April 15, 1920

The first meeting of the Civitans was in Birmingham in 1917. As the group turned its attention to expansion, an International Association of Civitan Clubs was incorporated during a meeting at the Southern Club in Birmingham on April 15, 1920. The Southern Club, founded in 1886 in the Steel City, was a private gentlemen’s club at the corner of 20^th Street and Fifth Avenue North. On a local level, Civitan clubs undertake various service projects to benefit their communities. Examples of club projects include maintaining sections of highways, promoting the creation of hospitals, supporting local reading programs, sponsoring children in financial need, purchasing playground equipment for developmentally disabled children, and holding events for developmentally disabled individuals. Local Civitan clubs are free to take part in whatever service projects they deem appropriate for their area. Today, Civitan International has clubs in 29 countries and maintains a strong international focus.

Read more at Bhamwiki.

Interior of the Southern Club, published in Art Work of Birmingham, 1907. (Bhamwiki)

Civitan Club’s banner, 2008. (SU Linguist, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.