Key Club International is the high school organization sponsored by Kiwanis International. Key Club assists Kiwanis in carrying out its mission to serve the children of the world... for more go to http://www.keyclub.org/discover/whatwedo.aspx
The 2012- 2013 theme for our district, (Pacific NorthWest) is Diving Into Service.
Key Club’s Major Emphasis “Children: Their Future, Our Focus”
The words, “Key Club”. Before we get into what I think about it, I’ve asked a variety of people what their opinions were. To sum it up, all I really got out of it was either “some non-profit organization and looks good on college aps” or “just a club that does community service” or “people who volunteer for fun” and personally my favorite, the infamous “a club for keys” (with a questioning look on their face). But that’s the thing. Are we really just a club that does
community service? And are we really just people who volunteer for fun? To me, the meaning of Key Club isn’t “just” what other people think, it IS what other people think. Key Club is about service. Let me bold that for you. Service. However, there’s more to that. It’s about leadership, commitment, dedication, and simply having fun. I know for a fact that some people in Key Clubs around the world would only join and gain hours to become an “official member” or even just to go to DCON. And although I had just joined Key Club this year, that’s something I’ve noticed right away. “Key Clubbers” base their hours and club meetings around being the best school with club pride, getting the Spirit stick, showing off who has more of this and that or as people would say, “swag”. It’s not about all that. The Key Club pledge doesn’t say:
“I pledge, on my honor,
to uphold the Spirit stick of Key Club International,
to build my spirit, school, and swagginess;
to serve my district and God;
and combat all forces which tend to undermine my own club and not anyone’s else because we have more swag than them.”
We have it all wrong! This is a club for service... Service. Spirit and “swag” should be the second thing on our list. We should be building our “home, school and community” and even extend beyond that. All in all, the hours I’ve served this past year had gradually got me thinking, I’m not really serving just because I feel like it. I’m not helping the community just to get those 15 hours, or to be eligible for becoming official. I’m serving from the bottom of my heart, and I’m serving because of the number one thing I love to do, and that is to make people smile. Whether they’re all the across the Pacific Ocean or right here in Issaquah, I’m making someone happy and that's such an amazing, powerful feeling. I know this whole thing was supposed to be what I, as an individual, think the true meaning of Key Club is, but it’s not just me. We’re all Key Clubbers here. We’re all in this together (without breaking into song and dance because that’s awkward). This is not about what I think, but instead, more along the lines of about what we think. I mean, our motto is “Caring - Our Way of Life”. We are Key Club, we are one community, and we are one big family. But to me the best thing of all, is I know for a fact that someone, somewhere around this world is smiling because of not only my, but OUR actions because WE are the key to unlocking a bigger and brighter future.