Rotary is an international organization that brings together local leaders in order to provide volunteer humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards, and help promote goodwill and peace in the world. There are 34,000 Rotary clubs and more than 1.4 million members worldwide. Members of Rotary Clubs, known as Rotarians, usually meet weekly for breakfast, lunch, or dinner as an opportunity to organize their leadership activities aimed at improving their communities and the world.

For more than 100 years, Rotary’s primary motto has been “Service Above Self” – encapsulating the philosophy of giving back to one’s community. 

Rotary sponsors a wide range of activities to benefit local and international communities, from hands-on and financial support for charitable organizations to scholarships for youth and programs that promote peace and understanding between cultures.  Its signature program, for more than 30 years, has been an effort o eradicate polio throughout the world. Rotary is a major partner in this effort, working with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and others. 

Rotary focuses its humanitarian activities in seven key areas: peace and conflict prevention/resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education, and literacy, economic and community development, and our newest area of focus, protecting the environment.

For more information, visit www.rotary.org.