Our Heart for Service
The mission of Rotary International is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
Rotary Club guiding principles include the Four-way Test (Truth, Fairness, Goodwill, and Friendship). Other principles involve Rotary’s commitment to Service above Self, Rotary’s motto, which is channeled through the Five Avenues of Service: Club, Vocational, Community, International, and New Generations.
AVENUES OF SERVICE
We channel our commitment to service through five avenues, which are the foundation of club activity.
Club Service
Club service works to strengthen fellowship of members through training and hospitality. Clubs have serious topics to work toward, so having various social events that bring members and their guests informally and for fun, contributes to genuine fellowship.
Vocational Service
Vocational Service encourages members to serve other people through their vocations, education, skillsets, which encourages high ethical standards. October is Vocation Service Month when the many club service projects are celebrated.
Community Service
Community Service is exactly what the name implies — projects and activities each club undertakes to improve community life. There are many projects in the Santa Ynez Valley in which all four Rotary Club volunteers have been involved: Sunny Fields Park, Senior Centers, scholarships, and more.
International Service
International Service volunteers work to expand the Rotarians’ humanitarian work around the world. This important service promotes understanding and peace, sponsors projects in other countries and works with international partners to support projects in their communities.
Youth Service
New Generations Service works to engage youths and young adults in leadership roles. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a training program for young people, ages 14 to 30. The award emphasizes leadership and citizenship. Rotaract is an International Youth Program is for ages 18 to 30 while Interact focuses on international service for youths 12 to 18. Recognizes the importance of empowering youth and young professionals through leadership development programs such as Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Rotary Youth Exchange.
WE CONNECT PEOPLE
Rotary unites more than a million people
Through Rotary clubs, people from all continents and cultures come together to exchange ideas, and form friendships and professional connections while making a difference in their backyards and around the world.
WE TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES
We take action locally and globally
Each day, our members pour their passion, integrity, and intelligence into completing projects that have a lasting impact. We persevere until we deliver real, lasting solutions.
WE SOLVE PROBLEMS
No challenge is too big for us
For more than 110 years, we’ve bridged cultures and connected continents to champion peace, fight illiteracy and poverty, promote clean water and sanitation, and fight disease.