Causes

Overview

The causes that a Rotary Club in any given year supports through projects, events and/or fundraising efforts are influenced by a number of factors including:

• the object of Rotary
• Rotary's areas of focus
• Rotary's five avenues of service
• the needs of the community
• the interests, skill set and availability of members and partner organisations
• funding requirements

Purpose of a Rotary Club

Rotary Clubs are to:

• Pursue the Object of Rotary
• Carry out service projects based on the Five Avenues of Service
• Contribute to the advancement of Rotary by strengthening membership
• Support the Rotary Foundation

The Object of Rotary

The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

• FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
• SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
• THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;
• FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

Rotary Areas of Focus

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus:

• Basic education and literacy
• Disease prevention and treatment
• Community economic development
• Maternal and child health
• Peacebuilding and conflict prevention
• Supporting the environment
• Water, sanitation, and hygiene

Avenues of Service

For years, Rotary’s commitment to Service Above Self has been channeled through the Avenues of Service, which form the foundation of club activity:

• Club Service focuses on strengthening fellowship and ensuring the effective functioning of the club.
• Vocational Service encourages Rotarians to serve others through their vocations and to practice high ethical standards.
• of Rotarians in Business and Professions
• Community Service covers the projects and activities the club undertakes to improve life in its community.
• International Service encompasses actions taken to expand Rotary’s humanitarian reach around the globe and to promote world understanding and peace. Rotarians support International Service by sponsoring a project in another country, seeking international project partners to support projects in their own communities, or by personally volunteering at an international project site
• Youth Service recognizes the positive change implemented by youth and young adults through leadership development activities as RYLA, Rotaract and Interact, service projects, and creating international understanding with Rotary Youth Exchange.

Community Speakers & Community Needs Assessment

To help ensure we are addressing the needs of our local community, our Speaker Program includes representatives from various community minded organisations and/or service providers. Further, in 2017-18, the Rotary Club undertook an initial Community Needs Assessment of the City of Monash.  Although not definitive, both of these initiatives will see us (and our Cluster Clubs) transform from providing ad hoc service and fundraising support to becoming more relevant, applicable and meaningful in our Community and assist us in partnering, where appropriate, with the relevant organizations.

Causes supported by the Rotary Club of Monash

Since our beginning and through our activities we have supported a diverse range of causes/areas of need/issues in the community. These include: