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 Rotarians' occupation as an opportunity to serve society; FOURTH - The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto Service Above Self.

Rotary, along with its partners, have reduced polio cases by 99.9% since its first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. Rotarians have helped immunize 2.5 billion children against this crippling disease in 122 countries. Once inflicting thousands across the US and the world, the number of polio cases has now dwindled down to just a handful of cases in three countries due to Rotary vaccination efforts. Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continue to work hard at their joint goal of global eradication of the disease.