Civic clubs pin hope on young

Older members bring the expertise and the experience, but "we need youth to be our physical aspect, be the new face of Kiwanis” in the community, Kelly Wood said.

Wood is a member of Mayfair Kiwanis Club in Oklahoma City and adviser to Oklahoma's two Circle K clubs, collegiate branches of the organization.

Civic clubs have struggled in recent years to perform community service with an aging, dwindling membership; and to pursue a young generation that tends not to join organizations or participate in structured volunteer work.

Kiwanis approached the problem by focusing on high school and college students, and making the membership attractive to young minds, its leaders say.

When the Downtown Club of Oklahoma City celebrated its 90th anniversary earlier this month, the program included the chartering of a chapter at Oklahoma City University. That will join an operating chapter at the University of Oklahoma.

Tallied with the Key Clubs and Builders Clubs in high schools and junior highs, the college students show the biggest increase of youthful interest in civic work since the 1950s. But these are not typical 1950s students.

Becki Anders, president of the OCU chapter, was in Key Club in high school. The chapter may succeed at OCU, she said, because that's a small campus that can come together in clubs easily, and because OCU students are already encouraged to perform volunteer work.

Anders pointed out that scholarship applications ask for references to community activities and service projects, and a Kiwanis membership is a positive note. But this generation has its own ideas about community service.

People her age, Anders said, want interactive, hands-on volunteer tasks that allow them to "see the difference we're making in our community.” If they raise funds, "we want to see where our money is going.”

John Martin, Kiwanis of Oklahoma City president, said canned food drives, diaper collections and onsite labor for Habitat for Humanity have been popular with the student clubs. The established clubs are studying "how to change the way we've always done business, to make it attractive to growing adults.”

Wood said a recent survey among high school seniors resulted in only one answer in favor of the college resume; others credited their membership to the fellowship, the service and the opportunity to have a direct effect on someone's life.

"In the long run,” she said, "these students will join our organization and liven things up a bit. They're going to motivate our Kiwanians to be more active with service.”

Kiwanis, which currently has 350,000 international members, hopes to have 1 million adult members on its 100th anniversary in 2015, said Martin. They are developing that number from the young adults they are bringing in now.