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Learn About Rotaract |
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Goals of Rotaract
What does Rotaract do?
History of Rotaract
What is Rotaract?
Rotaract is
a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women. Rotaract clubs are
usually community-based or university-based and are sponsored by a local Rotary
club making them true "partners in service" and key members of the
Rotary family. Through the Rotaract
program, young adults not only augment their knowledge and skills, but they
also address the physical and social needs of their communities while promoting
international understanding and peace through a framework of friendship and
service.
All
Rotaract efforts begin at the local grassroots level and all Rotaract clubs
have access to the many resources of Rotary International and The Rotary
Foundation. As one of the most
significant and fastest-growing programs of Rotary service, with more than
7,600 Rotaract clubs in some 158 countries, Rotaract has become a worldwide
phenomenon.
Goals of Rotaract
To develop professional and leadership skills.
To emphasize respect for the rights of others, based on
recognition of the worth of each individual.
To recognize the dignity and value of all useful occupations
as opportunities to serve.
To recognize, practice, and promote ethical standards as
leadership qualities and vocational responsibilities.
To develop knowledge and understanding of the needs,
problems, and opportunities in the community and worldwide.
To provide opportunities for personal and group
activities that serve the community and promote international understanding and
goodwill towards all people.
What does Rotaract do?
Rotaractors participate in a variety of community and
international service projects, as well as leadership and professional
development. Typical community service
projects include tutoring area students, working with Habitat for Humanity,
serving meals to the homeless, recycling, participating in campus-wide
projects, and working with local community organizations. Rotaract Clubs also work with their
sponsoring Rotary Club(s) on their various community projects.
Rotaract also performs international service. This
can include working on joint project with Rotaract Clubs in other parts of the
world or fundraising for an international organization such as UNICEF.
By working with area Rotary Clubs, you have professional
development opportunities through meet and networking with local
Rotarians. Many Rotarians are the
business and civic leaders of our community.
Take advantage of leadership development opportunities by
running for an office or volunteering for committees. Various committees might include fundraising,
public relations, community service, social activities, and much more. You also have the opportunity to represent
your club by serving as a district representative on the District Rotaract
Committee.
History of Rotaract
Rotaract,
Rotary International's service club program for young adults, was officially inaugurated
during January 1968 under RI President Luther Hodges. On March
13, 1968,
the Rotaract Club of the University of North Carolina, sponsored by the Rotary Club of
North Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, was the first Rotaract club to receive
its official charter. Although this club is recognized as the first Rotaract
club, Rotarians have been sponsoring similar organizations for young adults
since the early 1920s.
Perhaps the
greatest impetus for the creation of the Rotaract program came from Rotary's
youth service club for secondary school students, Interact clubs. Established
in 1962, the Interact program enjoyed immediate success. However, since
membership was only open to students in secondary schools, graduated
Interactors and Rotarians were soon looking for ways to extend their
relationship. Several proposals were brought before the RI Board of Directors
to allow membership in Interact clubs to extend for a few years after
graduation. Instead of extending the age requirements for Interact, the Board
decided to study the feasibility of creating a new service club program for
young adults at the university and young professional level.
The
decision to adopt the Rotaract program came at a time when student protests
worldwide were of growing concern to Rotarians. The Rotaract program was
adopted not only as means of keeping former Interactors within the Rotary
family, but as a means of channeling the energies of young adults into positive
activities that could benefit their communities.
A special committee
was convened to design the new service club program for young adults during
1966. After polling students at the University of Houston, Texas, USA, the
committee decided that "Rotaract" would be the best name for the
program — a combination of the words "Rotary" and "action."
The committee also decided that young
women should be allowed to join on equal standing with male members.
Several
developments in the early 1990s helped strengthen the Rotaract movement. In
February 1991, the first Rotaract club in Eastern Europe was chartered in Budapest, Hungary, with the help of Austrian
Rotaractors. Ties with Eastern Europe were further strengthened when the same Austrian
Rotaractors helped charter the Rotaract Club of Prague in what was then Czechoslovakia later in 1991. In March 1992, the
RI Board established World Rotaract Week, which is celebrated annually during
the week of 13 March to commemorate the chartering of the first Rotaract club.
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