Rotary is an organization of business and professional people that provide humanitarian service, both locally and globally, to encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and build goodwill and peace in the world.
The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was founded in 1905 by a young lawyer. Paul P. Harris, and three of his friends. The four friends "rotated" among their offices, giving the new club its name.
Now,
Rotary International has over 27,000 clubs made up of 1.2 million members who provide community service in virtually every nation in the world. Click to learn more about San Mateo Sunrise Rotary's community service.
At an international level, The Rotary Foundation provides an opportunity for
Rotarians to work for international understanding and peace. The Foundation enables clubs to participate in large international programs that otherwise would be beyond the capabilities of the individual clubs.
Rotarians are toiling to
eradicate polio by the year 2005 to commemorate Rotary's 100th anniversary. This major program, Polio Plus, is pursued in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. Rotarians have already raised $400 million for this worthy cause.
