Rotary International is an international secular service club whose mottos are "Service above self" and "They profit most who serve best." Founded in 1905, it is headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, and comprises approximately 32,000 clubs in 200 countries with over 1.2 million members.

Membership is by invitation only, and invitations are generally restricted to people deemed to have demonstrated business or professional leadership. Representation from a specific profession or business is typically limited to a certain percentage of a specific club's membership. Each prospective Rotarian must be sponsored by an existing Rotarian.

Women have been allowed to join Rotary Clubs only since 1987, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Rotary Clubs were required to allow women to join. Currently, women constitute about 15% of Rotary Club members internationally and 22% of Rotary Club members in the United States.

Affiliated Organizations

Interact Clubs are service clubs for youth aged 14 to 18. There are more than 10,700 Interact Clubs in 109 countries, with approximately 240,000 members. Interact Clubs are self-governing and partially self-supporting, but are sponsored by individual Rotary Clubs, which provide guidance and additional support. Interact Clubs can be single-gender or mixed-gender and can draw from the student body of a single school or from two or more schools in the same community. Each year, Interact clubs complete at least two community service projects, at least one of which must further international understanding and goodwill.

Rotaract Clubs are service clubs for youth aged 18 to 30. There are approximately 8,000 Rotaract Clubs in 155 countries, with approximately 185,000 members.

Rotary Community Corps are volunteer organizations for men and women who have not been invited to join a Rotary Club. There are approximately 4,400 Rotary Community Corps in 68 countries, with an estimated 103,000 members.

Local Chapters

Links

Rotary International Rotaract Rotary International entry on Wikipedia

Add tags