About
Two Detroit Michigan natives, Allen S. Browne and Joseph C. Prance, had an idea one day in August of 1914. It was a concept, rather, to develop an organization that provides fellowship like no other organization. They first constructed this group of only young professional businessmen. The group received their charter from the State of Michigan for the first Kiwanis Club on January 21, 1915. There were 200 members within six months.
Within those first six months the founding club nearly failed. Two men left for Cleveland and started a club that attracted a membership of 135 in 10 weeks.
Kiwanis Club International was adopted in 1924 with more than 1,200 clubs and almost 90,000 members. In 1920 the motto was “We Build” and in 2005 the delegates to the International Convention voted to adopt a new motto, “Serving the Children of the World”.
