Messages
December 2007
The Rotarian
December is family month, a time when we pay special attention to our emphasis on the family of Rotary. When I speak about this, I’m often asked to explain just what the family of Rotary means and why it’s included as an emphasis.
When you put the family of Rotary idea next to such enormous needs as nutritious food and clean water, it might seem much less important. After all, as Rotarians, we’re here to help everyone and look out for all those who need us. We don’t just look after our own – that’s not what Rotary is about.
As Rotarians, we do have a great responsibility to make sure Rotary’s good work doesn’t end with us. Rotary does so much that is so important in so many ways: providing water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, medical care to the poor and sick, education to the illiterate. It’s been doing that for more than 100 years now.
But if we focused all our attention on nothing but that lifesaving and life-altering work, then that work would eventually come to an end. Rotary would die out in a generation if we did not also pay attention to the health of our own organization – our members, our clubs, and those who will join our clubs in the years to come.
One reason I’ve always felt so at home in Rotary and with the idea of the family of Rotary could be that I come from a large family myself. I’m one of 10 children – six girls and four boys. But as big as my family is, it’s nothing compared with Rotary. We’re not just 1.2 million Rotarians in 32,000 clubs. We’re 250,000 Interactors, 170,000 Rotaractors, 150,000 Rotary Community Corps members and, in the last year alone, about 8,000 young people in Rotary Youth Exchange. And, of course, we also include the spouses, widows and widowers, and children of Rotarians. Altogether, the family of Rotary is well over two million strong.
Our family is strong because it’s close, and because it’s always forming new ties. We need to ensure that Rotary keeps growing – in all the branches of our family. We should always be looking for and inviting qualified men and women to join our clubs.
Wilfrid J. (Wilf) Wilkinson
President, Rotary International