Fact Sheet
Civitan International is an association of volunteer service clubs, with more than 40,000 total members across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
The worldwide mission of Civitan International is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs, with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.
The centerpiece of this focus is the UAB Civitan International Research Center, founded in 1991 through an ongoing financial commitment from Civitan. Located at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, this world-class research facility is dedicated to improving lives through the research and treatment of developmental disabilities and other cognitive disorders.
Civitan clubs support the Research Center and local community projects through several long-running fundraisers, such as the Civitan International Annual Golf Benefit, the Civitan Candy Box and Coin Box programs, the Junior Civitan Dance-a-thon, and more.
Civitans help people in their communities through hands-on service projects, outreach programs, and fundraisers for local charitable causes. Civitan has a history of partnership with other organizations, and give crucial early support to Radio Free Europe, the Boy Scouts of America, Special Olympics, and ARC.
Junior Civitan and Campus Civitan are Civitan's youth and collegiate organizations, respectively, with roughly 11,000 members across nearly 350 clubs.
Famous Civitans include Thomas Edison, President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, astronaut James Irwin, President William Clinton (a Junior Civitan), professional athlete Bo Jackson, racecar driver Richard Petty, and more.
Civitan was founded in Birmingham, Alabama in 1917. Its founder and first president was Dr. Courtney W. Shropshire, a prominent Birmingham physician.
The official website of Civitan International is www.civitan.org . To contact Civitan International, call 1-800-CIVITAN. For media inquiries, contact the PR and Communications Department at pr@civitan.org .