Kiwanis at NAIS conference

Recently Kiwanis International's Service Leadership Programs exhibited at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) annual conference in San Francisco, California. The event drew 4,000 registered attendees. Teachers, principals, headmasters and nonprofit-program leaders stopped by the Kiwanis International booth to learn more about Kiwanis's youth programs-Kiwanis Kids, Builders Club, Key Club and Key Leader.

While only a handful of booth visitors had previous knowledge of Kiwanis or one of its Service Leadership Programs, many others left intrigued by the concepts and interested in starting one or more of the programs at their schools or community centers. "This is great. This is exactly what we need," said one booth visitor.

To draw people to the booth, Kiwanis conducted a drawing for three prizes: a Key Leader weekend, a BUG or Terrific Kids program toolkit and a spa-themed gift basket.

"This conference highlighted an exciting and new potential growth area for our Service Leadership Programs: independent schools," said Laura Zabel, Kiwanis International area director for Service Leadership Programs growth. "It's different than other conferences I've attended, where 50 to 60 percent of those you meet already have Kiwanis youth programs in their schools."

NAIS is a membership organization and the United States voice of independent education. NAIS represents approximately 1,400 independent schools and associations in the United States, and affiliates with independent schools abroad as well.