Circle K International (CKI) is a member of the Kiwanis Family, dedicated to community-service and bettering the world around them. CKI is the largest collegiate service organization in the world with more than 300 college and university campuses in 19 nations and 5,400 student members worldwide. Clubs are organized and sponsored by a Kiwanis Club on a college or university campus. CKI is a self-governing organization and elects its own officers, conducts its own meetings, and determines its own service activities. CKI blends community service and leadership training with the opportunity to meet other college students around the world.
CKI began in 1936 at Washington State University in the Pacific Northwest District. It was a Kiwanis Club service project to provide an opportunity for capable, ambitious, and worthy young men to acquire a college education by assisting them through a scholarship fund or securing part-time employment. The Circle K Club as we know it today was started in 1947 at Carthage College in the Illinois-Eastern Iowa District. The Pennsylvania District was founded in 1962 and the first club was at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown in 1957.
Our Tenets: Service, Leadership, and Fellowship
Our Motto: Live to Serve, Love to Serve
Our Mission: Developing college and university students into a global network of responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to service.
Our Pledge: I pledge to uphold the Objects of Circle K International, to foster compassion and goodwill toward others through service and leadership, to develop my abilities and the abilities of all people and to dedicate myself to the realization of humanity’s potential.
International Board
The International Board of Trustees is composed of the President, the Vice President, and five trustees. These students administer the organization at the International level. They identify issues facing the organization and evaluate strategies to help the organization support its goals. The International Board also sets the policies for CKI, develops service initiative programs, and advises and educates the districts. The International Trustee serves as a liaison between the District and International levels.
Governing Documents
Districts
Circle K is divided into districts that are either a state or a combination of states, provinces, and/or countries. The main function of the district is to develop and maintain their clubs within the specified region. The chief spokesperson and leader of the district is the governor. Other district officers include the secretary-treasurer, editor, and committee chairs. The district offers a fall district event and a district convention in the spring. At the district convention members elect new district leadership, share input, vote on district bylaw amendments, and determine the district’s future.