Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RGBI) has over 55,000 members in 1,855 clubs. It is an integral part of Rotary International, the world's first service organization.

Please look at these two videos introducing the essence of Rotary.
Rotary - Make a World of Difference Rotary - We're for Communities

 


Further background information

Rotary Facts
The world's first service club was the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The club was formed 23 February, 1905 by lawyer Paul P. Harris and three friends -- a merchant, a coal dealer, and a mining engineer. Harris wished to recapture the friendly spirit he had felt among businesspeople in the small town where he had grown up. The name 'Rotary' was derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among member's offices.

Mission
The main objective of Rotary is service -- in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians build goodwill and peace, provide humanitarian service, and encourage high ethical standards in all vocations. The Rotary motto is 'Service Above Self.'

Membership
Rotarians are professional men and women who work as volunteers to improve the quality of life in their home and world community. Club membership represents a cross-section of local business and professional leaders. The world's Rotary clubs meet weekly and are non-political, non-religious and open to all cultures, races, and creeds working in 160 countries and 35 geographical regions worldwide.
First admitted in 1987, women are the fastest-growing segment of Rotary's membership. There are nearly 2,000 women club presidents and women are rapidly assuming regional leadership roles.

Service Today
Rotarians initiate community projects that address many of today's most critical issues, such as violence, drug abuse, youth, AIDS, hunger, the environment, and illiteracy. Rotary clubs are autonomous and determine service projects based on local needs.

Rotarians work with and for youth to address challenges facing young people today.

Through participation in Rotary-sponsored Interact clubs (for secondary school students), Rotaract clubs (for young adults), and Rotary Youth Leadership awards, young people worldwide learn leadership skills and the importance of community service.

Rotary Youth Exchange gives high school students the opportunity to broaden their world view and build international friendships.

Rotarians have a history of building safe communities and working for peace. In the world's cities, where urban violence has become rampant, Rotary has the community-based network to help prevent unrest. Rotary-sponsored violence prevention projects and conferences address the root causes of violence such as drug abuse, poverty, lack of role models, and gangs.

The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International provides an opportunity for Rotarians to work for international understanding and peace. Through their Foundation, Rotarians sponsor international educational and humanitarian programs.

The 4-Way Test



From the earliest days of the organization, Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards in their professional lives. One of the world's most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is The 4-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. This 24-word code of ethics for employees to follow in their business and professional lives became the guide for sales, production, advertising, and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy. Adopted by Rotary in 1943, The 4-Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. It asks the following four questions:

Of the things we think, say or do:

  • Is it the TRUTH?

  • Is it FAIR to all concerned?

  • Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

  • Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

 

The Object of Rotary

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.


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