Our Mission The Rotary Club of Des Moines and Normandy Park is an association of community leaders who are making our community and the world a better place to live, learn, work and play.
The Rotary Four-Way Test Rotarians strive to live by the Four-Way Test in all we do:
• Is it the truth?
• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Does it build good will and better friendships
• Is it beneficial to all concerned?
Why Join? There's something that all Rotary club members have in common: We take action. As community volunteers, we reach out to neighbors in need. We build, support, and organize. We save lives. We work locally and globally.
Around the world and around the corner, the 1.2 million men and women of Rotary
• Get involved in their communities
• Connect with other professionals
• Share their time and experience with young people
• Support global causes, such as eradicating polio
• Use their skills to help others Whether you're a veteran volunteer or new to community service, we're looking for people like you.
Whether it is community work, networking or friendship, community leaders are drawn to Rotary for a variety of reasons.
Responsibilities of Membership Rotary club membership carries with it the responsibility to participate fully as a member.
• Members are expected to attend SO percent of weekly programs of the club. Opportunities to make up attendance include attending the regular meeting of another Rotary club, attending various other Rotary meetings, attending a club service project authorized by the club board of directors, or on line make ups.
• Members are required to pay annual dues and for meals at weekly club meetings.
• Members are expected to participate in local or international activities or projects of the Rotary Club.
• Members are expected to participate on at least one committee within their clubs.
• There are also financial obligations
A Brief History of Rotary International
The world's first service club,the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois,USA, was formed on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed; clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organization adopted the name Rotary International a year later. As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the professional and social interests of club members. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto "Service above Self" Rotary also later embraced a code of ethics, called the 4- Way Test,that has been translated into hundreds of languages. In 1985 Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of the world's children against polio. Working in partnership with nongovernmental organizations and national governments through its Polio Plus program, Rotary is the largest private-sector contributor to the global polio eradication campaign. Rotarians have mobilized hundreds of thousands of Polio Plus volunteers and have immunized more than one billion children worldwide. By the 2005 target date for certification of polio free world,Rotary will have contributed half a billion dollars to the cause. As it approached the dawn of the 21st century, Rotary worked to meet the changing needs of society, expanding its service effort to address such pressing issues as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger and children at risk. The Rotary Foundation The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the foundation who share its vision of a better world. The Foundation's Humanitarian Programs fund international Rotary club and district projects to improve quality of life, providing health care, clean water, food, education and other essential needs primarily in the developing world. One of the major Humanitarian Programs is Polio Plus, which seeks to eradicate the polio virus worldwide. Through its Educational Program, the foundation provides funding for some 1,200 students to study abroad each year. Grants are also awarded to university teachers to teach in developing countries and for exchange of business and professional people.
Des Moines/Normandy Park Rotary History
The Des Moines Rotary Club, formed on February 20, 1958, is one of 46 clubs in District 5030 of Rotary International. In 2015, the club officially changed its name to the Rotary Club of Des Moines and Normandy Park. Membership in our club usually is roughly 50 men and women and consists of people who live and/or work Des Moines and Normandy Park. Our club meets at noon on most Wednesdays via Zoom. The weekly agenda includes introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians, a little fun and frivolity and, a guest speaker. The meetings end at 1:00 p.m. The business affairs of the club are managed by the elected officers and a Board of Directors. Occasionally, a general membership business meeting is held either in place of the Wednesday program or at a special evening meeting. The club holds regular social events where club members and their spouses/partners get better acquainted and have fun together. Since our club was founded, we have conducted many community service activities and, through Rotary International, many service activities of an international nature. Rotary generally, and the Des Moines/Normandy Park Club in particular, has tended to orient its service activities toward youth. Since the future of our community, our nation, and the world will be determined by the youth of today, any effort that we can exert to improve understanding and communication among young people is certainly a constructive activity. Our club annually awards scholarships to deserving high school graduates from Mt. Rainier High School as well as current students at Highline College. We launched the Poverty Bay Wine Festival in March, 2005 as our major fundraiser. Since 2010, we have also held the Poverty Bay Blues and Brews Festival in August, primarily to benefit Highline Music4Life, which provides musical instruments for low-income students attending Highline Public Schools.