History
How it started
The first Key Club was formed in 1925 in Sacramento, California, U.S. Two members of a local Kiwanis club, Albert C. Olney and Frank C. Vincent, were high school administrators, and they approached their fellow Kiwanis members with an idea: a junior service club in the high school.
Comprised of 11 charter members — the school’s “key” boys, who were willing to serve the school and bolster school spirit — the club started as a vocational guidance program. It expanded to become a complete service organization for the whole school. Today, Key Club is the oldest and largest student-led service program for high school students in the world.
Our Timeline
1925
The first Key Club meets at Sacramento High School in California, U.S., with 11 charter members.
1939
Florida association forms, becoming the first Key Club district.
1941
Key of Honor is established and remains the highest recognition award presented by the Key Club International Board.
1942
Former Key Club member Alexander “Sandy” Nininger Jr. dies in the Battle of Bataan. He becomes the first World War II veteran to receive the Medal of Honor.
1943
Delegates to the first Key Club convention vote to form the International Association of Key Clubs, electing Malcolm Lewis the first president.
1946
A Key Club Department is created at the Kiwanis International General Office in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. The first Key Club in Canada is organized in Riverside, Ontario.
1946
In May, the first issue of the Keynoter magazine is published.
1950
Key Club Week is created. First scheduled for August, it is later moved to October and then November.
1958
Key Club members elect the first Canadian president, C. David Sadleir of Sarnia, Ontario.
1967
The first Key Club outside the United States and Canada is chartered in Nassau, Bahamas.
1977
Key Club begins admitting female students.
1979
The first three female Key Club district governors are elected: Beth McClain, Kansas District; Lynne A. Fletcher O’Brien, New Jersey District; and Sue Petrisin, Michigan District. Petrisin is the first woman elected president of Kiwanis International.
1991
Michelle McMillen of the Missouri-Arkansas District is the first female member elected Key Club International president.
1994
Key Club begins affiliation with Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.
1996
Craig Melvin is elected as the first African American president of Key Club International. He is now the cohost of NBC’s “Today.”
1998
Key Club partners with UNICEF and raises US$1.2 million to fight iodine deficiency disorders.
1999
Key Club International membership tops 200,000 for the first time.
2002
Key Club officially adopts “caring, character building, inclusiveness, and leadership” as the core values of the organization.
2008
Key Club members raise more than US$1.3 million to fight HIV/AIDS in Swaziland.han US$1.3 million to fight HIV/AIDS in Swaziland.
2010
Key Club joins with the Kiwanis family in raising money to fight maternal and neonatal tetanus. Over the next decade, members raise more than US$6 million.
2021
Global Leadership Certificate is launched. The online education program gives members the skills to change lives and improve the world.
2022
The Litwack Legacy of Leadership award is created to recognizes former Key Club members who exemplify extraordinary leadership qualities and have made significant contributions to their professions and communities.
2022
Key Club launches Start Strong: Zambia, a project with UNICEF USA to support early childhood education in the African nation.
2025
Key Club celebrates a century of service.
