Rotary International is an international nonpartisan organization with over 1.2 million members (called “Rotarians”) on a mission to change the world. They believe that humanity’s purpose is to bring leaders together to promote ethical values, education abroad, humanitarian purposes, and peace. Rotary Club of Edina, Golden Valley Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Minneapolis are local clubs that promote these values with weekly or bi-monthly brunches, lunches and other get-togethers to build local and international connections regardless of political preference, race, religion, sex, color, or creed.

The first Rotary Club was founded by attorney Paul P. Harris in 1905 in Illinois, and soon expanded to cities including San Francisco, Seattle, and Oakland. With over 32,000 clubs worldwide, you could say Rotary has been a success. Rotary came to Edina in 1957 and is open to men and women residing or working in the city. With over 160 members, the club supports a variation of international and local projects through contributions from members and the Rotary International Foundation.

Rotarians volunteer at the local, regional and international level are united by simple goals.  Feed the hungry. Give water to the thirsty. Offer education and health services to others as ordinary citizens apart of an extraordinary mobilisation of volunteers. An immediate reward beckons members–the priceless joy of helping others. The mutualistic relationship proves to be very effective in their path to change. A few bucks here, some volunteers there… no matter the level of volunteer project, the message rings clear: “Service Above Self”.

Hence the organization’s object to emphasize the importance of service and community building to set an example, their mottos are “Service Above Self” and “One profits most who serves best.”

Each club elects their own governing body, the Club Board. The board includes the president, president-elect, club secretary, club treasurer, several directors consisting of the immediate past president and president-elect. The sitting president appoints various directors to head the major clubs such as vocational service, community service, youth service and international service. A district-level governor helps individual districts, a zone director represents approximately 15 districts, and the governing body for the international organization parallels the club-level cabinet.

Rotary International’s official magazine, The Rotarian, offers a global outlook and “practical advice on topics Rotarians care about.” It is the publication for the entire organization, however, there are over 30 regional magazines independently published. With a combined circulation of 872,000 magazines in 24 languages across 130 countries, they focus on regional and local topics.  

In terms of Edina High School, the Rotary Club of Edina sponsors current students to travel abroad for a year. Senior Catherine Lee, sponsored by the club, will be spending her gap year in South Korea, current EHS junior Tina Sletten is a foreign exchange student from Norway, and current EHS senior Elizabeth Anderson going to Germany. Rotary International has offered over 500,000,000 dollars for international scholarships and foreign exchange.

Membership in Rotary is by invitation for those over the age of 18. Visit www.edinarotary.org to learn more!