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For other uses, see Key Club (disambiguation).
Key Club International
FoundedMay 7, 1925
TypeService club
FocusLeadership, Character Building, Caring, and Inclusiveness
HeadquartersIndianapolis, Indiana, USA
OriginsSacramento, California, USA
Area served
Worldwide
MethodCommunity service
Membership229,652[1] (2020)
International President[2]
Lilian Thai
International Vice President[2]
Layla Nguyen
International Trustees[2]
  • Ahmed Eldeeb
  • Shreya Mukunthan
  • Taylor Petrofski
  • Shanelle Relucio
  • Drew Reetz
  • Hope Roundcount
  • Leo Shen
  • Kavya Sriram
  • Ava Stamatakis
  • Ayano Tamura
  • Shuban Tiwari
Director
Matt Ellis
Parent organization
Kiwanis International
RevenueUS$1,782,484 (2019)[3]
Staff120
Websitehttps://www.keyclub.org/

Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students.[4] As a student-led organization, Key Club's goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. Key Club International is the high school branch of the Kiwanis International family, classifying as a Service Leadership Program and more specifically as a Kiwanis Youth Program.[5] Many Key Clubs are sponsored by a local Kiwanis club.

The organization was started by California State Commissioner of Schools Albert C. Olney and vocational education teacher Frank C. Vincent who work together to establish the first Key Club at Sacramento High School in California on May 7, 1925. Female students were first admitted in 1977, ten years before women were admitted to the sponsoring organization, Kiwanis International.[6]

History

Origin

In California, during the 1920s, adults were concerned with the pernicious side of high school fraternities and sought some means of replacing them with more wholesome activity for youth. In 1924, the local Kiwanis Club decided to attempt to begin a service club at the Sacramento High School, and the school principal eagerly supported the idea and began searching for students willing to start establish the club. In May 1925, a group of boys at Sacramento High School held their first club meeting. Called the "Key Boys", due to their valiant doings, the club eventually became known as Key Club and was associated with Kiwanis International.[7]

Inclusivity

Female students were first allowed to join in 1977 (52 years after the founding of the organization). This occurred ten years before women were admitted to the sponsoring organization, Kiwanis International).[6] In 1980 the first females were elected to the Key Club International Board. Lisa Cross and Renee Wetstein were elected as Key Club International Trustees. In addition, the first African American was elected to serve on the International Board. Greg Broussard was elected as Key Club International vice-president. In 1996, Craig Melvin was elected as the first African-American president of Key Club International.[8] The 2019 Key Club International Convention's House of Delegates voted to change all references of gender-specific pronouns (i.e., he/him/his or she/her/hers) to the neutral they/them/their pronoun set throughout all of the organization's bylaws. During the same session, the delegation passed a resolution to change the phrase "...my nation and God..." to "...my nation and world..." in the Key Club Pledge; the Kiwanis Youth Programs Board of Directors, directed by the International Guidebook to approve any votes from the House of Delegates, approved the changes.[9][10]

Present

Key Club International is composed of 32 organized Districts with an additional District in formation (Western Canada).[11] Key Club International is currently in 38 countries.[citation needed] As of 2020, Key Club International includes 229,652 members and 4,841 paid clubs.[1]

Key Club International itself employs three full-time staff members and utilizes the services of the nearly 120 more specialists employed by Kiwanis International—all are employed at Kiwanis International Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.[12]

Past International Boards

Past District Governors

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