What exactly is Rotary?
What do members of Rotary do?

These are questions I have been asked dozens of times and because Rotary is such a multi-faceted organization, you may hear different answers from even our own members!

Let’s start with the basics:

1. Rotary International, known better as simply “Rotary”, is a global service organization that has been operational since 1905.
2. The Mission of Rotary is this: “We provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through our fellowship of business, professional and community leaders.”
3. The Vision of Rotary is this: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”
4. Rotary is a non-political and secular (non-religious) organization. We welcome people from all backgrounds as members.
   We have over 46,000 member clubs around the globe and our membership consists of 1.4 million people.
   As a service organization, Rotarians participate in various projects around the world. Many of these service projects involve one or more of our seven areas of focus:
   1. Peacebuilding and the prevention of conflict – it’s fundamental in everything we do. Today, over 70 million people are displaced as a result of conflict, violence, persecution, and human rights violations. Half of them are children. It’s hard to do anything in our communities unless we have some measure of peace.
   2. Basic education and literacy – More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population. Closer to home, studies in the U.S. have shown us that when children don’t succeed in reading comprehension testing at the end of 3^rd grade, they are four time more likely to drop out of high school.
   3. Disease prevention and treatment – We believe good health care is everyone’s right. Yet 400 million people in the world can’t afford or don’t have access to basic health care. This is why we are willing to take on polio eradication, HIV/AIDs, malaria, and Alzheimer’s.
   4. Clean water and sanitation – Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are basic necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life. When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.
   5. Growing local economies – Nearly 800 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. Rotary members are passionate about providing sustainable solutions to poverty. Helping people succeed in the countries they live in leads to better health outcomes and equity.
   6. Maternal and child health – An estimated 5.9 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation — all of which can be prevented. Here in the U.S., we see access to health as a major impediment to developing our children. 1 in 4 school-aged girls, for example, will miss attending school because of inconsistent access to period products.
   7. Supporting our environment – We are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. We recently entered into an agreement with the United Nations to embark on clean waterway initiative within North America.
5. Globally, Rotary is organized into about 530 Districts, each of which is lead by a District Governor, who receives several years of training designed for them to learn how to  support individual clubs in their service activities and provide leadership in programs and initiatives supported by Rotary International.
   1. Here in North Carolina, there are six separate Districts and the one here in western-central NC, we are known as District 7680.
   2. District 7680 is composed of 14 counties, ranging as far north as Ashe and Alleghany counties on the Virginia border, as far south as the South Carolina border, as far west as Cleveland County and as far east as Richmond County. Our complete list of counties includes: Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, Union, and Wilkes.

I invite you to explore this site and learn more about Rotary and District 7680. If you’re interested in learning more about Rotary, please feel free to reach out:  Email us. 

Warm regards,
Kevin Kendrick, District Governor, 2024-2025