Who we are

The Kiwanis story began on January 21, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan, when it was founded on the notion of “We Trade,” and started out as a business networking opportunity for its members. That motto changed in 1920 to “We Build,” and with that, the organization changed its focus to serving the community. In 2005, our motto again changed to “serving the children of the world,” and we began focusing on the betterment of the children in our communities.

Our story is rooted in making the Bartlesville community a better place to live and enjoy life for adults and — you guessed it — children. As a club, we host various service projects throughout the year, including Freedom Fest and the Christmas parade. Our biggest project runs every weekend during the summer, and that’s Sooner Junior, which also helps fund the scholarships we present to students in May. We want our community to thrive, which takes the work of several nonprofit organizations, not just Kiwanis, so we proudly help support those organizations whose missions align with ours.