this corporation is derived from the profits of the annual Kiwanis peanut sale, pancake breakfast, interest on other investments, and profits from other fundraisers conducted throughout the year.
Kiwanis Camp
The Kiwanis Club of Waterbury has supported projects in its community for more than 80 years. The Club’s foremost service activity has been the construction, maintenance, and continued financing of the “Kiwanis Camp” for children at the reservoir in Wolcott, CT. This project is operated in conjunction with several area child service agencies. Through its generous efforts, the Kiwanis Club of Waterbury has made it possible for hundreds of children to enjoy recreational and educational activities not otherwise available to them
Activities
For more than eighty years, the Kiwanis Club of Waterbury has been involved in donating resources, talent and financial assistance to numerous community-based projects to the benefit of the citizens of Greater Waterbury and the world. The following represents only a partial list of those activities:
• The Salvation Army Kettle each December since 1960
• Scholarships to high school graduates attending college
• Waterbury Youth Service System
• Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute in Boston
• Bicycle Safety Rodeo
• “Reading is Fundamental” at Silas Bronson Library
• Food Bank of Waterbury
• Greater Waterbury Easter Seals
• Key Clubs at local high schools
• Hospital ward for disabled children
• Christmas gifts for needy children
• Iodine Deficiency Disorders
• Helipad for local hospitals
• Rainbow House of Waterbury
The Kiwanis Club of Waterbury has an outstanding record of serving its community and living up to its motto, “We Build.” If tomorrow is built on the more than seventy years of accomplishments by local Kiwanians, the future certainly looks bright for our youth, community, and nation.
WHAT IS KIWANIS?
Kiwanis was founded in Detroit, Michigan, January 21, 1915. The original name was “The Benevolent Order of Brothers.” Within a year, the name was changed to “Kiwanis,” taken from the American Indian term “Nun Keewanis,” which means roughly “Self Expression.” The purpose of the organization was to provide “community service,” a humanitarian concept from which Kiwanis has never deviated.
In 1916, Kiwanis entered Canada, thus becoming “international.” Kiwanis moved into Mexico in 1962, breaking its long-standing tradition of serving only in the United States and Canada. In July of 1987, the assembled delegates meeting at the 72nd convention voted to permit women to be sponsored for membership in Kiwanis clubs.
Kiwanis is part of a twentieth century phenomenon. The “Service Club Movement,” as it has been termed, is on of North America’s most important contributions to live in our times. There are now 9,000 Kiwanis clubs in more than 80 nations. Nearly a third of a million Kiwanians are helping to improve people’s lives on every continent.
Kiwanis offers an opportunity for personal involvement in the leadership and improvement of the community, the nation and the world. While service is what Kiwanians are known for, their club meetings and projects provide fellowship – fellowship that is sincere and lasting.
The Objectives of Kiwanis International
• To give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life.
• To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships.
• To promote the adoption and the application of higher social, business and professional standards.
• To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent aggressive, and serviceable citizenship.
• To provide, through Kiwanis clubs, a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities.
• To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism, and good will.
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