February 23. 1905: memories of camaraderie among professional and business men in Wallingford, Vermont led Attorney Paul Harris to launch with 3 business associates in Room 711, Unity Building, Chicago a meeting to foment similar sociability among business people in Chicago – the first Rotary meeting. The name“Rotary” reflected meeting rotation among the offices of members.
November 3, 1910, The Rotary Club of Winnipeg was the first Rotary Club established outside the United States. Rotary now Rotary International.
2021 Over 1.2 million members in more than 35,000 clubs in 197 “Countries” (193 countries plus the Holy See, the State of Palestine, Taiwan, and Kosovo), today Rotary unites caring community members, businesses, leaders and professionals worldwide
- to provide humanitarian service,
- to encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and
- to build goodwill and peace in the world.
Rotary operates locally:
- One Ajax Rotarian has spearheaded the provision of over 20,000 stuffed animals to our local Ajax-Pickering Hospital, comforting patients young and old
Rotary has international impact:
- Rotary holds the highest consultative status offered to a nongovernmental organization by the UN's Economic and Social Council, which oversees many specialized UN agencies. The Rotary Representative Network maintains and furthers relationships with UN bodies, programs, commissions, and agencies.
- In 1985 Rotary launched PolioPlus;
- IN 1988 Rotary a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
- Rotary and partners, have vaccinated more than 2.5 billion children. In India 2 National Immunization Days each vaccinated 2.5 million children
“Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”
