Happy New Year CKI!
It’s 2023, and I hope it brings you all good luck and good fortune. The New Year is a wild time for everyone, with resolutions that we always set with good intentions, the lead up to a new semester and, if you’re in the Northeast like I am, sometimes a foot of snow overnight. This year, I want us to make a collective resolution and help CKI reach our goals.
At the beginning of our terms, the CKI International Board created goals that we wanted the organization to reach by the time we hit international convention in June 2023. After the success we had last year, we are very ambitious with the goals we set this year. We set out to serve over 135,000 hours with an average of 15 hours per member, and we need your help to achieve our goal! Use this time now to start thinking of big events your club can hold in the upcoming semester, like a 5K run fundraiser, a giant meal-packing event or helping build something in your community. There is so much you can do, and the possibilities are endless!
This year also marks the first year of our partnership with UNICEF USA for our new project, Brick x Brick. We set out to raise US$40,000 to kick off our first year, and so far we have raised $8,354. Brick x Brick encompasses so many different causes and passions that our members care about and is an excellent opportunity to collaborate with the Kiwanis family and other clubs in your area. Get to know them and why they care about Brick x Brick and its mission.
This year, we want to recruit 9,200 members into CKI across all of our clubs. We currently stand at 4,474 members, but this doesn’t mean we’re done recruiting yet! Recruitment isn’t just for the first semester — new members can be brought into our clubs at any time. We often hear that people join CKI for the service and stay because of the people. Make those connections and get to know your fellow members!
Lastly, I want to invite you all to celebrate the year with us in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., for our 2023 Circle K International Convention. This year, we will be joining Kiwanis to celebrate all the amazing work that both of our organizations have done. At convention, you can meet members from all over the world, attend educational workshops, network with fellow graduates and alumni and elect the new international board. The international board and I will be visiting Minneapolis in January to scope out all the fun stuff the city has to offer. Registration and more information will come soon, so be on the lookout!
Thank you for all of your hard work in 2022, and I am so excited to be serving with y’all again in 2023. I hope you have a successful semester, and I can’t wait to see you all in Minneapolis!
Tyler Kearns
2022-23 Circle K International President