Sheffield Rotary, the CITY Rotary Club

About Rotary

  • Around the world and around the corner, the 1.2 million men and women of Rotary
    • Get involved in their communities
    • Connect with other professionals
    • Share their time and experience with young people
    • Support global causes, such as eradicating polio
    • Use their skills to help others
  • Rotary is a world-wide organisation of business and professional community members that provide humanitarian service and encourages high ethical standards in all vocations.

  • The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth.

  • The ‘Rotary’ name derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

  • Rotary International’s headquarters are still in Chicago.

  • As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving club members’ professional and social interests. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need.

  • The organisation's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto: ‘Service Above Self’.

  • Prime Minister Winston Churchill once declared "Few there are who do not recognise the good work which is done by Rotary clubs throughout the free world".

  • After 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. The first Russian Rotary club was chartered in 1990, and the organisation underwent a growth spurt for the next several years.

  • Rotarians have devised the most amazing projects to help people in all parts of the world, with the largest being the aim of eradicating the polio virus from our planet, which began in 1985.

  • There are now just four countries where the polio virus exists, but in steadily shrinking numbers of cases. Some Rotarians attend the annual immunisation days in, for example, India. See http://rotarynid.blogspot.com for examples.

  • Once a member of Rotary International, you can visit any one of 34,000 Rotary Clubs and be welcomed as a friend. See the full list of Rotary by Country at
    http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/memb_count_country_current.pdf

  • As one American Rotarian put it “When you are a member of Rotary, you have a key to any door”.

  • And look for Rotary Clubs anywhere in the world, by town or city, at
    http://www.rotary.org/en/aboutus/sitetools/clublocator/pages/ridefault.aspx?k

  • The organisation is open to anyone to apply for membership, regardless of race, gender, religion or ethnic origin.
  • See full details of the vast range of Rotary International activities at www.Rotary.org

    Your organisation and your business skills and life experiences should be represented in Rotary. Contact us to come along to a meeting with no obligation and - for your first meeting – at no cost. Email us for details.