How did We Get Here?
We’ve been making history and bringing our world closer together for over 100 years. The first Rotary club was started in Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1905 by an attorney named Paul Harris. Harris wanted to bring together a group of professionals with different backgrounds and skills as a way to exchange ideas and form meaningful acquaintances. In August 1910, the 16 Rotary clubs then in the United States formed the National Association of Rotary Clubs, now Rotary International. In 1912, Rotary expanded to a few more countries, and by July 1925, Rotary clubs existed on six continents. Today, there are more than 35,000 clubs, in almost every country in the world. For more information about Rotary’s history, go to rotary.org/history.
What We value
Rotary was founded on principles that remain at the heart of the organization today. These principles reflect our core values — integrity, diversity, service, leadership, and fellowship, or friendship. Our core values emerge as themes in our guiding principles.
Avenues of Service
We channel our commitment to service through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity.
• Club Service focuses on making clubs strong. A thriving club is anchored by strong relationships and an active membership development plan.
• Vocational Service calls on all Rotarians to work with integrity and contribute their expertise to the problems and needs of society.
• Community Service encourages every Rotarian to find ways to improve the quality of life of people in their communities and to serve the public interest.
• International Service exemplifies our global reach in promoting peace and understanding. We support this avenue by sponsoring or volunteering on international projects, using local member expertise to build long-term partnerships for sustainable projects, seeking service partners abroad, and more.
• Youth Service recognizes the importance of empowering youth and young professionals through leadership development programs such as Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Rotary Youth Exchange.