Rotary is the first service club organization. It is an association of local gathered into a larger organization called ‘Rotary International’ (R.I.) individual Rotarians are members of their respective clubs. It is an organization of business and professional persons who have accepted the ideal of Service as a basis for attaining fulfillment in their personal, professional and community lives; united world wide, who provide humanitarian service; encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

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.

• July - Beginning of Rotary Year

• August - Membership Development Month

• September - Youth Activities Month

• October - Vocational Service Month

• November - Rotary Foundation Month

• December - No Designation

• January - Rotary Awareness Month

• February - World Understanding Month

• March - World Rotaract Day/Week

• April - The Magazine Month

• May - Annual Project Report Due

• June - Rotaract Pre-Convention Meeting / Rotary Fellowship Month

(19 April 1868 – 27 January 1947)

Paul Harris, a lawyer, was the founder of Rotary, the world’s largest first international service club. Paul was born in Racine, Washington USA on 19th April 1868. He was the second of the six children to mother Cornelia and father George Howard Harris. Married to Jean Thomson, the couple had no children. He received the bachelor of Physical Culture and LLD degree from the University of Vermont & the LLB degree from University of Lowa. He received Honorary PhD in 1933 from university of Vermount. Paul was simple person, but quest for knowledge made him delay in starting Law practice. He decided to travel and gain new experiences of life in the next five years. During this period he travelled all US and England and also did a variety of jobs. In 1896, he set up his law practice at Chicago. He quickly established a good practice. However, lack of friends and absence of interaction between business people made him feel rather lonely. On 23rd February 1905, Paul Harris formed the first club with three of his law clients Silverster Schiele, a coal merchant, Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer and Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor. The nucleus was formed for thousand of rotary clubs, which were later organized throughout the world.

Paul was the first President of the National Association and also for the International Association. Paul Harris passed away on 27th January, 1947.the growth of Rotary Movement is a true tribute to its founder whose fervent prayer was “God grant that my vision of the faults of men and nations be dimmed and my vision of their virtues be brightened”. He was a friend whose heart was good, who walked with men and understood. His was a voice that spoke to cheer, and felt like music to the ear. His was a smile men loved to see. His was a hand that asked no fee for friendliness or kindness done. And now that he has journeyed on, his is a fame that never ends as he leaves behind uncounted friends.

This three year pilot program will focus the attention of the world’s Rotary clubs on critical ecological issues. Clubs will increase the number and diversity of environment projects in their communities region and countries.

World community service links Rotary clubs needing help to complete a community service project with club in other countries willing to provide materials and technical and professional support. To assist them, Rotary established the Donation in kind of information network. It provides a list of goods, supplies & services donated by Rotarians and Rotary clubs for use by other clubs and districts in their service projects. The World Community Service Project Exchange (754-EN) lists projects needing international Rotary and Rotaract club partners.

Rotary clubs and districts annually sponsor more than 8,000 young people of secondary school age for travel abroad and home stay with a Rotarian host family either for an academic year, during which the young person lives with more than one host family, or during an extended holiday of from several days to several weeks in order to advance international understanding and goodwill.

Interact, for young people of Secondary School age and Rotaract for young adults between the age of 18 to 30, are Rotary clubs sponsored service clubs for youth. In addition to social activities, each Interact and Rotaract club carries out at least one international service project each year.

Organized at the Rotary club, district or multidistrict level, R Y L A is a program of seminars, conferences and camps to develop and recognize good citizenship and leadership qualities in young people. Selected young people meet with Rotarians and other resource people to explore and discuss topics of importance to youth.

This pilot project matches individual Rotarian volunteers with situations in which their specific skills are put to use. Although centered primarily in the community at club level, the program also identifies volunteer opportunities within the clubs, districts and elsewhere in the world.

Self help organizations made up of non-Rotarians, RCC’s work to develop the communities where they live, learning valuable group skills in the process. Hundreds of rural and urban crops world wide are sponsored by Rotary Clubs.

