Kiwani's Club

Last week Kenyon and I were invited to a Kiwani's Club luncheon. We accepted the invitation. You could count the number of people under the age of sixty on one hand. The club talked about the upcoming blood drive, their participation as bell ringers for the Salvation Army, the gifts they were going to give to needy children at Christmas and a literacy project they were helping with. The featured presenter for the meeting was the local school district who has started a graduation requirement where students look at what they will do beyond graduation - they choose a path (career, artistic, or philanthropic), submit a research paper on their chosen path, submit community service hours along that path, and give a final presentation. The school was asking for mentors to help the students in this graduation requirement.

This group and groups like it (Rotary Club, Elks Lodge, etc) do good work. They are integrated in their communities and they give back in tangible ways. Why are groups like this so unappealing to a younger generation? Why has this kind of civic engagement seemed to die in popularity with so many?

I don't really understand it. As a society, are we really that selfish? Do we only participate for what we can get out of it?

I read portions of a book on this topic in graduate school titled Bowling Alone. I think I might revist this text, I am currently very curious about the decline of civic engagement.

Things that make you go, hmmm...