About Us
Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that:
- provides humanitarian service
- encourages high ethical standards in all vocations and
- helps build goodwill and peace in the world
Membership of Rotary is by invitation and local clubs choose representatives of different occupations to ensure the club reflects a wide cross-section of the local community. Rotarians meet weekly to develop bonds of friendship and to listen to speakers dealing with topics of global and local importance.
Rotarians believe in 'Service Before Self ' and potential members must be prepared to work for the benefit of others. Members carry out a remarkable variety of humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs that touch people's lives in their locality and worldwide and the Rotary Foundation, which is Rotary's charitable fund, is one of the largest in the world and supports Rotary's many programmes. Rotary International comprises 1.2 million service minded men and women working through 32,000 Rotary Clubs, 529 Districts and 168 countries.
Rotary Club of Williamstown is one of 1400 clubs in Australia - with a total membership of 52,000 - and was inaugurated in March, 1949. The club is part of District 9800 which covers one third of metropolitan Melbourne and all the towns along the Calder Highway to Bendigo and on to Echuca-Moama. There are 70 clubs in District 9800 with approximately 2800 members.