Kiwanis Club of Omaha Westside

Call the International Office in Indiana, 1-800-KIWANIS or go to www.Kiwanis.org on the web.

Call the District Office (501 Raider Drive, Williamsburg, IA 52361) , Tel (319) 331-9926 or email the district secretary or go to the District website to view all of the clubs in Nebraska and Iowa or view those clubs with websites in our Kiwanis links.

We participate in a number of fundraisers. See this link on the main menu of this site.

The Kiwanis Club of Omaha Westside  has 29 members. There are 295,892 Kiwanians Worldwide.

Each club has a different process. If you are already attending a club's meetings as a guest, the club can guide you on how to join. Otherwise, call the District Office (501 Raider Drive, Williamsburg, IA 52361) , Tel (319) 331-9926 or email the district secretary. They will be able to direct you to a club in your area.

A donation is always appreciated. Please see our easy PayPal donation button at the bottom of this page. We would suggest that you read the notices section prior to donating.  We would also like to know where to send an acknowledgement.

No, but we do have K-Kids (Grammar School), Builders Club (Middle School), Key Club (High School) and Circle K (College) for our youths.

Kiwanis is an organization devoted to the principle of service; to the advancement of individual, community and national welfare; and to the strengthening of international goodwill.

No, women are a big part of the organization and they hold leadership positions.

Prior to 1920, Kiwanis was a copyrighted name owned by one person, Allen Browne, and was a business organization. At the 1920 International Convention in Birmingham, Alabama, the members voted to change to a service organization.

No, but the more meetings you attend, the more benefits you will receive from your membership. There are no penalties for absence.

About 17% of the membership is women. The club hopes to narrow that gap in the  future.

• You can serve your community by working with individuals who share in your vision and passion for helping children and youth.
• You can achieve the enormous personal satisfaction that comes from contributing in a worthwhile way.
• You can enjoy the camaraderie and natural fellowship that results from mutual efforts directed toward the achievement of important goals.
• You can take pride in affiliation with an organization of hundreds of thousands of members around the world, who feel as you feel and act as you act.
• You can expand your networking opportunities and increase your sphere of influence.

As a member of our Club, you are asked to attend meetings regularly, help with club service projects and fundraising events, and find a special area of service within our club. You are encouraged to attend Kiwanis annual conventions, such as the International Convention and the Nebraska-Iowa District Convention. Ultimately, you may be asked to serve on one of our standing committees, on our Board of Directors, or as a Club officer.

Founded in 1915 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kiwanis International is a thriving organization of service- and community-minded individuals who support children and young adults around the world. There are more than  8,400 Kiwanis clubs with nearly 280,000 members in 96 nations and geographic areas  who make their mark by responding to the needs of their communities and pooling their resources to address worldwide issues. Through these efforts, Kiwanis International truly is "Serving the Children of the World."

Most Kiwanis clubs meet weekly, each club choosing the day and time of its' meeting. Usually the clubs meet for one hour during a mealtime.

Meetings are opened with a pledge of allegiance to the American flag, an invocation and sometimes a rousing song. A short businerss meeting is held. A new and interesting speaker is usually invited each week to present a lively topic during or after the meal. Fun games and/or drawings may be held for prizes. A few announcements, then a lot of fellowship round out the meetings.

Divisions of about 10-20 Kiwanis clubs hold division council meetings regularly to discuss club projects and to educate members. Kiwanis districts have 1-3 conferences each year where upwards of 600 clubs come together for education and enjoyment. Kiwanis International has at least one annual conference usually in North America but sometimes on other continents. European and Asiatic meetings are held in addition to the International meeting.

There are modest dues collected every year. In addition, most clubs use minor fund raising techniques to help cover club expenses. Public fund raisers are conducted to collect funds for providing services to children and their families around the world. A member may expect out of pocket expenses to range from nothing to several dollars per week in addition to meal costs.

In one year, Kiwanis clubs sponsored 147,000 service projects. To do so, Kiwanians raised and spent nearly $100 million and contributed 6.2 million hours of volunteer time.

Kiwanis’ current global campaign for children announced at the 95th Annual Kiwanis International Convention in June 2010, The Eliminate Project: Kiwanis eliminating maternal/neonatal tetanus, (www.TheEliminateProject.org) aims to raise $110 million and save the lives of a 129 million mothers and their future babies. In partnership with UNICEF, Kiwanis is committing by 2015 to eliminating maternal/neonatal tetanus, a disease that kills one baby every nine minutes. By targeting this disease, Kiwanis will not only save lives but also pave the way for other interventions that will boost maternal health and child survival among the poorest, most underserved women and children in the world.

Kiwanis' continuing service emphasis is called "Young Children: Priority One," which focuses on the special needs of children from prenatal development to age five. Projects conducted as part of the "Young Children: Priority One" service emphasis involved $14.3 million and 1.3 million volunteer hours.

In 1994, Kiwanis launched its first Worldwide Service Project, a $75 million campaign in partnership with UNICEF to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders by the year 2000. Iodine deficiency is rare in areas where iodized salt is used, but in other parts of the world, IDD is the leading cause of preventable mental and physical retardation. As many as 1.5 billion people are at risk, especially young children. UNICEF has reported that Kiwanis-raised funds are now at work in more than 89 nations and more than 80 million children in the developing world will be born free of iodine deficiency disorder this year.  Today, the number of households estimated to be consuming iodized salt has jumped dramatically from 20 percent in 1990 to more than 70 percent. The Kiwanis family has raised more than $80 million to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders--heralded as one of the most successful health initiatives in the world.

The first Kiwanis club was organized in Detroit, Michigan, USA on January 21, 1915. A year later the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was chartered, and Kiwanis International grew rapidly into a leading service club in these two founding nations. In 1962, worldwide expansion was approved, and today Kiwanis clubs are active in every part of the world.

The name "Kiwanis" was coined from an expression in an American Indian language of the Detroit area, "Nunc Kee-wanis," which means, "we trade" or "we share our talents."

No! At Kiwanis Club of Omaha Westside, we eccourage visitors. Prospective members receive a free meal on their first vist.

Casual dress. Be as comfortable as possible.

No, but it is easier to attend club meetings and be able to participate in service projects if you do live in the immediate area.

Kiwanis International headquarters is in Indianapolis, IN.  Clubs are then divided into Districts (Nebraska-Iowa is our District) and then into Divisions.  Kiwanis Club of Omaha Westside is part of Divsion 20.

Local clubs adhere to by-laws that are part of Kiwanis International.  Amendments to the by-laws may be proposed annually by a majority of the House of Delegates at any international convention or by a two-thirds vote of the elected leadership. Local clubs are governed by a President and a board of directors elected by the membership.

• To "give back", to contribute to the betterment of our communities
• To socialize with like-minded people
• To meet altruistic needs
• To solve a community problem
• For community impact and profile
• For the prestige of belonging
• To build networks
• To meet the the expectations of others
• The ability to make a difference in the lives of children
• Instant friends when you visit Kiwanis clubs around the USA and in 95 countries
• Learn from presentations of community leaders at meetings
• Opportunities for leadership
• That smile on a child's face when you participate

It doesn't matter what reason or combinations of reasons that people join a service club - when they join a Kiwanis Club our aim is to satisfy those needs.