Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.  The mission of Kiwanis is to serve the children of the world. Kiwanis was organized in Detroit, Michigan on January 21, 1915. International headquarters are in Indianapolis, Indiana. Kiwanis and its Service Leadership Programs boast a membership of more than 600,000 men, women and youth in nearly 16,000 clubs in more than 70 countries and geographic areas.  

Members of Kiwanis and its Service Leadership Programs volunteer more than 21 million hours and invest more than $113 million in their communites around the world.  

In 1994, Kiwanis launched its first Worldwide Service Project, a $75 million campaign in partnership with UNICEF to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders by year 2000.  IDD projects have been funded in 95 nations.  Kiwanis International Foundation has raised nearly $100 million to elminate IDD worldwide.