Rotary is the world's first service club.  The first Rotary Club was founded in Chicago, Illinois, USA on February 23, 1905 , by Paul P. Harris, a young lawyer, who gathered together in a sprit of friendship and understanding a group of men, each of whom was engaged in a different form of service to the public.  That basis of membership - one man from each business and profession in the community - still exists in rotary.  At first, the members of the new club met in rotation at various places of business of the members and this suggested the name "Rotary".

Rotarians meet weekly for fellowship and interesting and informative programs dealing with topics of local and global importance.  Membership reflects a wide cross-section of community representation.

Rotary is The Rotary Foundation, which each year provides some US $90 million for international scholarships, cultural exchanges, and humanitarian projects large and small that improve the quality of life for millions of people.  Rotary is widely regarded as the world's largest private provider of international educational scholarships.

Rotarians plan and carry out a remarkable variety of humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs that touch people's lives in their local communities and our world community.
 
 

Rotary is PolioPlus, Rotary's commitment to work with national and international health organizations on the goal of polio eradication by the year 2005, Rotary's 100th anniversary. More than one billion children in developing nations have been immunized against polio through PolioPlus grants.