Wednesday, 18 July 2012

Rotary's Five Avenues of Service


The fellowship and friendship between Rotarians is a vital part of Rotary.  However, fellowship on its own would make Rotary solely a dining club, not a service organization.  Rotary is structured so that clubs can provide “service above self” and every rotarian has the opportunity to make a difference.

The Object of Rotary is to “encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise.” Rotary is a service organization. Since 1910, the Rotary Motto has been “Service Above Self.”

Rotary strives to achieve its objective of “Service Above Self” through activities in five primary areas. These are often referred to as the Five Avenues of Service.




This “Avenue” promotes the development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service. It involves the activities necessary to make the Club function successfully and achieve its goals.




This area represents the opportunity that each Rotarian has to represent the dignity and utility of one’s vocation as an opportunity to serve society. Rotarians promote and foster high ethical standards in business and professions and promote the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations.




This “Avenue” relates to the activities that Rotarians undertake to improve the quality of life in their community. Particular emphasis is given to helping children, needy families, the aged, the handicapped, and those most in need of assistance. Rotarians strive to promote the ideal of service in their personal, business, and community lives.




In this area, Rotarians strive for the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service. International Service Projects are designed to meet the humanitarian needs of people in many lands, with particular emphasis on the most underprivileged children and families in developing countries.


By nurturing youth, Rotarians can provide the skills young people need to succeed as future community leaders. Youth Programs provide Rotarians the opportunity to develop their own leadership and communication skills and also provides for many incredible moments!



The committees within a club reflect these five avenues of service.  Different clubs will implement these in different ways. 





Hucknall Rotary Club’s Council (known as Board of Directors in some Rotary circles) meets usually on the first Monday of the month.  The recommendations of the council, along with the monthly committee reports, are then presented to the Club Business meeting which usually takes place on the third Tuesday of the month.

The committee reports usually focus on ongoing projects and future plans.  For example, at our club Business meeting last night, the Vocational Committee reported that a recent fund-raising appeal to purchase an Automated External Defibrillator (AED ) for the local leisure centre had been successful.  Our Vocational Committee chairman, who is a First Aid Instructor, is providing training on using the AED to 24 members of staff at the Leisure Centre.

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