Orono-Old Town Kiwanis Club History
The Orono- Old Town Kiwanis Club is dedicated to serving the local community through various service and fundraising projects. Our club has been in service to our communities since 1935. In 2025, we celebrated 90 years of community service.
- Founding Information: In June of 1935 a group of local businessmen founded The Orono Kiwanis Club. In 1944 we changed our name to the Kiwanis Club of Orono-Old Town.
- Signature Project: Annual Auction and Yard Sale. The first auction was held in 1946 and has grown through the years. This annual fundraiser generates income to support our annual scholarships and other service projects.
- Community Impact: During the history our of club we built Nickerson swimming pool in 1953, organized swimming lessons at the town pool, began the lunch program within the Orono School System, and participated in teacher appreciation programs within our schools. We were instrumental in organizing the first Orono Festival Days, participated in Orono’s Sesquicentennial, volunteered time to Orono Youth Hockey, Orono Police Department House of Safety & Orono Senior Citizens. We partnered with the American Legion to sponsor a Christmas Party for area youth, supported Little League teams and help support scholarships offered by the Old Town-Orono YMCA. We have supported many literacy projexts including: partnering with the U Maine College of Education and Human Development to collect books for needy youngsters, supporting the Orono & Old Town Public Libraries, providing a dictionary or thesaurus to every 3 grader in 6 areas schools and providing a book to incoming students during Kindergarten registration events. We usher at University of Maine Football and Hockey home games and provide volunteer support for area Special Olympic events. Each year we provide scholarships to seniors at Orono and Old Town High School to continue their education.
