Rotary Club of Jenkintown

Dedicated to "Service Above Self" since 1924                                          "They Profit Most Who Serve Best"

                 

Click here for information on how to get involved with Rotary in Jenkintown

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Home
War on Polio

About Rotary International

Overview of Rotary International

Rotary is an international humanitarian service organization.  The men and women of Rotary are business and professional leaders who volunteer their time and resources to help others in their local communities and throughout the world.

Founded in 1905, Rotary is the world's first service organization.  Today, Rotary has a global network of 1,221,920 members in more than 32,403 clubs in 168 countries.  Rotary clubs are nonsectarian, nongovernmental and open to every race, culture, and creed.  Club membership represents a cross section of local business & professional leaders.

Rotary members meet weekly to plan service activities.  Each club is autonomous and determines its own service projects based on local needs and the interests and abilities of members.

Rotary clubs carry out a variety of service projects that address critical issues including but not limited to poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, substance abuse, and pollution.

An Organization Evolving & Improving the Modern World

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 in 1989 and claims more than 90,000 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 30,000 Rotary clubs in more than 160 countries.

For more information on Rotary click the hyperlink button below:  

     

Rotary Foundation

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, the founder of Rotary International, in 1947 an outpouring of donations to the Rotary Foundation was made in his honor. The two million  US dollars given that year (a staggering sum at the time), 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.

The War on Polio
(PolioPlus Program of the Rotary Foundation)

In 1985, Rotary launched the PolioPlus program to protect children worldwide from the cruel and fatal consequences of polio. In 1988, encouraged by the results of Rotary's effort, the World Health Assembly challenged the world to eradicate polio.

jSince that time, Rotary's efforts and those of partner agencies, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and governments around the world, have achieved a 99 percent reduction in the number of polio cases worldwide.

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.

Polio causes death or paralysis in children, who are usually infected before the age of 5.  If they live, their leg bones and muscles fail to develop, or wither away to grotesquely shaped and useless limbs.  Victims in poor countries where polio is still active often become beggars.

In the above picture a boy watches the merriment of girls at the Amar Jyoti Rehabilitation and Research Centre in New Delhi. The centre provides services for 540 disabled children.

It only takes two drops in the mouth with a harmless vaccine to prevent polio.  This child in Africa is getting a free dose because of Rotary's work.

Rotarians stand at the brink of a great victory and look forward to celebrating the global eradication of polio in 2005, the organization's centennial year.  At that time Rotary members  will have raised or contributed half a billion dollars to the cause.

The chart below demonstrates how effective our campaign has been....

Our very special, gourmet quality, citrus fruit is available to the general public during the Fall and Winter months when superior quality, native grown citrus fruit is in season.  We buy in bulk direct from the grower, but sell to the public considerably below retail prices.  All receipts from citrus sales are donated in full to charitable organizations screened and selected by the club.  For information on order dates, pickup dates, pricing, and varieties available please click hyperlink: Gourmet Citrus Fruit Order & Purchase Information

This entire site, including organization and contents, is protected by United States federal copyright and intellectual property laws.  Copyright ©  2001, 2002, 2003,  2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008 by the Rotary Club of Jenkintown, a non-profit organization.   All rights are reserved by the Rotary Club of Jenkintown, and will be vigorously defended.