kinsmen encyclopedia topics

Members

More than 7,400 members belong to 529 Kinsmen, Kinette and Kin clubs from coast to coast. Kinsmen clubs are predominantly male-only while Kinette clubs are predominantly female-only. Kin clubs have a mixed membership of men and women. The Association was founded in Canada and there are no clubs outside of Canada.

History

In 1920, Hal Rogers, founded the first Kinsmen club in Hamilton, Ontario. Rogers, a 21-year-old, had just returned from World War I and his father, a well-known Rotarian, encouraged him to join the Rotary Club. Hal Rogers was rejected, because the Rotary Club would not allow two members from the same business establishment. Not a person to be outdone, Founder Hal decided to create a new club. As a result of his initiative, a small group of like-minded men gathered for a dinner meeting on February 20, 1920 and formed what became known as the Kinsmen Club of Hamilton - Canada's first Kinsmen Club.

Prominent former members

Prominent former Kin members include:

The thirteenth Prime Minister of Canada, John Diefenbaker
Canada's twenty-fourth governor general, Ray Hnatyshyn
The twenty-third Premier of the province of Ontario, Ernie Eves.
The current Minister of Forests and Range and Minister Responsible for Housing for the province of British Columbia, Rich Coleman.

Projects

Each club raises funds and determines how to spend those funds in its community. Together, these clubs raise CAD $15 million a year.

Cystic Fibrosis

Since 1964, Kin Canada has supported the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF), raising as much as CAD $1 million a year for cystic fibrosis (CF) research and treatment. Since 1964 Kin have raised more than $35 million for CF. This makes Kin the country's largest single fundraiser for cystic fibrosis.

Kin Canada Bursaries

Kin Canada Bursaries, a program of the Hal Rogers Endowment Fund, provides financial assistance to eligible persons in their quest for higher learning. Kin Canada established the Hal Rogers Endowment Fund upon the passing of founder Hal Rogers.

Kin Canada Foundation

The Kin Canada Foundation is an incorporated and federally chartered charitable organization established in 2005 to help Kin Canada achieve the objective of “Serving the Community’s Greatest Need”. The Foundation's primary goal is to work hand-in-hand with Kin Canada to help resource and develop many of the programs provided for the benefit of the members across Canada.

Telemiracle

Telemiracle is a telethon organized by the Kinsmen and Kinettes in Saskatchewan, Canada for the benefit of the Kinsmen Foundation. Initially broadcast on both CTV and CBC affiliates in Saskatchewan, it is now broadcast, commercial-free, exclusively on the province's CTV affiliates.

The first telethon, in 1977, raised more than CAD $1 million, which at the time was considered a record for per capita telethon fund-raising in a 20-hour period (the province had a population of only about 1 million people at the time). The telethon passed the $2 million mark for the first time in 1983. And in recent years, the telethon has routinely raised between $3.0 and $3.5 million each year.