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Kiwanis International ( ) is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Membership in Kiwanis and its family of clubs is more than 600,000 members strong. Each year, Kiwanis clubs raise more than US$100 million and report more than 18.5 million volunteer hours to strengthen communities and serve children.〔http://sites.kiwanis.org/Kiwanis/Libraries/Documents/Just_the_Facts2012_PRESS_1.sflb.ashx〕 Kiwanis International is a volunteer-led organization headed by a Board of Trustees consisting of 19 members: 15 trustees, four elected officers, and an executive director. The trustees serve three-year terms, with five trustees elected each year. As set out in the Bylaws, nine trustees are elected from the United States and Pacific Canada Region, one trustee is elected from the Canada & Caribbean Region, two trustees are elected from the European Region, two trustees are elected from the Asia-Pacific Region, and one trustee is elected "at large" from any region other than the United States and Pacific Canada. The elected officers included (in order of progression): vice president, president-elect, president and immediate past president. These officers, along with the United States and Pacific Canada Region trustees, are elected at the annual convention of Kiwanis International. All trustees and officers are unpaid volunteers. The executive director is a full-time employee who is responsible for the organization's paid staff and serves as a non-voting member of the Board. There are seven regions in Kiwanis: Africa; Asia-Pacific; Canada and Caribbean; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; and United States and Pacific Canada. The United States and Pacific Canada Region incorporates the 50 states of the United States as well as British Columbia and the Yukon Territory of Canada. There are fifty-three administrative areas called districts. District boards typically consist of a governor-elect, governor, and immediate-past governor, secretary, treasurer, and several trustees or lt. governors. Districts are further divided into service areas called divisions, comprising 5 to 20 clubs and headed by a lieutenant governor. Clubs have boards consisting of a vice president (and/or president elect), president, immediate past president, secretary, treasurer, and typically about five directors. At both the district and club level, secretary/treasurer may be combined by one person and may be a volunteer or a paid employee; all other positions are unpaid.〔The information in this section is laid out in http://www.kiwanis.org/docs/default-source/club-administration/club-bylaws/governance-kiwanis-international-bylaws〕 == Etymology == The name “Kiwanis” was coined from the Ojibwe language expression derived from the word ''giiwanizi'' meaning to "fool around":〔Rhodes, Richard. 1993. "giiwnizid" in ''Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary''. ISBN 3-11-013749-6〕 ''ningiiwaniz'', which is found in the Baraga Dictionary as "nin Kiwanis", meaning "I make noise; I am foolish and wanton" or "I play with noise".〔Baraga, Frederic 1878 (reprint 1992). "Kiwanis" in ''A Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language'' (reprint as ''A Dictionary of the Ojibway Language''). ISBN 0-87351-281-2〕 However, Random House Dictionary claims that it comes from one of the Algonquian languages to mean "to make oneself known"〔"Kiwanis" in ''The Random House Dictionary of the English Language''. ISBN 0-39450-050-4〕 but in Ojibwe and other related Algonquian languages, this expression would be ''gikendami'idizo''. The organization's founders translated it as "We build," which became the original motto of Kiwanis. In 2005 the organization chose a new motto, "Serving the Children of the World".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=History Bulletin on Kiwanis )〕 Members of the club are called Kiwanians. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kiwanis」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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