What We Do
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What We Do



Rotary is a worldwide organization was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who was lonely in the big city and wished to recapture the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. He invited a mining engineer, coal merchant and tailor to join him for social interaction. As they rotated from one office to another for their meetings, they called their group Rotary and themselves Rotarians.



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The first Rotarians: Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, Hiram Shorey, and Paul P. Harris, circa 1905-1912.

The aim or Rotary today is the same today as it was then. Rotarians are business and professional leaders who provide:
  • humanitarian service
  • encourage high ethical standards in all vocations,
  • and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
At the Rotary Club of Whitby, we meet every Tuesday morning for breakfast to share fun and fellowship while finding ways to reach these goals within our community and abroad. Here are just a few of the projects we're involved in currently:
  • Locally - we support nearly two dozen community groups ranging from sports teams and arts groups to agencies such as Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, AIDS Committee of Durham Region, Durham Epilepsy, as well as organizations such as Durham Youth Housing, Junior Achievement and Racing Against Drugs. 
  • Last year, the Rotary Club of Whitby also held its inaugural "You Got Something to Say?" scholarship speech contest.
  • Internationally - the Club has supported the "End Polio Now" campaign, assisted with the growth of a hospital in Zimbabwe, found care for 40 children in Uganda orphaned by HIV/AIDS and worked in the slums of Kampala to provide a water and sanitation program to a school of 200 students.
 
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