Through friendship Exchange, Rotarians and their families carry out reciprocal visits, living in homes of Rotarians and their families in other countries. There are both club-to-club programs for individuals and district -to - district programs for larger groups. In addition, Rotarians living in or near the country hosting the Rotary International convention offer Pre or Post convention home stay to Rotary families from other parts of the world. Rotarians can expand their fellowship with Rotarians in either lands through membership in any of more than 25 world Fellowship activities. These groups offer them the opportunities to share their interest in areas such as golfing, flying, computing, music, yachting, stamp collections and short wave radio. Through the pilot program of International Vocational Contact Groups, Rotarians within the same business, professional or vocational fields associate with each other to further international fellowship and service.

The Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship, the worlds largest privately sponsored international scholarship program since 1947, fund study in another country, during which time scholars serve as goodwill ambassadors and are available to speak about their homeland. Upon return, scholars give talks on their international experiences with an aim to increase world understanding. Scholarship are available for one, two or three academic years.

Began in 1978, these grants provide funding for large scale, 1 to 5 year international humanitarian service projects that are designed to improve health, alleviate hunger, enhance human and social development, and advance international understanding, goodwill and peace. The project must involve Rotary clubs from two or more countries. Rotaractors can participate in 3-H projects, but informally.

The Rotary Volunteers program links Rotarians and spouses, Rotaractors, Rotary Foundation scholars, and non-Rotarians with exciting volunteer opportunities in community and international service projects. The Rotary Volunteers program is designed to create greater awareness among Rotarians / Rotaractors of volunteer opportunities within their own and other communities, provide expertise or skills not available within the community to service projects, and increase and facilitate participation in all types of volunteer activities.

Launched in 1985, Rotary’s Polio Plus program is one of the most ambitious humanitarian undertakings ever by a private – sector organization. Contribution and pledge of more than 226,000$ support the goals on international health organizations to immunize all the children against six vaccine-preventable diseases, that kill and cripple some 7 million children each year.

Began in 1965 these annual awards are made to paired rotary district to provide travel expenses for a team of 4 or 5 young non Rotarians from a variety of vocations. Rotarians host organize a 4 to 6 weeks itinerary of educational and cultural point of interest. The Rotary Foundation provides funding for round trip transportation. Host Rotarian pay expenses directly associated with the visiting team’s study tour.

These grants began in 1965, provide matching funds for international projects of Rotary clubs and districts. A Matching Grants offers financial assistance up to US$50,000 for the purpose of advancing an international Rotary Service project. These grants match international Rotary / Rotaract club contributions or project funds raised jointly between the project’s sponsor club and international Rotary or Rotaract club partner. Although projects may be funded and monitored by Rotaractors, the Rotaractors’ sponsoring Rotary clubs must approve and sign matching

grant application.

Began in 1985-86, grants of 10,000 each are provided to higher education faculty members to teach for 6 to 10 months in an institution of a developing country.

This program began in 1987-88, offers networks of activities including international seminars and conferences that focuses on a cause of conflict and examine activities that can enhance and improve the search for peace.

Inner Wheel in a name cherished and respected by many. Today it’s time for spreading the message of friendship and service. 65 years ago a small club was formed in the month of December at Manchester. The club was born and its pioneer Mrs. Oliver Goldy and the others started looking for an appropriate name, which could signify its origin and motto. It was simply called the Rotary anns club. This represented only its origin and was not able to emphasize its

independent identity and function. The Rotary Emblem is the Wheel. The club was of the wives of Rotarians dedicated to some principles of friendship and service, as the rotary itself, another wheel was added into the wheel. It signified all that was necessary. So the name from inner wheel was chosen and to this day, it has served its purpose and significance. It was on 10th of January that the search for the name ended. Hence 10th Jan is a very important and auspicious day in the history of Inner Wheel and is celebrated this day as International Inner Wheel Day, every year.

Interact was started in 1963 by Rotary International. There are 2,30,000 members in 10,000 interact clubs worldwide. The formation of interact club is positive method by which a Rotary club can give a practical impression of its concern for young people and provide opportunities which may not be available to the same target population of 14 to 18 year old elsewhere. The objectives of Interact are based on rotary perception development of leadership through idea of service above self, promotion of international understanding and creation of the importance of home, family and stability in personal relationships.