Who we are? – Kiwanis International

"SERVING THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD" is the motto of Kiwanis International - a global organization of volunteers, dedicated to changing the world one child, one community at a time.

The name Kiwanis " Nunc Kee-wanis " means "we let ourselves be known" and is a direct translation from Otchipew, one of the native languages of North America.
Its head office is in Indianapolis, U.S.A..

Over 8000 clubs, 265000 volunteers in 96 countries - this is Kiwanis International today. At present, one of the biggest "Charities" in the world, was founded in Detroit (U.S.A.), in 1915.. Its wide range of activity focuses, first of all, on helping and the development of children and teenagers all over the world.

The strength of Kiwanis is in the joining of global and local areas of activity.

Through the clubs activities , the organization responds to the needs of local societies as well as facing international problems at the same time. Thanks to the exceptional work performed by ordinary people, new initiatives, which fulfil the dreams, save the health and lives of many people are being created every day.

One of the many projects fulfilled by Kiwanis was the collecting of US $75 million from all over the world for helping towards the elimination iodine deficiency (IDD), a condition which causes mental retardation and lowers children's ability to learn. There are thousands of smaller projects, applying to a group of children or even one child - but all of them are important.

The idea of helping children was brought to Poland in 1991, when the first club in Gdansk started its activity. At present there are 23 clubs in Poland with a total membership of about 370.
We are united with the European Federation which consists of 35000 members from every country in Europe.
In June 2007, the European Federation Convention took place in the cities of Gdansk and Sopot in Poland . About 1000 participants arrived from all over Europe, America, Asia and Africa. It was the jubilee, 40th Convention. The Honouree Patronage was taken by the President, Lech Walesa, who honoured us with his presence during the Opening Ceremony in the Forest Opera in Sopot.

Since their beginning Polish clubs have maintained the core priority of their activities as the mission of helping the youngest citizens of our country. When the Polish clubs started, they worked on their individual projects, concentrating on social help, mainly on feeding programmes and providing children from the poorest families with clothes.
At present the projects fulfilled by Kiwanis Poland comprise of the most valid fields of life, which have an influence on the condition of the young generation of Poles. They are aimed at education, health and the support of talented youngsters.

Kiwanis is not only about relieving the hardship of children. Kiwanis also means friendship, acquaintance and connections all over the world. It means help and support when it is needed.

You can find more information about us at websites:
www.kiwanis.eu or www.kiwanis-europe.org, www.kiwanis.org and www.kiwanis.pl

Contakt:

Mirosława "Mira" Harman
Governor (2008 - 2009)
Polnad D.I.F.
tel: +48 58 341 78 04
mob: +48 501 505 779
e-mail: miraharman@poczta.fm

Jacek Sobocinski
Governor (2001 - 2003)
Poland D.I.F.
tel: +48 58 554 40 24
mob: +48601544929
e-mail: j.sobocinski@neostrada.pl