Alvin M. Keeling 
KIWANIS News:
Key Club District Coordinator and local Kiwanian Church Karin spoke to the Los Alamos Kiwanis Club on February 1 on the activities and challenges of Key Clubs in the district, which includes New Mexico, Arizona and El Paso, Texas.
Church began by reviewing the organization’s core values, which are leadership, character Building, Caring and Inclusiveness and described its structure encompassing local clubs up to the international level.
There are 127 clubs in the South West District with over 3,100 members. Clubs are primarily student-run with mentors and supporters from Kiwanis and educational advisers.
The coronavirus has had a significant impact on Key Club. The number of members fell by half, there was a huge loss of institutional knowledge, high turnover of advisors and major disruption in sign in to Kiwanis.
However, Key Club fights back. The number of members increases and more activities are planned.
Church credits the young people she mentors, saying they are “incredible to come up with ideas” and congratulating them for their enthusiasm, their involvement and their dynamism.
About Kiwanis
Kiwanis is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, and is located in over 80 countries and geographies. Since 1987, the organization has also accepted women as members. Kiwanis and its family of clubs have more than 600,000 members. Each year, Kiwanis clubs raise more than US$100 million and volunteer more than 18.5 million hours to strengthen communities and serve children.
Local meetings
The Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos meets from noon to 1 p.m. every Tuesday at Kelly Hall at Trinity-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church, 3900 Trinity Dr. Meetings are open to the public.
