About Rotary
New Members
If you’ve recently joined a Rotary Club, congratulations and welcome! If you are thinking about joining Rotary or Rotaract, let us share “Why Rotary!”
With over 3,300 members and 80 Rotary and Rotaract Clubs in our District – which runs from San Ramon and Berkeley in the south, through Solano County and up both sides of I5 to Weed – it’s easy to find a club that meets when you can meet, meets how you want to meet, and supports projects and volunteer opportunities that mirror your interests and passions. District 5160 is one of 500 Rotary Districts in the world.
To learn more about us, whether you are new to Rotary or thinking about joining, check out the following:
Twenty-Reasons to Join Rotary
Starting YOUR Rotary Journey
Welcome to Rotary!
Rotary is proud to welcome you to our global community of more than 1.2 million men and women dedicated to building a better world.
You make Rotary stronger. By adding your skills, experience, and enthusiasm to your club, you can advance communities at home and on a global scale. Together, we can eradicate polio, train more skilled peacemakers, and provide lasting solutions for communities fighting disease, hunger, illiteracy, and poverty.
Through the Rotary community, you can exchange ideas and build lifelong friendships with people who share your passion for service. Take advantage of the resources and activities available through your club, district, and Rotary International to make your experience with Rotary both rewarding and fun.
How do I start?
Get the most out of your membership by participating in club projects and activities.
Here are some ideas:
- Serve on a club committee where you can use your skills
- Identify a need in your community and suggest a hands-on project to address it
- Work with a youth service program sponsored by your club, such as Rotaractor Interact
- Host a Youth Exchangestudent
- Help organize your district’s Rotary Youth Leadership Awardsprograms
- Recommend a colleague or friend for membership in your club
How can I meet other Rotarians?
Rotary’s global network provides a great opportunity to expand your contacts and friendships to other countries while creating a foundation of support with communities around the world.
Explore Rotary’s global opportunities:
- Attend Rotary’s annual convention
- Connect with Rotarians around the world who share your hobbies and personal interestsor your service interests
- Join a Discussion Groupto exchange ideas on topics you’re interested in
- Get involved with your club’s international service projects
- Participate in a vocational training team
- Join the Cadre of Technical Advisers
Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus
Rotary is dedicated to causes that build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever.
Promoting peace
Rotary encourages conversations to foster understanding within and across cultures. We train adults and young leaders to prevent and mediate conflict and help refugees who have fled dangerous areas.
Fighting disease
We educate and equip communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases like polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. We improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in developing areas.
Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
We support local solutions to bring clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to more people every day. We don’t just build wells and walk away. We share our expertise with community leaders and educators to make sure our projects succeed long-term.
Saving mothers and children
Nearly 6 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. We expand access to quality care, so mothers and their children can live and grow stronger.
Supporting education
More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
Growing local economies
We carry out service projects that enhance economic and community development and create opportunities for decent and productive work for young and old. We also strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, in impoverished communities.
Protecting the environment
Rotary members are tackling environmental issues the way they always do: coming up with projects, using their connections to change policy and planning for the future.
Ending polio forever
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for over 35 years, and our goal of ridding the earth of this disease is in sight. We started in 1979 with vaccinations for 6 million children in the Philippines. Today, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries where polio remains endemic.