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A Life-Changing Experience

Key Leader is a leadership program that empowers teens to become more caring and confident leaders

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Maximize your leadership potential

Key Leader empowers students to become more caring and confident leaders. Through team-building activities, group discussions, and personal reflection, participants discover the benefits of Service Leadership.

+34,000

student participants since 2005

693

events in 8 countries

Today’s high school students part of what researchers call the loneliest generation in recorded history. What difference could it make if students found their fit and committed themselves to their communities early in their high school experience?

Key Leader by Kiwanis is a weekend leadership program for high school and graduating 8th Grade students. Our mission is to inspire young people to achieve their personal best through service leadership.

The benefits offered through Key Leader are unique in that they focus on service leadership, social-emotional skills, and can be cultivated through student participation in Kiwanis service organizations such as Key Club.

Program Structure

The program flows through large- and small- group sessions, time for personal reflection, interactive activities, "challenge course" activities, and is anchored by several videos, including a collection from "The Collector of Bedford Street," which follows the community leadership of Larry Selman, known as the "Shepherd of Greenwich Village,"

Program Facilitation

Each Key Leader program is led by a qualified and certified Lead Facilitator, who oversees the implementation of the curriculum and leads all large group sessions. Older students, including previous Key Leader attendees, serve as small group facilitators for activities in small groups called "neighborhoods."

Build Your Community

Key Leader can be used to fit a variety of needs including freshman orientation, a retreat for student leaders or rising student leaders, or simply as a means to establish greater connections between students and their school community. It is designed for students in grades 9, 10, and graduating 8th graders.

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