When Hal Rogers founded Kin Canada, it is unlikely he could have realized the incredible legacy he was creating. Helping to enrich the lives of countless Canadians over the years, Kin Canada continues to serve as a testament to the good that people can do when they come together.
The story of Kin Canada is one of hope, determination, and adapting to changing needs. At the young age of 20, Rogers was already a World War I veteran. Upon returning to Canada and missing the camaraderie of his fellow soldiers, Hal’s father encouraged him to become a Rotary Club member. “At that time, you could only join one organization,” says Kin Canada’s National President, Patrick Bowers, “but because Hal’s father was already a Rotarian, he wasn’t allowed.”
This led to Hal and “a small group of like-minded men” coming together and creating The Kinsmen Club in Hamilton, Ontario, on February 20, 1920. By 1926, nine cities across Canada boasted charter Kinsmen clubs, and 150 by 1945. “And here we are, all these years later, and over $1 billion donated to Canada,” comments Bowers.
Growing membership
Through fundraising at national and local levels and innumerable initiatives and projects, Kin Canada remains dedicated to “Serving the Community’s Greatest Need” in every province through service, fellowship, positive values, and national pride. Like many nonprofit service organizations, Kin Canada has evolved over the years. Open to all races, colours, and creeds, Kin Canada today includes all-male Kinsmen Clubs, all-female Kinette Clubs, male and female Kin Clubs, and a Campus Club. At present, Kin Canada has 4,589 members and 355 clubs across the nation.
“We are growing as an organization,” shares Bowers. “We are gaining members, and recently chartered a new club in Alberta with 31 new members.”
Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2020, Kin Canada is well known in every corner of Canada. Promoting itself through its website and an active online presence, word-of-mouth remains the main recruiter. “The actual members of the association themselves are the clubs,” says Bowers. “We leave a lot up to the clubs, and that’s why we are so successful and have been around for so long.” Some individuals have been members of Kin Canada for 50 years or more. 18 is the minimum age, with some members in their 90s.
Every Kin Canada club is its own separate legal entity and can make operational and project decisions, provided they align with the association’s mission. This means clubs can decide which projects to implement based on their community’s greatest need. All clubs have an executive, including a president, a treasurer, and other roles, and individual members join a specific club based on factors such as proximity, type of club (Kinsmen, Kinette, or Kin), and the types of projects undertaken.
Helping others
“People see the good that we are doing in the communities and the fun that we have on projects, and that’s a huge motivator for members of the community,” says Bowers. “When we’re out there, it’s not work; it’s actually fun. We do a lot of fellowship and education,” he says.
“The three pillars are service, fellowship, and personal development. Services are what we do in the community, all the projects; fellowship is the fun we have; and personal development includes education, including on our website where members can log in and do just about anything they want online. And if it’s not there, they will let us know, and we can create something for them. We are membership-driven, so whatever they want to do is where we will go.”
Particularly at the local and community level, Kin Canada relies on club actions and activities to get the message out; at the national level, the organization uses online social media platforms to highlight projects. “We are in the process of doing a national branding audit to fully understand where we sit in the public’s view with regard to our brand awareness and recognition,” Executive Director, Randy Sidhu, tells us. “We can then determine where time and resources can be allocated to further promote the association over the course of the next three to five years.”
Meeting needs across the country
For Kin Canada, making a positive difference sometimes means different things, depending on the time and place. Kin Canada—through its 60-year-long partnership with Cystic Fibrosis Canada—has raised more than $52 million for CF research and support. “Without the commitment of our Kin friends, we would not have progressed as far as we have in the fight against cystic fibrosis,” states Cystic Fibrosis Canada CEO, Kelly Grover, on the organization’s website. “You have added years to the lives of children and adults with cystic fibrosis and because of YOU there is hope for people with CF to live longer, better lives.”
Kin Canada continues to raise funds for other causes as well, including Canadian Blood Services (which also sees members donate blood), Coldest Night of the Year, Feed the Need, and disaster relief charities. The organization advocates for worthy organizations and is always open to new partnerships meeting its values and ideals.
Clubs tend to focus on the greatest needs of their communities, and recent years have seen many Canadians struggle with affordable housing, food insecurity, and clothing/general goods affordability. “We also look at challenges that are less visual [such as social disconnect, which Kin Canada combats with community connectivity and engagement events], or those initiatives that many believe are solely tied to levels of government, like infrastructure improvements and development,” says Sidhu. “Kin Canada and our 350-plus clubs are always looking at what the greatest needs are within communities across the country, and to try to combat those challenges through various projects/initiatives and fundraising.”
Being flexible and proactive, and allowing every club to determine its own needs, is key. Members keep their fingers on the pulse and discuss changing priorities, ranging from the need for tiny homes in a community to an individual in need of eyeglasses. In one instance, members are connected to someone skilled at fixing wheelchairs which are then donated to someone in need.
“People have different skill sets,” says Bowers, “and there’s nothing better than donating something to someone who can’t afford it and seeing the look in their eyes; it’s very satisfying.” No matter the cause, big or small, it all comes down to making a positive difference in the lives of others. “You can go to almost any community across the country and see signs of Kin Canada somewhere, whether it be a ball field, stadium, food bank, health centre, playground, or accessible playground,” he says.
The next generation
Like many others, Marley Hanishewsky grew up as a Kin Kid, with both parents heavily involved in the organization. In 2014, she joined the campus Kin Club in her first year at the University of Regina. After completing her studies, Hanishewsky moved back home for a year and joined the local before relocating to Regina in 2018.
While at university, she felt there was a lack of representation at a national level about what younger people wanted or needed. “I felt it was lacking millennial voices,” she says. Soon, she joined the club’s support committee, her first stab at leadership. After a few years, she joined the district team and served as Deputy Governor in Saskatchewan before running for the National Board of Directors, joining in 2020-21. This led to her running for National Vice President in 2022-23, winning, and being elected the youngest female National President in the association’s history.
“That was something I was quite proud of,” she says, and this served as her inspiration for a new recognition program: the Top 30 Kin Members Under 30. Just 29 at the time she became National President, Hanishewsky wanted a way Kin Canada could celebrate the next generation. “There are so many amazing things my generation is going to do for Kin Canada, and that’s not the typical age that you see members,” she says. “I felt that it was really important to shine a light on younger members, as well as provide a safe space for them to shine and thrive. I very much think it’s not just about the act of saying, ‘We’ll make room at the table for you,’ but actively making room, bringing the extra chair, and showing them how to get there,” she says.
“I’ve gone forward and created a Next Gen Kin advisory council, so that’s one of my babies for my last remaining year on the board,” she says. “As time goes on, different generations are interested in different things, and they are more passionate about supporting certain causes—you can see that in some clubs that have those younger members. We tend to thrive on tradition and history, because we are so proud of the tradition and history of these clubs. A lot of these clubs across Canada have longstanding histories and longstanding partnerships. When you bring in the next generation, you have people who can be passionate about different things and create new opportunities for your clubs,” she enthuses.
“One of the things we are seeing across the board is the need to support mental health in Canada and the need to combat food insecurity in Kin Canada and across the country. So I think having a wider spread of people—from whatever background they come from—will bring in the ability for Kin Canada to serve more widely, and more accurately, the needs of Canadians right now.”
