Why Join Rotary?

By Barbara LaSpesa
www.rotarychicagoohare.org

Some people call Rotary a club, an organization, a bunch of old men having lunch while writing a check to a good cause every so often to make themselves feel good. Wrong, Rotary is a way of life, a way to look at the world, a way to realize no matter how bad things get in your own life, there are people who have got it worse, and you have the power to help.

A bunch of old men? No, not that either, the Chicago O'Hare Rotary has both men and women, from ages 26 up. For every age and gender the mission of service above remains the same.Our club's job is to find things in the world, things that we think we can change, improve and/or just help with and pull together money, talent, and a bit of sweat to make the world a better place.

Our members support a Literacy program for a low-income Pilsen School. We've handed out new books to kids from 1st through 8th grade. We award several scholarships for worthy students in the O'Hare area yearly. The list goes on.

Want to make more of a global impact? Great! In 1988 Rotary International committed to wiping Polio from the face of the earth. Now we are down from thousands of cases in dozens of countries to dozens of cases in a handful of counties. Finally, if you are not sure of the mission of our club, it is pretty simple. It is the strength of each member, the flexibility of our club, and cohesiveness of our organization that allow those with a burning desire to make a difference to make our club their own.