Club History
December 14, 1914 – The first Kiwanis
Club was founded in Detroit
Michigan.
May 1920 – Ralph W. Elkins,
impressed by the Kiwanis Organization, proposed the formation of a club in Springfield, Missouri
to friends
June 25, 1920 –The Kiwanis Club of Springfield (now known as the Kiwanis Club of Downtown
Springfield) became chartered with 95 members, and was sponsored by the
Kiwanis Club of Joplin.
October 7, 1920 – The Kiwanis Club of Springfield held its
charter banquet.
Spring 1923 – The Club grows to 120
members and hosted the Mo-Kan-Ark District Convention.
1924 – The Club started the
Kiwanis Minstrel Show to benefit handicapped and underprivileged children.
1926 – The Club started
funding the supervised playground program for public parks.
1933 – Inspired by a program
presented by the Cardinal Baseball organization, the concept of a boys
baseball program was conceived and organized, with 600 boys signing
up. It is a conservative estimate
that more than 75,000 boys participated in Kiwanis baseball. This program is managed today by the
Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
1936 – The idea for a school
for physically handicapped children was originated, the Club and the Works
Progress Administration sharing in the cost of the program, including
transportation.
January 25, 1937 – The Kiwanis School
for physically handicapped children was opened.
1939 – Springfield Public
Schools adopted the Kiwanis
School for physically
handicapped children into its system.
April 15, 1942 – The Kiwanis Club of Springfield (now known as the Kiwanis Foundation of
Downtown Springfield) was incorporated as a Missouri benevolent corporation.
1945 – The Club provided
musical instruments for high school orchestra, and Boys and Girls scout
troops were organized and sponsored by the Club.
1947 – The Club employed a
speech therapist for the school, and equipment was purchased for the
school.
November 13, 1950 – The Kiwanis School
for physically handicapped children moved from the basement of McDaniel
school to 1530 N. Main.
1952 – The City Park
Board took over the management and general funding of the baseball
program. The Club continued to
purchase balls, equipment, trophies, and Kiwanis tee shirts for the boys.
July 14, 1953 – The Springfield
Kiwanis Foundation (now known as the Kiwanis Foundation of Downtown
Springfield) was incorporated as a Missouri
benevolent corporation.
1955 – The Kiwanis School
for physically handicapped children was moved to Bailey School
at 501 W. Central.
1956 – The Heifer Chain
Project was started by the Club, which supported 4-H Club and Future
Farmers of America.
September 1964 – The Kiwanis School
for physically handicapped children moved to Bowerman
School (this was the last move
before the school was relocated to its present relocation at Delaware School).
1969 – The Club was nationally
recognized for having started the summer program for supervised competitive
pay in the park system for the betterment of boys and girls.
1970 – The Club celebrated
its golden anniversary.
April 27, 1973 – The Club held the
Kiwanis Golden Jubilee Show.
November 15, 1979 – The Kiwanis Club of Springfield became
the Kiwanis Club of Downtown Springfield and the Springfield Kiwanis
Foundation became the Kiwanis Foundation of Downtown Springfield.
1986 – The Club built 10
cabins at Girl Scout Camp Finbrook.
1987 - The H. Garrett Wright
Scholarship Program was created.
1989 – The Club began to
sponsor Boys and Girls Club members to go to camp for one week. The Reed Junio High School Mentoring
Program was started to help counsel at-risk students. A replacement cabin was built at Boy
Scout Camp Arrowhead. The Club also
handed the youth baseball program completely over to the Springfield-Greene
County Park Board.
1990-91 – The Delaware School
Gazebo was built by the Club.
In the 1990’s, the Club also built picnic
tables and benches, as well as painted the building for the Shelter for
Abused Girls; gave the Historical Society many items of our club history
which are on display at old City Hall; rang bells for The Salvation Army
and always being recognized as a top fundraiser in the city; annually
sponsored trail rides for the Boys & Girls Home from St. James and
provided lunch to some 250 children; helped sponsor the Children’s
Miracle Network; started the Charles Summey Art Fundraisers and participation
in ArtFest; started Adopt-A-Highway Trash Pickup, and held the “Youth
Golf” Training & Contest.
Into 2000 and beyond, the Club continued its
participation in some of these projects, and became affiliated with
others. Today, the Club continues
its service through its fundraising efforts; service to children, youth and
the community, and support of Sponsored Youth Programs. In recent years, the Club has raised
funds for its Foundation with proceeds from Kiwanis gum ball machines
located throughout the area, holding large garage sales, selling and
raffling Summey paintings and prints, and raffling a full-sized, homemade
children’s playhouse. The
members continue to serve children and youth with projects and
contributions for the Family Violence Center,
collecting suitcases for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA),
collecting books and games for community children, holding an annual
Christmas party for the children of Delaware
school. We continue to serve the
community in other ways such as our Adopt-A-Highway Program, support for
The Salvation Army Bell Ringing Campaign, and projects for the Center City Christian
Outreach Center. The Club now sponsors two Sponsored Youth
Programs, those being the Central High School Key Club and the Kickapoo
High School Key Club. The Club also
supports the Kiwanis International Foundation and the District’s Earl
Collins Foundation, both of which support major projects, Sponsored Youth
Programs and scholarships, and the H. Garrett Wright Memorial Scholarship
Program locally.
In 2009, the Club began fundraising
efforts to secure funds to build a universal playground center at the Jenny
Lincoln Park located in center city Springfield. The site was formally designated by the
Springfield-Greene County Park Board, who will maintain the equipment in
the years to come.
In 2010, the Club will celebrate its
90th Anniversary.
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