| About Rotary
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The main objective of Rotary is service in the community, in the workplace and throughout the world. Rotary International has developed a broad range of programs designed to assist clubs to carry out this mission. Some of these programs have been in operation for many years, while others have been developed more recently to meet emerging needs. Rotary’s Community Development Programs address many of today’s most critical issues, such as hunger, the environment and literacy. Rotary International also offers programs that focus primarily on young people, including service clubs for young adults (Rotaract), leadership training workshops (Rotary Youth Leadership Award and Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment), and the very successful overseas student exchanges for twelve months (Youth Exchange). The International component of Rotary programs enables clubs to assist Rotary’s efforts abroad and to share information and arrange exchanges with Rotarians in other countries. Vocational concerns figure in many club projects, designed to promote high ethical standards in the workplace and to help young people and others become and remain productive members of society. For further information visit the Rotary International website
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of a worthy enterprise and in particular to encourage and foster:
Rotarians in Western Australia have celebrated the centenary of the world’s first and greatest service organisation by unveiling a unique gift to the current and future generations of the state. The Rotary movement has committed to raise $5 million to enable the establishment of a public cord blood bank in Perth. The fund-raising appeal was formally launched at a special combined conference in Perth in 2005 of the three Rotary districts in WA. The highlight of the launch at Perth Convention Centre was the presentation of a cheque for $1 million from Lotterywest. Philanthropist Mr Haruhisa Handa had also donated $500,000. It is planned the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank will be managed and run by the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. It will be the first public cord blood bank in the state. At present, apart from commercial facilities that store cord blood for private use, WA patients requiring cord blood must have it sourced from the eastern states or overseas. What is cord blood? Cord blood is obtained without affecting the baby or mother. It will be collected by trained cord blood bank staff from mothers who have given their permission. After processing and testing, it will be frozen and stored in a purpose-designed facility at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service headquarters in Wellington Street. Cord blood is rich in stem cells. A small amount of cord blood contains sufficient stem cells to replenish a patient’s bone marrow with all the cells of the entire blood and immune systems. The Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank service will be available free of charge to patients needing cord blood transplants. These are patients suffering from leukaemia and other malignant and genetic diseases. Between a third and a half of patients requiring a bone marrow transplant have no donor either within their family or through the worldwide bone marrow donor registries. The availability of cord blood provides the potential of immediate benefit for a matched patient in need of treatment and offers the chance of survival for patients who have no other treatment option. Cord blood transplants have also opened up a new world of hope and promise. Scientists believe current research may one day enable stem cells to be used to cure conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, heart disease, liver failure, cystic fibrosis and arthritis. What is the ethical position with cord blood stem cells? Cord blood is collected outside the delivery room after the birth, and does not interfere with the birth in any way. The mother’s informed consent is obtained prior to any blood being collected, and the donations are anonymous. Before being frozen and stored for future use, the cord blood is tested to the same rigorous standards as blood donations. Why is Rotary involved? To mark the 50th anniversary of Rotary, the state’s Rotarians undertook the fund-raising campaign in 1955 that led to the establishment of the University of Western Australia Medical School. When it began planning for the 100th anniversary of Rotary International, the three Rotary districts invited nominations of a project that would have an equally profound impact on all Western Australians. From a number of nominations, a committee of eminent WA residents (all non-Rotarians) chose this. Mr John Iriks, governor of Rotary District 9460 (southern Perth and south-western WA) and chairman of the Rotary WA Centennial Celebration Committee, said the Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank perfectly met the criteria of a project of significance to the whole of the state. “A cord blood transplant can mean the difference between life and death for current and future sufferers of disease throughout the community. “The Rotary WA Cord Blood Bank will be a high-profile and lasting gift, something that will say to the people of WA for generations to come: ‘This is Rotary at work’,” he said. Mr Iriks expressed the gratitude of the Rotary movement to Lotterywest and Mr Handa for their outstanding support of the project. As well as direct appeals for support, many Rotary clubs around the state are beginning campaigns to raise the rest of the money.
The Rotary movement was founded on February 23, 1905, when four businessmen met in Chicago and agreed that business and professional people needed the opportunity to socialise and share their business experiences. The movement quickly grew and, because the meetings rotated between the members’ business premises, they adopted the name Rotary Club. Out of those small beginnings was born the world’s first and greatest service organisation. Rotary today comprises more than 1.2 million members in nearly 32,000 clubs in 166 countries around the world. Membership of Rotary is open to men and women of all ages, regardless of nationality and creed. The only condition placed on potential members is that they share Rotary’s commitment to community service (the official Rotary motto is “Service Above Self”) and are leaders in their business and professional communities. Through its network of global friendship, Rotary has been responsible for major achievements in combating disease, poverty, hunger and deprivation around the world and close to home. The Rotary-inspired campaign to rid the world of polio is expected to reach its target in the next 18 months. |
