Reasons to join Kiwanis

Reasons to join Kiwanis

Here’s why people become members, from personal impact to benefits and support.

By Tony Knoderer

Kiwanis membership is a way to serve kids and improve communities — which makes every Kiwanis club a chance to change children’s lives. But it’s also a place to change your own.  

Whether you’re looking for reasons to join or you’re a current member who wants to share Kiwanis with someone else, here are some factors that make being a Kiwanian a rewarding experience:   

  • Meaningful impact. Kiwanis empowers you to make a tangible difference in your community.   
  • Personal growth. Membership is a way to enhance your skills and self-confidence — with opportunities for leadership development, public speaking and project management.  
  • Global connection. The Kiwanis family is a worldwide network of like-minded individuals. Membership fosters friendships, collaborations and cross-cultural experiences.  
  • A sense of belonging. Through shared service, Kiwanis clubs offer a sense of camaraderie to their members. In fact, the Kiwanis experience often leads to lifelong friendships. 

In addition to the rewards of volunteer service, Kiwanis membership also results in specific benefits and opportunities:  

  • Partnerships and discounts. Thanks to Kiwanis International’s partnerships with various companies and organizations, members get benefits. For example, our member-discount portal makes great deals available on everything from travel to electronics — and more. 
  • Kiwanis Amplify. This optional online course helps you amplify your skills in ways that resonate even beyond your club. With specific topics and expert speakers both inside and outside the organization, participants work through the material at their own pace and interact with each other in online discussions. 
  • Blog posts and podcasts. Kiwanis International’s blog page is a handy place to find the latest news, success stories and more — including video podcasts featuring Kiwanis members and staff. Our podcast episodes are also available in audio. 
  • Support and training. Kiwanis International provides resources, learning opportunities and more. For example, Kiwanis Engage is a member-exclusive online platform that makes it easier for Kiwanians to connect and collaborate. We also offer clubs a free, easy-to-use service to set up a website. And our teams in Member Services and Information Technology are available to answer questions, provide training and other helpful services. 

Of course, there’s also the information and support we provide all around this website. Whether you’re a member or thinking about becoming one, kiwanis.org is an excellent guide to Kiwanis International — who we are, what we do and more. 

Family teamwork produces a new club

Family teamwork produces a new club

In Iceland, a longtime Kiwanian worked with his daughters to open a club.

By Guðlaugur “Gulli” Kristjánsson

The 2024-25 governor of the Iceland-Faroes District, Guðlaugur “Gulli” Kristjánsson (pictured above, right) joined Kiwanis in 1982. Over the next decade, his family grew with the births of three daughters — who are now the leaders of the Kiwanis Club of Hera in Iceland. We asked Kristjánsson, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Eldey, in Kopavogur, Iceland, to share his experience working to open a club with family members. 

Our district, like many Kiwanis districts, had drifted away from renewing our clubs by bringing in new members. The average age here had become way too high. My goal (as governor) was, among other things, to start a club with young members. When preparations began in December 2023, my daughters saw me looking at the various options, and they sat down with me one evening.  

They have all grown up in the Kiwanis spirit. They were involved with helping in local projects in one way or another, and in the fundraising campaign against maternal and neonatal tetanus. 

The eldest, Hildur, asked me whether she could be president of this new club if it became a reality, while Thorunn, my middle daughter, was prepared to be president-elect. Our youngest daughter, Hulda, was 17 at the time and had attended the Young Kiwanis Summit organized that year by Kiwanis International Europe.  

The task became much simpler with them by my side. All three of them have a lot of organizational ability, are very imaginative and really fun to work with. Soon, all three were immersed in the preparatory work — and by the fall, the group had grown to 15 enthusiastic young women. 

There were 19 members of the Kiwanis Club of Hera by the time of the introductory meeting on November 30, 2024. The average age was 37. Since then, four more have been added. And one person in this group is the mother of someone who was already in the club! 

In this club, there are pilots, flight attendants, kindergarten teachers, bankers and more — a wide range and a fun, cohesive group.  

I recommend talking to people who have been raised in a family of Kiwanis members about opening a Kiwanis club. It all starts by asking. 

Kiwanis Amplify to return in 2025

Kiwanis Amplify to return in 2025

Two Kiwanians stand as examples of the program’s impact on personal and professional leadership. 

By Tony Knoderer

In 2025, Kiwanis International will again offer Kiwanis Amplify — a leadership program for those who want to improve their ability to lead a team within Kiwanis and beyond. Registration will open in January. Kiwanis Amplify is an online course featuring interactive modules led by experts, with peer discussion that helps participants enhance each other’s understanding

Participants will take a deep dive into eight topics:  

  • Leadership. 
  • Communication. 
  • Event planning. 
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion. 
  • Working with others. 
  • Marketing.  
  • Strategic thinking.  
  • Self-care as a leader. 

Participants can work through the course at their own pace to earn a certificate of completion. 

Two members at a crossroads
When Kiwanis Amplify launched in 2021, two Kiwanians — Angelo Ciardella and Cynthia Blackman — were at a crossroads. Blackman was adjusting to service as her division’s lieutenant governor during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ciardella was completing his nursing degree. Both found what they were looking for in the inaugural Kiwanis Amplify class. 

Ciardella, current lieutenant governor of Division 3 of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District, was impressed with the quality of the training material, but also with the depth and breadth of the topics. 

“I absolutely loved that the trainings did not focus on Kiwanis at all,” he says, “[but] rather the themes and skills needed to be a successful leader in life, which translate to our service journeys in Kiwanis.” 

Blackman, now governor-elect of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District, says the program “forced me to re-evaluate my perspective on being intentional with inclusive leadership and not being afraid to fail as a leader.” 

The skills that resonated most with Ciardella and Blackman were those they could apply to their personal growth. 

“Being given permission to fail was something that I needed to hear so badly at that time in my life,” Ciardella says. “The rigors of university, moving up in leadership in my club and that little thing called the pandemic were really causing me to be down on myself.” 

For Blackman, self-care was the big takeaway. “Oftentimes as a leader,” she says, “we place others before ourselves.” 

Professional impact
Ciardella and Blackman found that Kiwanis Amplify helped their careers. Ciardella partially attributes his job as a nurse at one of North America’s leading hospitals to Kiwanis Amplify. 

“The program helped me hone my leadership and communication skills, setting me above others in my industry,” he says. “Teamwork, communication, DEI, strategic thinking — these themes are so relevant in my work, and Kiwanis Amplify has helped me excel in these areas.” 

For Blackman, the program was a guide toward greater effectiveness in giving presentations — and in engaging with large groups of all kinds. 

“Kiwanis Amplify gave me the tools to adjust my leadership style at the office to one where I was more inspirational,” she says. “The [communication] module enhanced my presentation style and instilled confidence in me that allowed me to engage with various audiences actively and effectively.” 

Blackman found that her communication style was also improved, helping her become more conscious about her choice of words. Ultimately, she found the program so useful that she participated again in 2024. After the success that resulted from participating in the 2021 program, Ciardella got involved with shaping it and helping others. He joined a Kiwanis-led committee to make suggestions for Kiwanis Amplify’s second year, and he served as a program mentor in its third year. 

“These experiences have been some of the highlights of my Kiwanis journey,” he says. 

Get ready to register
To learn more, visit the Kiwanis Amplify webpage. And bookmark the page so you can sign up when the registration period begins in January. We encourage you to spread the word in the meantime: Kiwanis Amplify is available both to Kiwanis members and nonmembers (US$50 for Kiwanis members, US$600 for nonmembers). For everyone who participates, it’s an opportunity to improve your career, your community and yourself.