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We know that there are some misconceptions about Rotary, so to hear what 'ordinary' members of Rotary clubs have to say about this extraordinary organisation and what being part of it means to them, please click the video below ........

 

 

On the 23rd February 1905, 37-year-old Attorney Paul Harris began to change the World.  He conceived an Organisation that has now spanned over 100 years.

Rotary is based upon friendship amongst professional men and women. So started the Rotary Club of Chicago.  It was three years before the second Rotary Club in San Francisco was formed, and then other Clubs were started in cities across the United States before, in 1910, Rotary moved into Canada.

It was 1911 when Rotary crossed the Atlantic and moved into Dublin and in the same year the London Rotary Club was created. In 1917 the Cardiff Rotary Club became the first Club in Wales.

Since those humble beginnings Rotary International has become a global network of service volunteers. It is now the World's largest service organisation for Business and Professional people with over 1.2 million members in 166 Countries.

In Rotary within Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI) there are almost 60,000 members in over 1800 local Clubs playing their part in helping those in need both locally and internationally and working towards world understanding and peace.

Rotary International runs the largest non Government Scholarship Scheme in the World through Rotary Foundation giving more than £21 million every year to educational and humanitarian programmes that promote international understanding.

As a member of a Rotary club, you have the opportunity to give something back, to give hope to those less fortunate and to make lives worthwhile and fulfilled.

If you are interested in joining Rotary, please click here - How to join Rotary.

The enormous sense of achievement you'll experience doing something really worthwhile will be matched only by the enormous amount of fun you'll have! You'll be working, socialising and networking with like-minded people who have the same interests and aims as you - so teamwork is important.

You'll make firm friends as well as worthwhile contacts; you'll learn valuable new skills and grow as a person; and you'll be sure of a warm welcome from other Rotarians around the world whenever you're on your travels.

As a Rotarian, there's a vast array of things you can get involved in, from organising events and supporting local charities or developing young people to assisting with disaster relief and even eradicating diseases such as polio worldwide