Rotary International World President Frank J. Devlyn Speech to 2001 IAVE World Volunteer Conference

This conference is a wonderful opportunity to inaugurate the International Year of Volunteers and recognize the millions of people who are making a difference in our world through their time, compassion, and expertise.

It is my privilege this year to lead Rotary International, the world's oldest service-club organization with 29,700 autonomous clubs. Since 1905, our 1.2 million volunteer members, who are business and professional leaders, have been committed to community, international, and vocational service and to helping those who do not share their good fortune.

To be sure, some Rotarians find it easiest to serve others by writing a check. But hundreds of thousands of Rotarians worldwide engage in hands-on volunteering -- they read to schoolchildren, mentor youngsters, build parks and playgrounds, repair the homes of the elderly, host international exchange students…and much, much more.

To help you understand Rotary, I would like to point out an important characteristic of Rotary that distinguishes it from other non-governmental organizations. Rotary club members are representatives of the cross-section of businesses and professions in a city or neighborhood. Their collective expertise in professions ranging from healthcare to education to social services strengthens the potential of Rotary clubs to develop projects that can successfully address a multitude of community needs.

But if a club is lacking representation for a certain area of expertise, the worldwide global community of Rotary volunteers makes it possible to network with clubs around the world to find the needed expertise.

Our Rotary theme this year is "Create Awareness, Take Action." Throughout the Rotary world, I am urging all Rotarians to be aware of a number of key concerns and proactively address them -- concerns such as educating girl children, preventing avoidable blindness, finding jobs for persons with disabilities, and alleviating poverty and hunger…in particular, through microcredit projects that empower women.

In the 163 countries with Rotary clubs, Rotarians try to meet the greatest needs of their communities: ·

• By digging wells, building schools, and helping the AIDS orphans in Africa, 
• By rebuilding homes and lives shattered by natural disasters in Central and Latin America, · By counseling street children, offering vocational training, and operating clinics in Asia,
• By supporting hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions facing real hardships in Eastern Europe,
• And elsewhere in Europe and in North America, Rotarians do everything else from supporting shelters for victims of abuse to raising funds to provide new limbs for victims of land mines.

In addition to volunteering in their own communities, hundreds of Rotarians volunteer their skills abroad every year for four to eight weeks at a time, at the invitation of Rotary clubs in the host country. The Rotary Foundation, our charitable organization, helps subsidize a portion of the volunteers' travel expenses.

Although a majority of international volunteers travel from industrialized to developing countries, and our world headquarters is located in North America, Rotary International should not be categorized as a strictly Northern NGO. There are many Rotary clubs located in developing, or less industrialized countries, known as the global “South.” This results in an extensive and supportive network of autonomous Rotary clubs, fostering North-North collaboration, North-South collaboration, and even South-North collaboration of Rotary clubs.

For example, a number of Rotary volunteers go from one developing country to another with which they have a shared concern. Rotarian doctors from India have provided eye testing, treatment, and cataract surgeries in several West African countries -- the same kind of service they provide to the neediest through eye camps at home in India.

Rotary clubs also provide community service opportunities for youth and young adults through affiliated clubs that they sponsor –known as Interact for teens 14-18 and Rotaract for young adults through 30 years of age. By partnering with young people today, Rotarians make a wise contribution to the development of future leaders of tomorrow.

In areas where there are no Rotary clubs, mostly in rural areas of developing countries, nearby Rotarians work with local residents to create community organizations called Rotary Community Corps. Mobilized by the sponsoring Rotary clubs, the local citizens learn how to implement long-term improvements in these often-isolated communities.

Outside of the Rotary world, Rotarians work in partnership with both public and private organizations to serve their communities better. We strongly emphasize the value of inter-agency partnerships as one of the best ways to achieve success. Our most important partnership is the global effort to eradicate polio.

Since 1988, we have joined forces with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and national health ministries in order to wipe polio from the face of the earth. UN General Secretary General Kofi Annan has referred to this global partnership this one of the world's leading examples of successful public-private collaboration.

As the leading private partner in the global eradication effort, Rotary International has contributed more than 400 million U.S. dollars to date for polio vaccine, operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment and educational campaigns. But one of the main and most important reasons I stand before you today, is to emphasize the tremendous volunteer force that Rotary mobilizes. Rotary has played a key role in mobilizing an estimated 10 million highly motivated and trained volunteers for the global effort to eradicate polio.

During national polio immunization days, Rotarian volunteers staff immunization posts, deliver vaccine, transport health workers, and help parents get their children vaccinated. Rotarians were out in force last month when 2.5 million volunteers vaccinated more than 150 million children across India -- the largest-ever immunization drive in the world. And long before taking action on those national immunization days, Rotarians innovatively create public awareness about the importance of immunizations.

To spread the word, they have turned to town criers and street dramas, rickshaw rallies and camel caravans, and the endorsements of beauty queens and popular singers. We're excited about our volunteer participation in polio eradication. But we are also pleased with the role of Rotarian volunteers in many other pioneering service activities.

For example, in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, Rotarians are helping young people get ahead as entrepreneurs through an institution called youth business international. His Royal Highness Prince Charles created the institution and just recently he publicly thanked Rotarians for their involvement as mentors and trustees.

Rotarians also partner with many of the organizations here. Many Rotary clubs have sponsored Scout troops from our earliest days. As more and more women join Rotary, we are also assisting more Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. We work closely with the Red Cross, Goodwill Industries, and many, many other fine organizations.

Like many of your organizations, Rotary faces many challenges -- among them, growth, retention of members, and achieving greater diversity. We have a complete changeover of leadership every year, so we also face special challenges in training, education, and ensuring continuity.

We are always looking for new ways to motivate, support, and recognize our volunteers. This year, we have created a number of proactive task forces and are using the Internet more extensively to share information and ideas. We in Rotary welcome the opportunity at this conference to hear your own answers to our common challenges.

We are thankful that this conference and the entire year before us are designed to promote and facilitate volunteering and build networks. Volunteers are the backbone of all non-governmental organizations. In this International Year of Volunteers, let us create awareness of the contribution of our volunteers… and take action to celebrate, stimulate, and demonstrate solidarity with the dynamic volunteer movement.

Thank you.