Thank you for your interest in becoming a Rotarian.  Rotary International  is an association of individual clubs, with each club operating autonomously. Membership is extremely important to us, and we are always eager to hear from individuals interested in our mission and in joining a Rotary club. The RI universal premise is that the membership of each club constitutes an accurate representation of the business and professional population within the community served.

Membership in a Rotary club requires available business or professional classification opportunities, as well as an invitation and sponsorship by a member of the club. Sometimes an individual cannot be invited or sponsored for membership.

Rotarians are business and professional leaders who take an active role in their communities while greatly enriching their personal and professional lives. A Rotary club contains a diverse group of professional leaders from the community that the club serves.

Membership in a Rotary club offers a number of benefits, including:

• effecting change within the community
• advancing business and professional contacts
• developing leadership skills
• gaining an understanding of — and having an impact on — international humanitarian issues

Through Rotary International's service programs, a Rotary club can have a significant effect on the quality of life in its community. Rotary Foundation programs offer opportunities to form international partnerships that help people in need worldwide. Some 1.2  million Rotarians in 30,000 clubs in more than 160 countries make significant contributions to the quality of life at home and around the globe.

To find out more about Rotary's rich history and the organization's mission and structure, see our Contact Form  or contact a Rotarian directly by visiting our Officers and Directors or Contact pages.

Rotary is an organization ofbusiness and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarianservice, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help buildgoodwill and peace in the world. In more than 160 countries worldwide,approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 30,000 Rotary clubs.

Rotary club membershiprepresents a cross-section of the community's business and professional men andwomen. The world's Rotary clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious,and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.The main objective of Rotary isservice — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today'smost critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, theenvironment, 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 Rotarymotto is Service Above Self.

Although Rotary clubs developautonomous service programs, all Rotarians worldwide are united in a campaignfor the global eradication of polio. In the 1980s, Rotarians raised US$240million to immunize the children of the world; by 2005, Rotary's centenary yearand 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 atnational immunization days in polio-endemic countries around the world.

Find out more about Rotary byvisiting the RotaryInternational web site.

Information on this page came from:

The About Rotary and the RI Programs pages on the Rotary International website.