Images from Rotary: Left, a volunteer holds an infant in Kano, Nigeria; below, a young boy receives polio vaccine during national immunization day in Nigeria.

global initiative involving close to $500 million donated by Rotary members. More than a billion children have been immunized under this program, which includes partners such as the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Membership in Rotary is by invitation, but the process is somewhat open. Frequently members invite a person being considered for membership to attend one or more meetings to learn about the organization and to develop acquaintances. Sustained growth is what enables Rotary to continually widen its reach. “The more members we get,” summarizes Majiyagbe, “the more humanitarian service we can render throughout the world.”

By David Wight To locate a Rotary club in your commu- Hnity, call the local chamber of commerce or ere’s a task to add to your “things-to- held in New York City, during which Paul visit Rotary International’s informative Web do list.” Form a group composed of Harris was elected president. site ( www.rotary.org) for a directory of meet-yourself and three friends with pro- ing locations. C fessions different from your own. Service above self

Have weekly meetings that “rotate” to each of According to Jonathan Majiyagbe, Rotary your business places. Oh, and commit your International’s new president, the club builds group to humanitarian service and high ethi- a platform on friendship as a basis for service. cal standards. “The first object of Rotary is the

The membership of each local Rotary Majiyagbe, anattorneyand
club reflects a cross section of local business a citizen of Nigeria, has been a Rotary mem-
and professional leaders—men and women ber since 1967. “I was attracted to the organi-
volunteering their time and focused on mak- zation by the spirit of sharing and caring, the
ing an organized contribution to their com- opportunity to be able to meet with people of
munity and beyond. different professions and to render solace on
an international scale,” he says. “A fascinating

Sound simple? That’s just how easily developmentofacquaintanceas

Rotary International started 98 years ago. an opportunity to serve,” he tells Today, Rotary is well known throughout the The Connection. “Members be-world for its dedication to service and inter- come friends, and they’re kind national goodwill, and has 30,000 clubs in of hinged together in serving. more than 160 countries with some 1. 2 mil- That becomes permanent and lion members around the globe. keeps them going.”

Simple beginnings thing about Rotary is you’re never alone when

Paul P. Harris, a Chicago attorney, formed you travel around the world.” a group in 1905 with three friends: a tailor, a coal dealer and a mining engineer. Harris’ Scope of programs goal was to recapture the camaraderie he had The individual Rotary clubs support witnessed among businesspeople in the rural diverse service programs. Members are en-

Vermont community where he grew up. couraged to find their passion and pursue it,

Originally a social organization, by 1907 devoting their time to service for the club, for the Rotary Club of Chicago had refocused its the community or in various international or energies on reaching out to those less fortu- vocational programs. nate. Their initial project, constructing Chi- Each of the 30,000 chapters is expected cago’s first public restrooms, was the birth of to develop projects in its own community the world’s first service-club organization. based on local needs. Critical issues addressed

News of the club’s deeds spread and a by these projects include drug abuse, violence, second chapter formed in San Francisco in hunger, disease, illiteracy and pollution.

1908, then a third in Oakland, followed On an international level, a remarkable rapidly by others in Seattle, Los Angeles and example of Rotary’s programs is PolioPlus, New York. In 1910, the first convention of a drive to eradicate polio by 2005. The pro-the National Association of Rotary Clubs was gram, launched in 1985, has grown into a

Costco exec “donates” vacation time

Many people can identify with the quandary of deciding how to spend a two-week vacation, but how many of us know what it’s like to donate that hard-earned time to the service of others?

For Costco senior vice president of human resources John Matthews and his wife, Mary

Ellen, two weeks in Ethiopia immunizing children against polio became the vacation that made a big impact on their lives.

John is active in the Rotary club near his home on Mercer Island, Washington. Intrigued with the idea of helping to eliminate the last 1 percent of a disease, he and Mary Ellen joined a 66-member Puget Sound contingent that, with thousands of other volunteers, immunized 7 million children in Ethiopia in just two weeks.

“Ours was the largest humanitarian group to come to Ethiopia, and we were very warmly received,” John says. “They are a beautiful people, with a beautiful spirit. Their lives are hard, but the love they have for their children is obvious.

“I’ve had the chance to do a lot of things in my life, but nothing has impacted me like my trip to Ethiopia. It was an amazing learning experience—very rewarding, but also very heart-rending.”

Rotary’s PolioPlus program intends to rid the world of polio by 2005. Now 99 percent complete, Rotary’s measurable goal seems very realistic given the commitment and dedication of its members. —DW