Rotarians have a long history of serving their local communities and the world. The Rotary club as we know it was started by Paul Harris with several of his business acquaintances in Chicago on February 23, 1905. He believe that people of different professions and viewpoints could help each other become better people. This loose knit organization needed a purpose which became focused on service. These business men saw needs and addressed them. Their first service project was a public restroom in bustling downtown Chicago in the early 1900s. It might seem small, but there was a desperate need with these Rotarians fulfilling this initial need of public restrooms.
We don’t even think of a world without plumbing today, but it was different then. In 1908, the second Rotary Club was formed in San Francisco. By 1910, there were sixteen Rotary Clubs across the states which compelled them to meet in 1910 in Chicago to establish the National Association of Rotary Clubs of America. They established bylaws which allowed this male-dominated group of Rotary Clubs to be self-governing. On January 1911m The National Rotarian Magazine was first published outlining common values that Rotarians have. The magazine changed its name to Rotary. Rotarians at the 1911 convention embraced an early version of our primary motto, “Service Above Self.” They also adopted an early version of our secondary motto, “One Profits Most Who Serves Best.” Two slogans were formally approved as official mottoes in 1950.
In 1912, Rotary expanded to Winnipeg, Canada and in August of that chartered a Rotary Club in Canada. In 1917, Rotary president Arch Klumph proposes establishing an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world,” which becomes a precursor to The Rotary Foundation. The Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, USA, makes the first donation of $26.50. In 1928, the Foundation is formally named and a Board of Trustees is created. In 1919, Rotary expanded to South American and Asia. Rotary continued to flourish with Africa and Oceania Rotary Organizations. In 1919, Edinburg Scotland held the first International Convention outside of the USA. By this time, it has grown to be a substantial international organization. Due to its international scale, peace among nations was a common theme in Rotary. This theme was obviously interrupted during World War II. Because of its international scope, Rotary International was invited to serves as a consultant to the U.S. delegation at the United Nations charter conference in San Francisco. Eleven people officially represented Rotary in this capacity.
Other members attended as delegates or consultants to their countries. Rotarians invited women into the male-dominated Clubs in 1985, recognizing that women were becoming an important part of the business world.
Today, Rotarians work together internationally to serve our fellow nations and to serve our local communities. Rotarians focus on service to our youth with mentoring, books, scholarships, and school support. Internationally, Rotarians are trying to eradicate Polio with under 40 cases worldwide this year, down from the millions of Polio victims 75 years ago. Polio Plus eradication programs was established in 1985. Rotarians were recently involved in immunizing tens of thousands of Gaza Children during brief ceasefires in the region.
We also supply Shelter Boxes with Rotary Tents, cooking gear, and water purification systems helping those less fortunate in the strife in Gaza and earthquakes in Turkey and Nepal. Rotarians are also working with “third world countries” in drilling water wells to supply communities. We also support the establishment of “third world businesses” with loans and guidance, especially for women.
For more information on Rotary, please email Ron Saikowski at rsaikowski@comcast.net.
If the full content does not display, visit the article originally published on this site
