Kids Need Kiwanis. Penticton Needs You.

Chartered in 1945, the Kiwanis Club of Penticton has been showing up for kids and families in our own backyard — not through a head office somewhere else, but through neighbours who see a need and do something about it. If you've ever driven past Kiwanis Park, walked the Kiwanis Walking Pier, or picked up a book at your child's first immunization through Books for Babies, you've already seen our work. Now we're inviting you to help make the next chapter.
 

What We Do, Right Here in Penticton

Kiwanis is a global organization, but every project we run is decided, funded, and delivered locally by members who live here. A few of the ways we're currently active in the community:

• Kiwanis Kid Readers — putting a book in the hands of every Grade 2 student across School District 67, and now expanding to include private schools too.

• Books for Babies — every newborn who receives their first immunization at the Penticton Health Unit goes home with a book to start building early literacy.

• Post-Secondary Bursaries — helping local students afford the next step in their education, every single school year.

• Penticton Safety Village — as the main sponsor of the Safety Village, and with Kiwanis members serving on its board, we help support this ongoing community resource year-round — including running signature events like the Trick-or-Treat Cycle-Path and Easter Hop-Along, which now draw hundreds of local kids and families each year.

• Kids Feeding Kids — a new meal prep project we facilitate in partnership with Foundry Penticton, currently providing meal hampers and growing.

• Salvation Army Christmas Kettles & Toys for Tots to Teen Donations — showing up every winter to support neighbours who need it most.

• Kiwanis Housing Society — providing affordable seniors housing in Penticton, a project our club has managed for decades.
   

This is on top of a legacy that includes building the Kiwanis Walking Pier, developing Kiwanis Park, funding the Okanagan Beach Promenade, and supporting local youth programs like the Air Cadets and Music Festival. (See our Projects and About pages for the full picture.)
 

Why This Work Matters

Kiwanis clubs around the world focus on one thing: improving the lives of children. It's a simple mission, but a powerful one, for a few reasons:

• Investing in the future. Rather than reacting to problems after they happen, organizations that support kids take a proactive approach. By strengthening the health and well-being of children and their communities, we help raise capable, resilient people who are better equipped to succeed — and to give back themselves one day.

• A cause everyone can rally behind. It's easy to feel like the world is more divided than ever. But nearly everyone agrees that kids deserve to grow up safe, supported, and given a fair shot. Serving children gives people from every walk of life — and every corner of Penticton — a reason to work side by side.

• Setting an example worth following. Volunteering and giving back has real, documented benefits for your own health and well-being. It also sets a visible example for the people around you — your kids, your friends, your co-workers — making it more likely they'll get involved too.
   

Kiwanis International connects thousands of clubs, members, and partners worldwide, all working toward the same goal: improving the lives of children, one community at a time. Locally, that means our members decide what Penticton's kids need most, and we build the projects to meet that need — together.

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