The Waco Kiwanis Club, founded 90 years ago this week, celebrates a legacy of caring for the Greater Waco area through good times and challenging eras.

Sharon Griffith, a local leader in thegroup, said its chartering on April 16, 1921, makes it one of the oldest Kiwanis Clubs on the international organization’s roster.

Kiwanis was created in Detroit by two businessmen who wanted to combine community philanthropy with networking.

Shown is a joint meeting of the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs of Mineral Wells, circa 1920. Kiwanis Club International was founded in January 1915 in Detroit. The Waco Kiwanis Club was chartered on April 16, 1921, making it one of the oldest Kiwanis Clubs on the organization’s roster.
TexasHistory.UNT.edu photo

The first club received a charter from Michigan on Jan. 21, 1915. But even before the paperwork came through, members showed their zeal for public charity by distributing Christmas baskets to the poor.

The following year, the first Canadian club joined. By 1962, the movement spread around the globe.

After several years of debate, Kiwanis went coed in 1987 and thousands of women joined. In fact, Griffith was the second woman inducted into the Waco club in 1990. She became its first female president in 1997. Two years later, she was named the first female lieutenant governor in Division 23 (Texas-Oklahoma).

Expanding to Texas

Kiwanis came to Texas in 1917, with the chartering of the Dallas club, which had 200 members. Groups in Oklahoma City and Tulsa followed.

The Waco Kiwanis Club was launched by attorney Harry P. Jordan, who already had demonstrated leadership in civic affairs. In 1918, for example, he was one of three Waco attorneys named by President Woodrow Wilson to the McLennan County Advisory Board of the Selective Service Administration, better known as the draft board.

The Virginia native served during World War I as a major in the Quartermasters Corps of the Texas National Guard.

Later, he resumed his duties as associate editor of the Texas Bar, in addition to his private practice insurance law and duties as general attorney for Texas Fidelity and Bonding Co.

Under his leadership — combined with the energy and drive of the other 23 charter members — the Waco Kiwanis Club grew quickly to become a powerhouse of do-gooders, according to Griffith.

“We can be proud that during its early years, the Waco Kiwanis Club was responsible for many ‘firsts’ in the community,” Griffith said.

The Waco Kiwanis Club:

*  Created the first Little League program in 1945 and in the late 1950s sponsored teen baseball teams;

Kiwanis Club of Waco members and friends raise money for community projects in Central Texas during a televised auction in the early 1980s.
Kiwanis Club of Waco photos

*  Started a radio auction in 1948 that became the Kiwanis Television Auction, a project that lasted 42 years;

*  Supported construction of buildings for the first CenTex Zoo in the 1950s;

*  Built and maintained the Kiwanis Pool for many years;

*  Built baseball fields, provided equipment and bleachers from 1973-76;

*  Surveyed area parks and donated updated playground equipment in 1978-79;

*  Purchased equipment for the Boy Scouts of America in 1978;

*  Operated the Kiwanis Toy Chest for 28 years;

*  Maintained a Kiwanis Clothes Closet for needy children of the Greater Waco area;

*  Supported activities of YMCA, YWCA, Waco Boys’ Club, Waco Girls’ Club and Waco Youth Council; and,

*  Constructed buildings for the Baylor Youth Recreation Camp and continued support for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

These efforts often were funded through popular fundraisers such as Kiwanis Pancake Supper, Kiwanis Golf Tournament and Kiwanis Spaghetti Supper.

The group’s most recent projects include such endeavors as:

*  “Ringing the Bell” for the Salvation Army each December;

*  Collecting “Food for Families” each November;

*  Donating sugar substitute packets for Caritas clients with dietary restrictions;

*  Clipping coupons for use by Fort Hood military families;

*  Sponsoring Kiwanis Youth Groups such as Circle K International at Baylor University and Key Clubs at area high schools;

*  Sponsoring the “Terrific Kids” project at the Waco Charter School;

*  Supporting Children’s Miracle Network;

*  Delivering Meals on Wheels; and,

*  Awarding scholarships to outstanding students.

Making collections

Other impromptu, ad hoc projects have included collection of school supplies, Christmas toys for the Methodist Children’s Home, fans for Caritas clients, and shoes for needy children of the under-developed world; and a diaper drive for Talitha Koum Nurture Center.

“Service projects often are linked to the Kiwanis Program ‘Young Children: Priority One,’ ” Griffith said.

This initiative places continuing focus on the needs of children in pediatric trauma, safety, child care, early development, infant health, nutrition and parenting skills.

The first Worldwide Service Project — a campaign conducted in partnership with UNICEF — sought to eliminate the effects of iodine deficiency disorder, the world’s leading preventable cause of mental retardation, Griffith said.

By 2000, Kiwanis International had exceeded this goal, with many countries that were previously ravaged by IDD virtually eradicating the scourge.

tjryan@wacotrib.com

757-5746