in this month’s Rotarian magazine that I think was a fantastic look into “Why Rotary?” It was an interview with Bill Gates discussing his reasons for donating more than a third of a billion dollars to Rotary’s efforts to eradicating Polio.

When asked in this interview why he gave the money to Rotary as opposed to the other world health partners in the polio fight, like the World Health Organization, this was part of his answer:

“Giving directly to Rotary is ideal because they’re just dedicated to the polio fight and not subject to the same complexities as a UN organization. It may be that Rotary, in turn, will grant [funds] through UNICEF, or directly to an NGO [nongovernmental organization] in one of the four countries where polio still exists, or to the endemic countries themselves. Rotary might even write a check to a vaccine manufacturer.”

That first sentence is quite telling of what Rotary is. It’s not a bureaucracy. It’s an organization truly committed to local and worldwide service without all the red tape. Join Rotary. It was good enough for Bill.

If you haven’t read the full article, I recommend you take a few minutes now: http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/TheRotarian/Pages/therotarianconversationgates.aspx

Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary clubs located in 166 countries.

Rotary club membership represents a cross-section of the community’s business and professional men and women. The world’s Rotary clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.

The main objective of Rotary is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and vocational and career development. The Rotary motto is Service Above Self.

Although Rotary clubs develop autonomous service programs, all Rotarians worldwide are united in a campaign for the global eradication of polio. In the 1980s, Rotarians raised US$240 million to immunize the children of the world; by 2005, Rotary’s centenary year and the target date for the certification of a polio-free world, the PolioPlus program will have contributed US$500 million to this cause. In addition, Rotary has provided an army of volunteers to promote and assist at national immunization days in polio-endemic countries around the world.

The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is a not-for-profit corporation that promotes world understanding through international humanitarian service programs and educational and cultural exchanges. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and others who share its vision of a better world. Since 1947, the Foundation has awarded more than US$1.1 billion in humanitarian and educational grants, which are initiated and administered by local Rotary clubs and districts.

The best way to find out more about Rotary is to come to one of our meetings on Thursday mornings.