Rotary History
“Rotary is an organization of businessmen and professionals from all over the world, who provide humanitarian aid, encourage the high moral norms in all professions and help for setting up of goodwill and peace in the world.”
For more than 110 years, Rotary members have been accepting challenges all around the world, and the vision started from one man – Paul Harris, who laid the foundation of the first Rotary Club in Chicago, on February 23rd, 1905. The main goal of the club was to allow professionals of every field to exchange ideas, become friends and help their communities. Presently, Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
Rotary members have not only witnessed major moments in history, but had a key role in some of them.
Statistics
We are committed to finding solutions
We really are international
Just 16 years after its establishment, Rotary already had clubs on 6 continents. Today, members from almost every country work together to solve some of the most difficult problems in the world.
We withstand hardships
During the Second World War, Rotary clubs in Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain were forced to dissolve. Despite the risks, many members continued to meet informally, and after the war ended, they reunited to rebuild their clubs and their countries.
We are committed to making it work
We are not afraid to dream big and set big goals. We started the fight against polio in 1979 with a project that implied the immunization of 6 million children in the Philippines. Today, polio is still a problem in only 3 countries – by comparison, in 1988, 125 countries were fighting this disease.
În 2018, Rotary invested
Rotary in history
Our main areas of interest include:
- Promoting peace
- Fighting against disease
- Providing clean water and sanitation
- Saving mothers and children
- Supporting education
- Growing local economies
- Ending polio