What is Circle K International?
Circle K International (CKI) is the largest collegiate community service, leadership development, and friendship organization in the world. CKI is comprised of college and university students who are responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to community service worldwide. With over 13,250 members in 17 nations, CKI is making a positive impact on the world every day.

Every Circle K club is organized and sponsored by a Kiwanis club on a college or university campus. CKI is a self-governing organization that elects its own officers, conducts its own meetings, and determines its own service activities. It blends community service and leadership training with the opportunity to meet other college students around the world.

Each Circle K works closely with their school and local community in planning and implementing projects that best serve the needs of that particular area. Clubs within the same basic geographic area (divisions) also work together on larger projects. On the district level, clubs also work to achieve common goals and service initiatives, and come together at conferences, conventions, and large-scale projects. This gives members the opportunity to work closely with and get to know many different people, not just those at their own school.

Tenets
Circle K International emphasizes and focuses on the following three tenets:

  • Service
    Service is the heart of Circle K International. Collectively, CKI members perform more than 1 million hours of service on their campuses and in their communities every year. Without service, CKI would be just another campus activity. Through service, college students are making the world a better place.

  • Leadership
    The potential of CKI lies in its ability to positively influence members of society who are facing ultimate personal decisions and those who will one day create the vision of mankind for generations to come. Leadership opportunities afford CKI members the resources and tools needed to become active citizens. Members can assume leadership responsibilities at all levels of the organization and through various experiential training conferences.

  • Fellowship
    CKI members experience fellowship and develop lifelong relationships with fellow collegians, advisors, Kiwanians, and citizens in their communities every day. Whether a member is mentoring a child, networking with a businessman, or bowling with members, he or she is developing social skills, meeting new people, and strengthening relationships.

Mission
 Developing college and university students into a global network of responsible citizens and leaders with a lifelong commitment to service.

Vision
 To be the leading global community-service organization on college and university campuses that enriches the world one member, one child, and one community at a time.

Pledge
I pledge to uphold the objects of Circle K International, to foster compassion and good will toward others through service and leadership, to develop my abilities and the abilities of all people, and to dedicate myself to the realization of mankind's potential.

Motto
"Live to serve, love to serve"

Objectives
To emphasize the advantages of the democratic way of life;
To provide the opportunity for leadership training service;
To serve on the campus and in the community;
To cooperate with administrative officers of the educational institutions of which the clubs are a part;
To encourage participation in group activities;
To promote good fellowship and high scholarship;
To develop aggressive citizenship and the spirit of service for improvement of all human relationships;
To afford useful training in the social graces and the personality development; and
To encourage and promote the following ideals:

  • To give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values of life;

  • To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships;

  • To promote the adoption and the application of high social, business, and professional standards;

  • To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive, and serviceable citizenship;

  • To provide through Circle K clubs a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render altruistic service, and to build better communities; and

  • To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which makes possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism, and good will.

Membership Benefits
CKI will not only provide a variety of experiences to help you realize your leadership potential, but also the avenues of opportunity in which to reach your potential. Your involvement in CKI will have a significant impact on the campus, community, and world wide. As a dedicated CKI member you will develop lifetime friendships, establish a career network with Kiwanians, and apply individual skills to various settings.

  • Campus and Community Service: Because of CKI's rich history of helping others, members of CKI share in the tradition of serving their campuses and communities. By planning and participating in projects and activities, CKI members volunteer their time, talents, ideas, and skills for the purpose of making a long-lasting and far-reaching impact on their environment.

  • Leadership Development: Through the CKI structure, every Circle K'er has the unique opportunity to develop leadership skills by serving as an officer or committee chairperson. Whether it be serving as a club project chair, district officer, or international officer, each member has the opportunity to discover and develop various talents and skills.

  • Professional Development: Involvement in Circle K will allow college students to apply what they learn in the classroom to everyday situations. The skills that are developed and the opportunities experienced through involvement in Circle K will increase a student's employability after college. Furthermore, Circle K's connection to Kiwanis promotes career networking between collegians and professionals.

  • Friendship: Because CKI is organized on more than 500 college and university campuses around the world, members have the unique opportunity to become friends with college students from all walks of life. Attendance at divisional, district, and international conferences and conventions provides members a special chance to learn about diverse perspectives, make new friends, share ideas and concerns, and travel.

  • Scholarship Opportunities: Through the generous efforts of the Kiwanis International Foundation and Kiwanians in the thirty districts of CKI, up to thirty $1,000 scholarships (one per district), are made available to CKI members. At the International Convention, additional scholarships are presented to Circle K'ers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, service, and scholarship.

  • Member Cards: Each member receives a membership card showing membership in good standing in CKI.

  • Member Handbook: As part of CKI member education, each new member receives a handbook that outlines the purpose, history, and structure of the organization.

  • Circle K Magazine: Each member receives one print edition of CKI magazine and constant updates on CKI's official online publication.

  • Experienced Counseling: Every club has the opportunity to gain valuable guidance by communicating and interacting with district and International board members.

  • Club Mailings: Every club receives mailings from the district and International office containing information on everything from club projects to International convention.

  • Education, Membership Recruitment, Public Relations, Promotion, and Training Information: Every club receives the latest program and public relations information and materials developed by the International Office. These materials are designed to assist in club administration, growth, and development. Upon publication, these resources will be forwarded to clubs. They also are available upon request.

Member Testimonials
(Coming soon!)

Copyright (c) 2007-2009 Circle K International at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.