About
Rotary
What is
Rotary?
The Rotary Wheel
The 4-way test
The four avenues of service
The Rotary Foundation
Rotaract and Interact
What is
Rotary?
Rotary is short for Rotary International, a worldwide association
of local clubs for men and women in business and the professions
who:
- provide humanitarian service to the community at a
local,national and international level
- encourage high ethical standards in all vocations
- work for goodwill and peace in the world
The Rotary
movement started in 1905, in Chicago, and was founded by Paul
Harris. The name "Rotary" derives from the early
practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.
It has developed into a worldwide organisation with almost
1.2 million members, in over 30,000 clubs. It operates in over 160 countries.
Rotary in Britain and Ireland, normally referred to as RIBI, has about 60,000 Rotarians in over 1800 clubs within 29 districts.
Rotarians give support and time to community projects at a local,
national and international level, as well as raising funds (over
£15 million was raised in 1999).
The Rotary movement is celebrating its centenary this year.
Service above Self is the motto of the Rotary
movement.
The Rotary Wheel
A wheel has been the
symbol of Rotary since its earliest days, the original wagon
wheel emblem symbolising "Civilisation and Movement".
Since 1924, the present gear wheel with 24 cogs and six spokes
was adopted. The key bed in the centre of the wheel shows that it is driven, rather than just freewheeling.
The 4-way test
This test, developed in 1932 by a later President of Rotary
International, Herbert J. Taylor is a simple guide to right
thinking and business conduct. The test is to ask the following
questions:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better
friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
The four avenues of service
The "four avenues of service" concept is used as a way
to describe the primary activities of Rotary service.
- "Club Service" involves all the activities
which Rotarians perform to make their club function
successfully.
- "Vocational Service" indicates the
opportunity each Rotarian has to represent the dignity and
utility of their vocation to other members of the Club.
- "Community Service" describes activities
which Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their
community.
- "International Service" describes many
programmes and activities undertaken by Rotarians to advance
international understanding, goodwill and peace, and to meet the
humanitarian needs of people in many lands. These include emergency boxes, eye camps, vocational training schools, and provisioon of items for areas of need including text books, tools and water filtration units.
The Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation is the charity of the Rotary movement. It is dedicated to furthering international understanding, goodwill and peace. The Foundation administers many programmes to aid the needy and deserving.
The most ambitious programme to date has been PolioPlus, a campaign to help the World Health Organisation immunise the world's children against polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus. The programme began in 1985, and since then more than 2 billion children have received oral polio vaccine. It was hoped that polio would be completely eradicated by the year 2005.
Another major programme is 3-H Grants. 3-H stands for Health, Hunger and Humanity, and this programme funds large-scale, one- to three-year projects which enhance health, help alleviate hunger, or improve human development.
Rotaract and Interact
Rotary International has created two organisations for young people, dedicated to service and international understanding.
Rotaract,which is made up from the words Rotary and Action, has a membership of over 150,000 in 146 countries. It is a club for men and women aged 19-30 years who participate in a programme of social, charitable and fund-raising events.
Interact is a similar type of organisation, but is for young people between the ages of 14 and 18; it has a membership of 170,000 in 106 countries.
Though closely associated with Rotary, the clubs are independent and self-governing.
Home About the Club Club
Diary Club Committees News and Announcements History Links Contact the Club
Members' area