About Us

Our Mission

The “mission” of the Kinsmen Club of Wallaceburg is very simple – to serve the community’s greatest need.

It is a mission that has not changed since the club began in 1932.

Some examples of the things we have done in our history to accomplish our mission:

When a large corporation decided to close the bingos in Wallaceburg and force the players and charities earning funds by working the bingos to drive to Chatham or Sarnia if they want to play/participate the Club stepped in and started is own community bingo – one of only 3 in Ontario owned by a “not for profit” entity.

When bad times hit Wallaceburg and there were numerous empty commercial buildings throughout the community the club decided to step up to the plate and buy one of them, turning it into a community centre with a gym, and adding on some commercial space to help pay for it. The total cost was well over $1KK.

When a small group of local pumpkin growers got – in their words – too old to manage an annual pumpkin growing contest the club stepped in and started a Pumpkinfest, bringing in growers from all over Ontario and Quebec and providing another weekend event for the people of Wallaceburg.

There are 2 parks in the community the bear our name (Kinsmen and Kinette) as part of our past contributions.
The Wallaceburg Kinsman have always supported the Sydenham Hospital projects and will continue to do so in the future.

With one exception, all the funds we raise stay in the community and support numerous projects including local sports associations, the curling club, Lend-a-Hand, and many others. The only exception is we support CF research, the favourite charity of the national arm of Kinsmen Canada.

What is Kinsmen?

The Association of Kinsmen Clubs is an organization of young business and professional men gathered together in clubs throughout Canada for the purposes of service and fellowship. By service we mean the rendering of aid and comfort to those of our fellows in need of assistance and by fellowship we mean the bonds of friendship arising through the mutual participation of club members in service activities.

The Association was founded in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, on February 20th, 1920, with Harold A. Rogers as founder. There are now hundreds of clubs and thousands of members. Throughout the years the service achievements of the clubs, both on a local and national scale have been most significant.

Founding of The Kinsmen Club of Wallaceburg

The Kinsmen Club of Wallaceburg was founded in 1932 by Jim Burgess, of the local Wallaceburg Brass Burgess family. Burgess was a business contact for the founder of Kinsmen Hal Rogers who coincidently "invented" and designed the flying W initially for the Brass Factory that became the Town's symbol for many years.