About Our Club

The Truckee Sunrise Rotary Club was chartered on May 18, 1993 to provide voluntary service and financial support to the youth, economically disadvantaged, and elderly of our local, national, and international communities. We are a service club of active professional people dedicated to helping people in need.

We are a part of Rotary International, an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.  There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians, members of more than 31,000 Rotary clubs in 166 countries.

The Truckee Sunrise Rotary Club is part of Rotary District 5190. As of June, 2005, there were 2,590 club members in the 50 clubs of District 5190, 30 clubs in California and 20 clubs in Nevada.

What Is Rotary?
Rotary International is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

The world’s first service club was the Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The club was formed 23 February 1905 by lawyer Paul P. Harris and three friends – a merchant, a coal dealer, and a mining engineer. Harris wished to recapture the friendly spirit he had felt among businesspeople in the small town where he grew up. The name "Rotary" was derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members’ offices.

Mission
The main objective of Rotary is service – in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotary volunteers build goodwill and peace, provide humanitarian service, and encourage high ethical standards in all vocations. The Rotary motto is "Service Above Self."

Membership
Rotary members are professional men and women who work as volunteers to improve the quality of life in their home and world community. Club membership represents a cross-section of local business and professional leaders. The world’s Rotary clubs meet weekly and are non-political, non-religious and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.

Service Today
• Rotary volunteers initiate community projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as violence, drug abuse, youth, AIDS, hunger, the environment, and illiteracy.

• Rotary clubs are autonomous and determine service projects based on local needs. However, they are encouraged to base projects on the following topics: children at risk, disabled persons, health care, international understanding and goodwill, literacy and numeracy, population issues, poverty and hunger, the environment, and urban concerns.

• Rotary members work with and for youth to address challenges facing young people today. Through participation in Rotary-sponsored Interact clubs (for secondary school students), Rotaract clubs (for young adults), and Rotary Youth Leadership awards, young people worldwide learn leadership skills and the importance of community service.

• Rotary Youth Exchange gives high school students the opportunity to broaden their world view and build international friendships.

• Rotary volunteers have a history of building safe communities and working for peace. In places where urban violence has become rampant, Rotary’s community-based network helps to prevent unrest. Rotary-sponsored violence prevention projects and conferences address the root causes of violence such as drug abuse, poverty, lack of role models, and gangs.

• The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International provides an opportunity for Rotary club members to work for international understanding and peace. Through their Foundation, Rotarians sponsor international educational and humanitarian programs.

• PolioPlus is Rotary’s commitment to eradicating polio by the year 2005. Through the efforts of Rotary and its partners in the fight against polio, more than two billion children worldwide have been immunized since 1985. By the year 2005 Rotary contributions will reach US$600 million to eradicate the crippling disease. Of equal significance is the huge volunteer army organized by Rotary International for social mobilization, vaccine transport and immunization activities.

• Rotary’s international network links people in need with Rotary club members in other countries that can provide resources. The Foundation’s humanitarian programs provide health care and supplies, clean water, food, job training, and education -- particularly in the developing world.

• The Rotary Foundation’s educational programs include Ambassadorial Scholarships, the world’s largest privately-funded source of international scholarships. Nearly 1,000 scholarships are awarded annually for study in another land. Grants are also awarded for university teachers to serve in developing countries and for professional exchange. Rotary also partners with eight prestigious universities around the globe to educate mid-career professionals in peace and conflict resolution at seven Rotary Centers for International studies in peace and conflict resolution.

The Four-Way Test
One of the most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics in the world is the Rotary 4-Way Test. Created by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor in 1932, the 4-Way Test was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than a hundred languages.

Of the things we think, say or do:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Rotary International
One Rotary Center
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, Illinois 60201 USA
Phone: 1-847-866-3000
Fax: 1-847-328-8554
Rotary International web site: www.rotary.org