What exactly is CKI?
Part of the Kiwanis family, Circle K International is a
collegiate organization dedicated to three tenants:
Service, Fellowship, and Leadership. Click here
to visit the Circle K International website.
When did CKI begin?
In 1936, the Kiwanis Club of Pullman, Washington, established
the "Circle K House" at Washington
State College. The house was rented to young
men who needed assistance to attend college.
The house, affiliated with a Greek letter organization
continued to be sponsored by the Pullman Kiwanis
Club for another ten years. In it's eleventh
year, 1947, Circle K became a service organization.
In September of that same year, the first Circle
K club was chartered at Carthage College in
Carthage, Illinois (now in Kenosha, Wisconsin).
By 1955 there were 147 Circle K clubs when CKI
was officially recognized as a sponsored organization
of Kiwanis International.
So, you say Circle K International. Tell me about this International thing.
Circle K International has 12,288 members on 507 campuses
in 13 nations in North and South America, the
Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and West Africa.
Each year there is an international convention
held where elections are held for the positions
of International President, Vice President,
and 9 Trustees. Click here to meet your International
Board.
Tell me a little about W-UM.
Well, inside Circle K International there are thirty districts:
one of these districts is the Wisconsin-Upper
Michigan District. Inside each District there
are divisions: W-UM has seven divisions. Inside
W-UM's seven divisions there are twenty-seven
clubs on college and university campuses.
What do you guys do as a district?
We have many District and Divisional
events over the course of our administrative
year (which runs from April 1st to March 31st):
- Spring Fling is an event
held every April to train our newly elected
club officers, provide other workshops for
our members and committee chairs, and help
Camp Wawbeek in Wisconsin Dells prepare for
the summer.
- MERP (Member Education and
Recruitment Program) is held during the summer,
generally at a camp ground in the District.
This is mainly a social and service event,
but there is always a workshop held where
members can talk about their Recruitment plan
for the next year.
- MAC (Membership Awareness
Conference) is held every fall to continue
training club officers, and to introduce new
members to Circle K. This is a great way to
get new members involved. Also, held at Camp
Wawbeek, we use this time to help close the
camp for the winter.
- WWG (Winter Weekend Getaway)
is a purely social event held in "da
U.P". Members take this time to relax,
ski, snowboard, sled, and just have fun in
and out of the snow.
- Divisional Rallies are generally
held a few times a year in each division.
They are planned by each division's Lieutenant
Governor and consist of a service project,
a workshop, and a social event.
Wow. Those sound like fun. Does CKI charge anything for me to be a member?
Yes, actually, we do.
Dues will be $35 with $25 of that going to International
and $10 staying in the District. This money
helps District and International officers better
serve the members. Without this dues money our
organization would not be as strong as it is.
Many clubs help pay for members dues by asking
Kiwanis clubs for money and by doing fundraisers.
Do I get anything else for my money?
Aside from all of the fun, friendship, leadership, and
service opportunities and helping District and
International officers do their jobs, your dues
also pay for the Circle K International magazine,
your membership card and pin, and discounts
with Copy Max.
What is our Pledge?
"I pledge to uphold the objects of Circle K International,
to foster compassion and goodwill to others
through service and leadership, to develop my
abilities and the abilities of all people, and
to dedicate myself to the realization of humankind's
potential."
What is our motto?
"Live to Serve, Love to Serve!"
