Skip to main content

Home | Community & Vocational Service | Vocational Service

WHAT IS VOCATIONAL SERVICE?    

In Rotary, it means that we are committed to honest business, unassailable ethics and that we are equally committed to using our vocational skills and advantages to help others.   

The idea is simple enough but it is unique to Rotary and is one of the key reasons why Rotary is so old and why it is THE most successful service organisation in the world.   

Whilst vocational service in Rotary is sometimes the forgotten Avenue of Service, high ethical standards in business and personal life are still as important today as they have ever been. Indeed, many of the world's current problems have been caused by the failure to observe such standards in modern business and political life.   

A fundamental part of the bedrock of Rotary is our commitment to ethical behaviour. It has been putting what's right above what's convenient (and Service Above Self) that has made Rotary different from the rest. That is why we must always remember that whatever we do, we are the public face of Rotary. We are each the standard-bearers for our organisation and what one member does reflects on us all.   

So much of what Rotary has achieved has come about because of the trust the world has in Rotary and Rotarians. The public give and trust us with their donations for a variety of causes. That trust has been a major part of our success in polio eradication – the fact that we are known in every community and known to be people of goodwill and good hearts. This is something that we are all charged with jealously protecting.