Tips for SLP service partnerships

Tips for SLP service partnerships

May 18, 2026 | General interest, Service Leadership Programs, Service projects | 0 comments

Here’s how to start the discussion about other Kiwanis family members’ role in club projects. 

By Tony Knoderer

More volunteers mean more impact. That’s why new members are a priority for every Kiwanis club. But when your club is putting together a service project, another source of new volunteers might be right under your nose: Kiwanis Service Leadership Programs (SLPs).  

After all, SLP members are part of the Kiwanis family because they have a passion for service. And one of the best reasons for Kiwanis clubs to sponsor SLP clubs is to show young leaders the impact they can have.  

Start the discussion about service partnership in your club! To help get things moving, we have a few tips:  

  • Find the right fit: Which of the Kiwanis club’s service activities would be most engaging to SLP members? Which are the best fits for the relevant age groups? Ask that question to your Kiwanis club’s SLP advisors — who can then share information about those opportunities at SLP club meetings. Maybe the SLP members should vote on the one that interests them the most! 
  • Issue invitations: Create an email or card to invite SLP members to one or more activities. Include dates, times and locations of each event if you already know these details. Give the email or card to the Kiwanis advisor to send or distribute to the SLP club and collect RSVPs for the Kiwanis club. 
  • Make everyone comfortable: How much does the SLP club know about your club — and about Kiwanis? How much do you know about them? The Kiwanis advisor could talk to each group about the similarities of the two clubs. And during a Kiwanis club meeting, encourage your own members to visit the SLP’s website. (Links to each program can be found on this page.) If you’re partnering with an Aktion Club, your fellow Kiwanians might also appreciate our guidelines for working with Aktion Club members.   
  • Make volunteering with SLPs easy for your own members. Your club’s webmaster could work with the Kiwanis advisor to create a webpage that shows the service activity schedules for your SLP clubs. Post a sign-up form for Kiwanians, including the Kiwanis advisor’s contact information so people can reach out withquestions outside of club meetings. 

Service projects with more volunteers reaching farther into your community — it’s just one of many reasons to build an ongoing partnership with an SLP club. In fact, the benefits of collaboration and mentorship are a two-way street — increasing the value of all Kiwanis family clubs that work and serve together. 

Does your club have a success story based on collaboration with one or more Kiwanis SLP clubs? Email it to shareyourstory@kiwanis.org. We might share it with other Kiwanis clubs! 

Ideas for exhibits that showcase your club 

Ideas for exhibits that showcase your club 

May 15, 2026 | Club building, Fundraising, General interest, Service projects | 0 comments

Here are some ways to spruce up your space when you have a showcase at community events.

By Julie Saetre

Is your club scheduled to host an event in the community — or attend one? Make the most of your presence with a showcase exhibit. Whether you’re staffing a booth, conducting a service project or hosting a club open house, a display is an opportunity to put your club’s story in one spot. From the joy of service to the fun of fellowship, here are some ideas to make it all memorable:  

  • Picture the possibilities. Select 10 to 15 photos (depending on the size of your space and the expected crowd level). Include shots of service projects, fundraising events and fellowship activities. Enlarge the photos for more impact — and consider adding captions or brief descriptions. Choose your images carefully: Focus on children being helped or having fun (and make sure you have photo releases signed by parents or guardians), members working together and other action shots. Find more tips for getting great shots on page 7 of the Kiwanis Tips & Tools guide. 
  • Show and tell. Include items from past and present projects, gatherings and accomplishments. Examples: a T-shirt from a recent walk-a-thon or race your club sponsored, an invitation to an upcoming fundraiser, a letter of appreciation from a local official or a beneficiary of a service project. 
  • Power up. Prepare a PowerPoint or similar presentation of your club’s greatest hits. Keep each slide simple and easy to read, with one key highlight or statistic per slide. Intersperse your text slides with colorful photos (similar to the ones suggested in the first bullet point) and contact information for your club. Be sure to include slides that invite new members to join your club! 

Get the conversation started in your club! Suggest taking time at an upcoming meeting to brainstorm how a showcase exhibit can appeal to potential members. 

The two-way benefits of sponsoring SLPs

The two-way benefits of sponsoring SLPs

May 12, 2026 | Club building, General interest, Service Leadership Programs, Service projects | 0 comments

Mentorship boosts the value of clubs that provide it.

By Tony Knoderer

For a Kiwanis club, there’s no shortage of great reasons to sponsor a Kiwanis Service Leadership Program (SLP). Of course, many of those reasons involve the benefits to SLP members themselves — students in K-Kids, Builders Club, Key Club and Circle K International, as well as adults with disabilities in Aktion Club.

But SLPs also benefit the Kiwanis clubs that sponsor them.

Over the past two years, Kiwanis clubs that sponsor an SLP club are 1.5 times more likely to have grown their membership (31.5% vs. 20.9%) than clubs that don’t sponsor an SLP club. In that time, SLP-sponsoring clubs were also 6.7% less likely to have lost members.*

When discussing SLPs with your club, these key facts about retention and recruiting are worth remembering. So is every success story about club growth and leadership connected to sponsorship. 

The benefits for students
It’s no wonder that SLP sponsorship has a positive impact on a Kiwanis club’s value for its own members. By helping to fulfill a Kiwanis cause — youth leadership development — it’s the kind of mentorship that makes a noticeable impact.

Members of SLP clubs develop skills and self-discipline alongside like-minded peers. According to multiple studies, students who volunteer: 

  • Tend to get higher grades. 
  • Improve their social and emotional health. 
  • Strengthen their ties to other youth and adults. 
  • Feel connected to the larger community — and motivated to contribute to it. 
  • Develop leadership abilities that lead to better employment opportunities. 
  • Have better awareness and understanding of public issues. 
  • Get more first-hand experience of diverse cultures and communities. 

From elementary school to young adulthood, service matters — and so do mentors. For young leaders, Kiwanians model the value of a lifetime journey of service. Learn more about each program and find links on our SLPs webpage.

*Analysis based on North American clubs, 2023-25 certified membership data.