Toronto Kiwanis

Circle K Rocks Hart House

It was a beautiful warm evening on Friday October 5, 2007 at Hart House on the St. George campus of the University of Toronto for the launch of the University of Toronto Circle K Club. Truly a historic occasion as this is the first Circle K Club ever at University of Toronto founded by Vijaya Jain and Yayi Huang, former members of the Parkdale Key Club. Parkdale was the first Key Club established in over 50 years in Toronto in 1998 when I was Principal of PCI with Kathi Silke as its first and only adviser to date.

The Toronto Club celebrating its 90th year is the sponsor of the new Circle K club. Betty Willson past president of Toronto and current LG for Division 9 ECC , Presidents Vijaya and Yayi worked long and hard to launch the club within Kiwanis and the U of T. The Toronto club's enthusiastic support was in evidence with the presence of President Geoff Ryan and several club members. President Goeff gave a challenging speech about the changing nature of service and volunteering. As in any Kiwanis meeting there was good food provided by the Toronto Club, some fun activities and a draw. The Circle Ks have already done one volunteer activity and are researching where they can make the biggest difference.

Special guests were President Geoff Ryan, LG Betty Willson, Parkdale Key Club members with staff adviser and Kiwanian Kathi Silke [who received the loudest cheer] , Ken Hanson EC Key Club co administrator, and Tyler Johnson EC Key Club governor.

I asked many of the new Circle K members – how and why did you join?
The universal answer – someone invited me. It was a chain reaction. A good model for other members in the K family.

- Past LG, Ken Hanson of Casa Loma Kiwanis Club

The next meeting is at 6 pm, November 2nd at Hart House.

Click here for more photos from Circle K Club.

Circle K Club Executive

Message from the Presidents

Yayi Huang & Vijaya Jain with Kathi Silke, their former Key Club mentor
and faculty advisor for the Key Club at Parkdale Collegiate Institute.

My name is Yayi Huang, and I'm currently studying Life Sciences at the University of Toronto, in the pursuit of becoming a family doctor. Aside from my studies, I am also actively involved in school clubs and sports teams. I am currently the recruitment officer for the Amateur Musicians Association, and I was named the MVP for both the tennis and volleyball teams in high school. However, my most significant contribution to date is by being a dedicated member of Key Club, a volunteering and fundraising international youth led organization. When I first entered high school, I joined Key Club as a member in hopes to make a difference within my community. In the subsequent years, I served as the Jr. Vice-President, and then co-president for the club. In my last year of high school, I was elected as the Treasurer of the Eastern Canada District of Key Club International. I oversaw the financial status of 42 Key Clubs within the Eastern Canada District, and offered fundraising and volunteering ideas to hundreds of students in my monthly District Newsletter. The Key Club experience has been life changing for me, and thus I've decided to start the Circle K Club, along with Vijaya, at the University of Toronto. We hope to inspire students to donate their time, energy and effort into making a difference within the community. By taking action, every small difference one makes is prominent and significant to the community as a whole. Lastly, it is our hope and belief that the students that we've reached out to will continue to do so through their careers and professions, and together, we will undoubtedly make significant differences in the world!

My name is Vijaya Jain and I am currently an Industrial Engineering student at the University of Toronto. I am also the Co-President of Circle K Club at University of Toronto along with Yayi Huang. All of the positive experiences that I have encountered in Key Club in my high school essentially led me in starting Circle K. Through service in the community and seeking welfare for others, I have learnt that just one person can make all the difference in the world. In addition to the impact that I have made in my community, I realized that I have had much personal growth from all of the experiences that Key Club has offered me. Having gained confidence, leadership, social, and intrapersonal skills, I have also gained lifelong friendships and cherished memories. I wanted to make more difference through Key Club, so I was elected the District Secretary of the Eastern Canada District of Key Club International. Here, I had the opportunity to with a group of dynamic individuals to make plans and decisions on behalf the clubs in Eastern Canada. All of these experiences from Key Club have led me in starting a Circle K at the University of Toronto, hoping to provide the same opportunity for students in making a difference in the community. We hope that our endeavors in Circle K at the University of Toronto will inspire students from University of Toronto to take action, volunteer, and make a difference in the world.