Rotary - 113 Years Old and Still Achieving

On 23 February 2018, it was 113 years since Paul Harris formed the first Rotary Club


On 23 February 1905, Chicago lawyer Paul P. Harris created the first Rotary Club, initially to promote professional acquaintance. He soon added ‘Service’ and in 1907 the Chicago Rotarians built the city’s first ‘public comfort station’. Rotary spread rapidly thereafter, Manchester Rotary being chartered in 1911. In 1922, Rotary Club of Buxton’s inauguration year, the ‘International Association of Rotary Clubs’ became today’s ‘Rotary International’ (RI).

What of Rotary achievements? Too many to mention, but some are highly significant. In 1917, Rotarian Arch Klumph obtained agreement for an endowment fund for Rotary for the purpose of doing good in the world. Now called ‘The Rotary Foundation’, it spends less than 2% of income on administration and has given more than $3Billion to humanitarian programmes.

In the early 40’s, through RI having 6,800 clubs in 81 countries, forty-nine Rotarians helped draft the UN’s Charter in 1945 and the constitution of UNESCO in 1946. Today, RI has an invited presence on these and many other international bodies.

In 1985, after previously immunising all the children in the Phillipines against polio, RI announced its intention to immunise every child in the world. In 1988, its PolioPlus programme became the Global Polio Eradication Initiative through RI partnering with the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. Today, with world governments and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also on board, world-wide eradication of polio is in sight. People forget that only 60 years ago, polio killed 255 children and adults in England alone.

Have Rotary Clubs changed since 1905? Membership was extended to women in 1985, but uptake was slow and still is; it wasn’t until 2013 that the Rotary Club of Buxton elected its first woman President.

Rotary Clubs changed in other ways, many moving from the traditional meetings meal: Maidenhead Rotary Club meets in a coffee shop two Sunday mornings/month, members bringing along their young children; some Rotarians belong to e-Clubs, interacting via Internet meetings; there are Satellite Clubs that ally with a Rotary Club but do their own thing; Bentley Motors in Crewe formed the UK’s first Corporate Rotary Club; and Manchester Trailblazers has a 22 year old President, so dispelling the popular misconception that Rotary is only for male retirees.

There are also different categories of membership (full, associate, corporate) and many clubs have ‘Friends’ who just want to help.

Will Rotary be around for the next 113 years? If there are still men and women wishing to help others by ‘Service Above Self’, there’s no reason to think otherwise provided Rotary International continues to adapt its club and membership structures to suit them.

'What We Do' Main Pages:

Rotary, in collaboration with other local organisations, is helping people to improve their home energy usage. We have received a Rotary District Grant and are supported by the High Peak Borough Council Community Climate and Nature Action Fund.

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Now that the vaccination programme has started we are planning activities (Covid-safe) for later this year. We are helping with traffic control at the Buxton Medical vaccination hub.

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Photos of some of the Stalls (and Charlie Chaplin meets King Kong)

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Primary school children need to be able to work online but many don't have a computer/tablet. With a District Contingency Fund Grant we have donated £1000 to Buxton Infants and Fairfield Infants for computers.

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Wishing you all a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year (keep safe )

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Some of this year's achievements

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Big Dog Parker's owner, Elizabeth, has loaned him to the Rotary Club of Buxton to help children. Polio is still crippling under-5s so he's fundraising for Rotary's 'End Polio Now' campaign, by visiting Buxton firms, and inviting their staff to help.

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100 boxes of Christmas biscuits were shared with local charities. Thanks to Morrisons for their generous discount and community support. For each box we bought, Morrisons donated one to support communities around the area.

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Rotary Club of Buxton Buxton Trust Fund - Charity No 1032437

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To encourage young people to achieve their potential

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Identifying & meeting community needs

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To promote International fellowship and service

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Using media to make the aims and activities of the Rotary Club of Buxton and the wider world of Rotary known to the public

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Membership Matters

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