History

The first Rotary Club was organized in Chicago in 1905 by Paul P. Harris. This club met in rotation
at the offices of its members, thus the name 'Rotary'. 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.

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. 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.

Working in partnership with non-governmental organizations and national governments through its
PolioPlus program, Rotary is the largest private-sector contributor to the global polio eradication
campaign. Rotarians have mobilized hundreds of thousand of PolioPlus volunteers and have immunized more than one billion children worldwide. Rotary has contributed more than a half billion dollars to the cause.