Service  Above  Self

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In 1905 some Chicago business friends first started meeting for a meal together.  They extended their activities beyond 'business and friendship' and started the first Rotary club - undertaking efforts to improve the lives of others. 
Then and today, this has proved the most powerful and binding motivation for what we do in Rotary.  From that first club's practical community service project - the installation of a public toilet near the city hall in downtown Chicago - to today's global eradication of polio, Rotary continues to build a better world.
Our history is one of rapid growth - three years after the first club in Chicago, a second was formed in San Francisco, and three more clubs were founded the following year. 
Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six continents.  
...A good idea catches on fast!
Today we’re working together from around Blenheim and around the globe to solve local and some of our world’s most challenging problems.

Our commitment to our motto of "Service above self" is ongoing.  For example, we began our fight against polio in 1979 with a project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines.  Today after 2.5 billion child immunisations worldwide, only a handful of countries remain polio-endemic - down from 125 in 1988.  We are very close to eradicating polio - a landmark achievement for global public health and Rotary's worldwide effort. 
We focus our efforts in seven areas:
  • promoting peace, 
  • preventing diseases, 
  • providing access to clean water and sanitation, 
  • enhancing maternal and child health,
  • improving basic education and literacy,
  • helping communities develop,
  • ​preotecting the environment.
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The  4-Way  Test
or ' How  we  do  it!'

PictureBenin City, Nigeria
The Four-Way Test is an ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships ...and we're pretty proud of it!  
​It's a great way to make decisions.  

Of the things we think, say or do
  1. Is it the TRUTH?
  2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
  3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
  4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

What  we  do 

The term "Five Avenues of Service" is sometimes used to describe what we do in Rotary. 
The "Avenues" refer to : 
  • community service 
  • international service
  • youth service
  • club service
  • vocational service

Community Service relates to those activities which Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their community. It frequently involves assistance for people who look to Rotary as a source of hope for a better life.

International Service describes the many programs and activities which Rotarians undertake to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace. International service projects are designed to meet humanitarian needs of people in many lands.

Youth Service recognizes the importance of empowering youth and young professionals through Rotary programs such as Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Rotary Youth Exchange.

Club Service involves all of the activities necessary for Rotarians to make their club function successfully.

Vocational Service is a description of the opportunity each Rotarian has to represent the dignity and utility of one's own vocation to other members of the club. 
We are 1.2 million neighbours, friends, and community leaders who come together to create positive, lasting change in our communities and around the world.
End Polio Now
2.5 billion children immunised