What Does Rotary Do?
WHAT DOES ROTARY DO?
Someone asked me that question once,
And I stood there feeling like a dunce!
What do our Rotarians do?
I hemmed and hawed a time or two.
Then said, "We gather for a meal
And ask each other how we feel,
Get our food and have some fun,
Chattering till the meal is done.
We get club business out of the way
And have the program for the day.
Some are good...and some are great!
And...some run on 'til fairly late."
But then my friend, he turned to go,
"That wasn't," he said, "What I wanted to know."
I've thought a lot about this since.
What could I have said to convince
My friend that Rotary does more than meet
Greet...take a seat...then eat?
Well, this is how I would make amends
By explaining Rotary to my friends:
A million children are healthy today
In lands both near and far away
Who otherwise might be lame or dead
From polio...that childhood dread!
And hungry children are being fed
Through better ways to grow their bread.
In many lands Rotarians are teaching
And doctors of all kinds are reaching
Helping both the sick and the lame
With little thought of wealth or fame.
Our men and women are meeting the need
By teaching children how to read.
Youth come here from every land
In answer to our outstretched hand
To learn about us and know our ways
Bringing joy and friendship to all our days.
And clubs are formed in every nation
For fellowship and conversation,
For education and information
And to practice the cultivation
Of peace on earth and good will to all
And a speedy end to every wall
Which separate the fold of the earth
And keeps us from seeing each other's worth.
A hundred things there are to say
About what Rotarians do every day.
In every land and every town
To lift someone up when they are down
And help each other along the way,
"Service above Self" - what more can I say?
Well, if my friend should ask again,
I'll have an answer for him then!
Author Unknown