"What is Rotary?"

As a Rotarian, one of the hardest questions to answer is 'What is Rotary?'  You would think that after 20+ years as a member it would be an easy question to answer.  But it is not.

Rotary has so many moving parts, in so many parts of the World, in so many different ways, well to be honest, it boils down to the people.  It becomes the question of "Who is a Rotarian?"

With the motto "Service Above Self", a Rotarian is one individual who wants to help those around them, whether it be individuals, communities or countries.    

As a whole, Rotary is made up of three parts: our clubs, Rotary International, and The Rotary Foundation. Together, we work to make lasting change in our communities and around the world.

And yet, it boils down to individuals. 

• Individuals willing to travel around the world to deliver a dose of polio vaccine to a child. Rotarians have been doing this since 1987 and the wild polio virus has been eliminated from all but one Country - in the World. Think of the millions of lives that have been changed because individuals were willing to help others.

• Individuals willing to walk a local parade and collect food items for the local Food Pantry - The Helping Hand.

• Individuals, taking time out of their daily work schedule, to visit five different elementary schools and hand out personal dictionaries.

• Individuals who raised the funds and furnished the labor to build a shelter at the local recreational trailhead.

• Individuals who spend nine evenings, in a row, selling tickets and parking cars at the National Balloon Classic, so the Club can afford to purchase dictionaries and sponsor other projects in our community.

• Individuals who teach leadership skills to High School Youth.

• A Foundation, supported by individuals, that funds water projects around the world, providing clean water, which in turn decreases diseases among the people who live there.

• The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.

So, to answer the question, What is Rotary? Rotary provides a fulfilling system that allows me to help people in my community, in my District and in the World, making this a better place for all.   

Terry Pauling,

Rotary Club of Indianola.