By Mooroopna Kiwanis Club president, Tony Nappa.
KIWANIS International was founded in 1915, by a group of American businessmen, in Detroit Michigan, for young men to grow a network of like-minded people.
They originally called the club, ‘The Supreme Lodge Benevolent Order of Brothers,’ which was in the spirit of the times. Soon the organisation was being known as ‘BOB’ and in Australia, there would have been confusion with the Uncle Bob’s Club.
As the group grew, a shorter, more unique identity was needed. The name ‘Kiwanis’ was coined from an American Indian expression, ‘Nunc Ke-wanis’, which means, ‘We Trade.’ This suited the group’s business background.
A more thorough check later revealed that a truer meaning varies from, ‘We share our talents’, ‘To express oneself’ and ‘We have a good time – we make noise.’
These translations reflect todays group better and suits my style of how I go about being a Kiwanian. We service the community, have fun raising funds and engage in social interactions with our members.
Kiwanis has grown to nearly 80 nations, with Australian clubs starting in Melbourne in 1967. We donate in a combined Kiwanis Club lump sum to Australian Heart Kids every year, as well as numerous donations to local schools, hospitals and worthwhile causes that help children.
All people of good standing are welcome to join Kiwanis and since 1987 women have been invited to be members. In 2008, delegates approved resolution to celebrate and foster inclusiveness.
Kiwanians always offer good service, camaraderie and desire to support communities that help children grow, thrive and prosper in a safe environment.
On a local level, the Mooroopna Kiwanis Club has helped all of the schools with the Terrific Kids and restore-a-bike program. This encourages students to be their best and fix up punctured tyres, adjust brakes and other bike maintenance skills. The student is then presented the bike as a gift to take home at the end of the school term.
Our major project for the year is organising the Mooroopna Christmas Carols and helping Rotary with the New Year’s Eve Festival and fireworks, plus morning tea for after the ANZAC Service.
The Kiwanis Club of Mooroopna meets each 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month at the Royal Mail Hotel back bistro meeting room at 6:30pm for a 7pm start, dinner and an interesting guest speaker.
For more information check out our Mooroopna Kiwanis Facebook page or email: mooroopna@kiwanis.org.au
As this year’s president, I warmly invite all people over the age of 18, which have a sense of fun and a willingness to help the children of the world be better human beings, by raising money to help there education and development.
