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Great answers for great excuses

If you’ve tried to recruit a new member into Kiwanis, no doubt you’ve come across that one person who has a million reasons not to join. Following are a few ways Don Canaday responds to tricky excuses:

Excuse: I’m too busy.

Answer: “Great! Busy people make the best Kiwanis members. We all make time for the things we want to do, and we find that while people join Kiwanis for a variety of reasons, they stay because they believe it’s a valuable use of their time and they like what their club is doing.”

Excuse: It costs too much.

Answer: “If a club costs US$100 a year, that breaks down to a little more than $8 per month, or the equivalent of lunch at McDonald’s. Is it worth it to skip lunch at McDonald’s once a month to make a difference in the life of a child?”

Excuse: I already belong to Rotary, Lions, or Optimist.

Answer: “Those are great organizations. While you are permitted to join Kiwanis as well, I don’t encourage it. Keep doing what you’re doing—but we’d love it if there’s someone else from your business, social network, or community who could represent your (bank, law firm, business, etc.) in Kiwanis.”