Rotary Fundamentals

 

What is Rotary

 

  • ROTARY is a service association of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who conduct humanitarian projects, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and work toward world understanding and peace.

     

  • ROTARY is more than 1 million service-minded leaders belonging to over 25,500 Rotary Clubs in172 countries and geographical regions. Membership is by invitation.

     

  • ROTARY is an international organization of volunteers who provide humanitarian service.

     

  • Rotarians meet weekly to enjoy each other's fellowship and discuss ways to serve others.

     

  • ROTARY is compassion for the underprivileged, the ill and the disabled, many of whom are the beneficiaries of over 50,000 service projects conducted by Rotary Clubs in the world each year.

     

  • ROTARY adds fulfillment each year to the lives of some 9,000 young people of secondary school age as they study in countries other than their own.

     

  • THE ROTARY FOUNDATION spends more than US$40 million on a variety of educational and humanitarian programs to provide international understanding.

     

  • ROTARY sponsors INTERACT, nearly 7,000 service clubs for young people of secondary school age in more than 90 countries.

     

  • ROTARY sponsors ROTERACT, nearly 5,000 service clubs for young adults between 18 and 29 in 100 countries.

     

  • ROTARY began in 1905 in Chicago. The international headquarters is in Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A., and there branch offices in 9 countries on 5 continents.

     

  • ROTARY in 1989-1990 grew at the extraordinary rate of a new club every 12 hours. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians, members of more than 29,000 Rotary clubs in 161 countries.

     

 

Declaration of Rotarians in Businesses and Professions

 

The Declaration of Rotarians in Businesses and Professions is a statement of recent origin. It was adopted by the Rotary International Council on Legislation in 1989 to provide more specific guidelines for the high ethical standards called for in the Object of Rotary. Here is the text:

 

As a Rotarian engaged in a business or profession, I am expected to:

 

  1. Consider my vocation to be another opportunity to serve;
  2. Be faithful to the letter and to the spirit of the ethical codes of my vocation, to the laws of my country, and to the moral standards of my community;
  3. Do all in my power to dignify my vocation and to promote the highest ethical standards in my chosen vocation;
  4. Be fair to my employer, employees, associates, competitors, customers, the public and all those with whom I have a business or professional relationship;
  5. Recognize the honor and respect due to all occupations which are useful to society;
  6. Offer my vocational talents: to provide opportunities for young people, to work for the relief of the special needs of others, and to improve the quality of life in my community;
  7. Adhere to honesty in my advertising and in all representations to the public concerning my business or profession;
  8. Neither seek from nor grant to a fellow Rotarian a privilege or advantage not normally accorded others in a business or professional relationship.

 

The Object of Rotary

 

The Object of Rotary can be considered the foundation stone on which the Rotary house is built. This brief statement, 106 words in its current form, is a key element of the Rotary International Constitution. It states the essential purpose of the organization -- "to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise" -- and then lists four areas by which this "ideal of service" can be fostered. They are: through the development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service; the promotion of high ethical standards in business and professions; through service in one's personal, business and community life; and the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace.

 

The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

 

First. The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;

 

Second. High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;

 

Third. The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;

 

Fourth. The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

 

This articulation of Rotary ideals began with the first constitution of 1906 which had three objects: promotion of business interests, promotion of good fellowship and the advancement of the best interests of the community. By 1910 there were five objects in the statement and by 1915, six. The document went through several further revisions until a final revision in 1951 which made it a single "Object" which is manifested in four separate ways. The "ideal of service" is the key phrase, expressing an attitude of being a thoughtful and helpful person in all of one's endeavors.

 

Why Become a Rotarian?

 

Professionals today juggle career, family, friends and personal interests. Little time is left over for community involvement and the satisfaction of volunteerism. You can make the most of the time you give to your community by belonging to a Rotary Club. Rotarians achieve together what individuals can not accomplish alone-and have fun doing it! While Rotary Clubs make a real difference in communities around the world, they also offer unparalleled opportunities for individual growth:

 

  • "Hands on" experience dealing with issues affecting our local and world communities.
  • A forum for developing and fine-tuning business and leadership skills.
  • Membership in a diverse international network of business and professional leaders.
  • A sense of accomplishment gained from working with your peers on a variety of valuable community and international service projects.
  • The opportunity to meet Rotarians of other clubs in nearby communities-or anywhere you travel around the world-and have friends in all corners of the globe.

 

Through club activities, members develop and use business skills that can be applied at work-such as leading meetings, developing budgets, spearheading fundraising efforts, and organizing service projects. Club leadership changes annually so that more people can have the benefit of such leadership training.

 

Membership is gained by recommendation of a an active member. If you have interest in knowing more, or would like to visit a meeting please contact us at the Rotary Club of West Chester.

 

Motto

 

"Service Above Self"

 

The enthusiasm with which Rotarians embraced the ideal of service is evidenced by Rotary's principal motto, "Service Above Self" and its other official precept, "He Profits Most Who Serves Best." The roots of both of these adages, adopted as official mottos at the 1950 RI Convention, can be traced back to the first decade of Rotary's existence, when "He profits most who serves his fellows best and Service not self were both put forth as slogans. In 1989, the RI Council on Legislation designated "Service above Self" as the principal motto.

 

Rotary Emblem

 

Rotary Logo

Rotary's first emblem was a simple wagon wheel (in motion with dust) representing civilization and movement. It was designed in 1905 by Montague Bear, a member of the Chicago club, who was an engraver, and many Rotary clubs of the time adopted the wheel in one form or another.

 

In 1922, authority was given to create and preserve an official emblem, and the following year the present gear wheel with 24 cogs and six spokes was adopted. A keyway was added to signify that the wheel was a "worker and not an idler." At the RI Convention in 1929, royal blue and gold were chosen as the official colors.