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 167 countries.

Of the things we think, say or do:

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"

Service Above Self: Locally, Nationally, and Internationally

Rotarians are involved in many different types of projects that address issues such as poverty, hunger, literacy, and medical needs, at the local, national and international levels.

At the local level, some of the things we have supported over the years are:

• Girl Guides and Boy Scouts

• A variety of minor sports, including soccer, gymnastics, lacrosse and figure skating

• Meals on Wheels

• Adopt a Road

• Tennis courts at Centre Dufferin District High School

• Volleyball courts at Greenwood Park

• Jack Downing Park in downtown Shelburne

• The Dufferin-Caledon Health Care Corporation, including the redevelopment of the Shelburne District Hospital, the building of the Headwaters Health Care Centre, and the new CAT scan equipment

• The local chapter of the VON

• The redevelopment of Dufferin Oaks Home for Seniors

• The local chapter of the Autism Society

• The Shelburne Library

• Organization of volunteer staffing at blood donor clinics in Shelburne

• Every Kids Park in Orangeville, initiated by one of our members

• The Dufferin County Museum & Archives and the restoration of the Corbetton Church

• The Canada Day celebrations in Shelburne

• Vocational programs for local youth, including the Agri-Food Adventure, Adventure in Citizenship and Camp Enterprise

• The Christmas hamper program in Shelburne

• The dressing rooms at Grace Tipling Hall in Shelburne

• Youth, adult and senior literacy in the local community

• The Joint Service Committee, which assists residents in need

Nationally, we have donated to:

• Flood relief in Quebec and Manitoba

• Ice storm relief in Quebec and Ontario

• Easter Seals

• Canadian Cancer Society through the Cops for Cancer Campaign

Internationally, the Shelburne Rotary Club contributes to:

• Polio Plus - a program to immunize all the world's children against polio by 2005

• Rotary Foundation through the awarding of Paul Harris Fellows, which recognize outstanding contributions to the Club

• The recognition of current and former Shelburne Rotarians as part of the Juno Beach projects to commemorate the sacrifice of Canadian WW11 veterans

• Bed kits for Sleeping Children Around the world

• Eye clinics as part of Rotary International's Operation Eyesight

• The Brazil literacy program

• The artificial limb project

You can find more information about Rotary International and its activities on the world wide web at Rotary International  and Rotary District 7080. 

Some Rotary History . . .

The world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later.

As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the professional and social interests of club members. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto: Service Above Self. Rotary also later embraced a code of ethics, called The 4-Way Test, that has been translated into hundreds of languages.

During and after World War II, Rotarians became increasingly involved in promoting international understanding. In 1945, 49 Rotary members served in 29 delegations to the United Nations Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings and promoting the United Nations in Rotary publications. Rotary International's relationship with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) dates back to a 1943 London Rotary conference that promoted international cultural and educational exchanges. Attended by ministers of education and observers from around the world, and chaired by a past president of Rotary International, the conference was an impetus to the establishment of UNESCO in 1946.

An endowment fund, set up by Rotarians in 1917 "for doing good in the world," became a not-for-profit corporation known as The Rotary Foundation in 1928. Upon the death of Paul Harris in 1947, an outpouring of Rotarian donations totaling US$2 million made in his honour launched the Foundation's  first program, graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial Scholarships. Today, contributions to The Rotary Foundation total more than US$80 million annually and support a wide range of humanitarian grants and educational programs that enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international understanding throughout the world.

In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of the world's children against polio. Working in partnership with nongovernmental organizations and national governments thorough its PolioPlus program, Rotary is the largest private-sector contributor to the global polio eradication campaign. Rotarians have mobilized hundreds of thousands of PolioPlus volunteers and have immunized more than one billion children worldwide. By the 2005 target date for certification of a polio-free world, Rotary will have contributed half a billion dollars to the cause.

As it approached the dawn of the 21st century, Rotary worked to meet the changing needs of society, expanding its service effort to address such pressing issues as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk. The organization admitted women for the first time (worldwide) in 1989 and claims more than 145,000 women in its ranks today. Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Rotary clubs were formed or re-established throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Today, 1.2 million Rotarians belong to some 31,000 Rotary clubs in 166 countries