1905
Rotary International
The world’s first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed on Feb. 23, 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. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later. The organization’s dedication to serving communities and people in need is best expressed in its principal motto: Service Above Self.
Established in 1928, the Rotary Foundation sponsored graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial Scholarships. Today, contributions to the Rotary Foundation total more than $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, initiating its Polio Plus program. In 2005, the target date for certification of a polio-free world, Rotary will have contributed half a billion dollars to the cause. The Lawrence Rotary Club was installed on April 6, 1917, as Club 304, in an evening ceremony held at the Eldridge House. The club began with 23 charter members, businessmen from the community of 15,000 residents. In August 1987, following a United States Supreme Court ruling barring Rotary International from prohibiting women as members, the Lawrence Rotary Club took the lead in Kansas and admitted two women members. From the beginning, the club has been committed to community service and leadership, and dedicated to promoting the aims of Rotary International. Today, in 2005, the Lawrence Rotary Club has 198 members, 82 Paul Harris Fellows, and its members over time have contributed nearly $300,000 to The Rotary Foundation.
On Oct. 11, 1994, the Jayhawk Breakfast Rotary Club held its charter banquet with 35 members. The club has served as a business partner for Sunset Hill Elementary School and provided teddy bears to comfort children involved in emergency medical situations. Club members have also participated in the Brick by Brick Campaign for the Dole Institute of Politics, contributed to the University of Kansas Department of Theatre and Film, volunteered at Salvation Army charity kettles and awarded scholarships to local high school seniors. The club has also supported Operation Pencil for school children in Mosul, Iraq, the Panama Project to provide medical care and sponsored a Rotary exchange student.
In 2003, the Lawrence Central Rotary Club became the third in Lawrence. Together, the three Rotary clubs raised $50,000 to establish the Lawrence Area Rotary Arboretum in honor of the 100th anniversary of Rotary International. Today, 1.2 million Rotarians belong to some 31,000 Rotary clubs in 168 countries.
Step Sponsored By: Lawrence Rotary Club and Jayhawk Breakfast Rotary Club