Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provide humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary Clubs located in 167 countries.
Rotary club membership represents a cross-section of the community's business and professional men and women. The world's Rotary clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. The main objective of Rotary is service -- in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today's most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and vocational and career development. The Rotary motto is Service Above Self
In addition to participating in the ways described above, the Rotary Club of Gresham provides thousands of dollars in scholarships to students graduating from the area's high schools each year. It also provides funding for a variety of different social service agencies that assist those in need and it gives baskets of food and gifts to underprivileged families during the December holiday period.