About Us

Service is the heart of our organization. In the Capital District, we strive to meet the complex and varied needs of our campuses and communities through service. Our goal is for each of our members to be actively engaged in service. To accomplish this, we encourage our clubs to regularly participate in traditional and in-house service project that benefit their campuses and communities. On the district level, we seek to create service opportunities at each of our functions, especially our District Large Scale Service Project (DLSSP). CKI also holds an annual Large Scale Service Project (LSSP) in which hundreds of CKI members from around the world gather to participate in a variety of service projects over the course of three days. Our international service partners (now known as preferred charities) are March of Dimes (MOD), Students Team Up to Fight Hunger (STUFH), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). We partner with UNICEF on two global philanthropic campaigns: the Six Cents Initiative and the Eliminate Project. It is our hope that through serving others, we can join our Kiwanis family members in improving the world one child and one community at a time.

Leadership is a very important aspect of our organization. As a service leadership program of Kiwanis International, we seek to develop the leadership potential of college students so that they will one day become strong leaders in their homes, workplaces, and communities. To accomplish this, we provide leadership opportunities to our members on the club, district, and international levels. Club members have the opportunity to serve in a variety of roles on the club level, including, but not limited to, committee member, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and President. Similarly, club members may serve on a district committee, as a Lieutenant Governor, as a Secretary, as a Treasurer (or a Secretary/Treasurer), as an Editor, or as a Governor.

Internationally, members may serve as a committee member, a Trustee, Vice President, or even International President. In each of these positions, upcoming leaders can acquire a myriad of leadership skills such as oratory, budgeting, time management, and organization, among others. However, the greatest leadership trait we instill is servanthood, which requires no title or position. In CKI, we create leaders that impact today's world and shape tomorrow's future.

No organization can long endure without amicable relations among its members. In CKI, we believe that fellowship is the door to increasing our membership, which, in turn, allows us to develop more servant leaders and increases our hands for service. We encourage our club members to develop friendships with one another, to participate in social engagements, and to develop friendships with others. We believe that each club should provide a fun and relaxing environment in which members are encouraged to socialize, express themselves, and grow. At our district events, we strive to incorporate fun and exciting activities into the program to create an exceptional and memorable member experience. We encourage clubs to implement similar activities into their meetings, service projects, and socials.