About Rotary
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History
The world's 1st service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago,
Illinois, USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P Harris,
an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club
the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his
youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of
rotating meetings among members' offices.
Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the
decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco
to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six
continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary
International a year later.
As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the
professional and social interests of club members. Rotarians
began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to
help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication
to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto: Service
Above Self. Rotary also later embraced a code of ethics, called
The 4-Way Test, that has been translated into hundreds of
languages.
During and after World War II, Rotarians became increasingly
involved in promoting international understanding. In 1945, 49
Rotary members served in 29 delegations to the United
Nations Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates
in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings and
promoting the United Nations in Rotary publications. Rotary
International's relationship with the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
dates back to a 1943 London Rotary conference that promoted
international cultural and educational exchanges. Attended by
ministers of education and observers from around the world,
and chaired by a past president of RI, the conference was an
impetus to the establishment of UNESCO in 1946.
An endowment fund, set up by Rotarians in 1917 "for doing
good in the world," became a not-for-profit corporation known
as The Rotary Foundation in 1928. Upon the death of Paul
Harris in 1947, an outpouring of Rotarian donations made in his
honor, totaling US$2 million, launched the Foundation's first
program — graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial
Scholarships. Today, contributions to The Rotary Foundation
total more than US$80 million annually and support a wide
range of humanitarian grants and educational programs that
enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international
understanding throughout the world.
In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of
the world's children against polio. Working in partnership with
nongovernmental organizations and national governments
thorough its PolioPlus program, Rotary is the largest private-
sector contributor to the global polio eradication campaign.
Rotarians have mobilized hundreds of thousands of PolioPlus
volunteers and have immunized more than one billion children
worldwide. By the 2005 target date for certification of a polio-
free world, Rotary will have contributed half a billion dollars to
the cause.
As it approached the dawn of the 21st century, Rotary worked
to meet the changing needs of society, expanding its service
effort to address such pressing issues as environmental
degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk. The
organization admitted women for the first time (worldwide) in
1989 and claims more than 145,000 women in its ranks today.
Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of
the Soviet Union, Rotary clubs were formed or re-established
throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Today, 1.2 million
Rotarians belong to some 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200
countries and geographical areas.
The world's 1st service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago,
Illinois, USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P Harris,
an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club
the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his
youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of
rotating meetings among members' offices.
Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the
decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco
to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six
continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary
International a year later.
As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the
professional and social interests of club members. Rotarians
began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to
help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication
to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto: Service
Above Self. Rotary also later embraced a code of ethics, called
The 4-Way Test, that has been translated into hundreds of
languages.
During and after World War II, Rotarians became increasingly
involved in promoting international understanding. In 1945, 49
Rotary members served in 29 delegations to the United
Nations Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates
in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings and
promoting the United Nations in Rotary publications. Rotary
International's relationship with the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
dates back to a 1943 London Rotary conference that promoted
international cultural and educational exchanges. Attended by
ministers of education and observers from around the world,
and chaired by a past president of RI, the conference was an
impetus to the establishment of UNESCO in 1946.
An endowment fund, set up by Rotarians in 1917 "for doing
good in the world," became a not-for-profit corporation known
as The Rotary Foundation in 1928. Upon the death of Paul
Harris in 1947, an outpouring of Rotarian donations made in his
honor, totaling US$2 million, launched the Foundation's first
program — graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial
Scholarships. Today, contributions to The Rotary Foundation
total more than US$80 million annually and support a wide
range of humanitarian grants and educational programs that
enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international
understanding throughout the world.
In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of
the world's children against polio. Working in partnership with
nongovernmental organizations and national governments
thorough its PolioPlus program, Rotary is the largest private-
sector contributor to the global polio eradication campaign.
Rotarians have mobilized hundreds of thousands of PolioPlus
volunteers and have immunized more than one billion children
worldwide. By the 2005 target date for certification of a polio-
free world, Rotary will have contributed half a billion dollars to
the cause.
As it approached the dawn of the 21st century, Rotary worked
to meet the changing needs of society, expanding its service
effort to address such pressing issues as environmental
degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk. The
organization admitted women for the first time (worldwide) in
1989 and claims more than 145,000 women in its ranks today.
Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of
the Soviet Union, Rotary clubs were formed or re-established
throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Today, 1.2 million
Rotarians belong to some 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200
countries and geographical areas.
About Rotary
4-way test
Mission
Foundation
4-way test
Mission
Foundation
Burnaby Metrotown Rotary
