The Eden Prairie AM Rotary Club is an organization of men and women committed to providing volunteer service to the local community, youth service and around the world. Rotary clubs address critical issues at home and abroad by providing health care and medical supplies, clean water, food,
job training, youth development, and education to millions of people in need. Examples of Rotary’s focus areas include:
Polio Eradication:
In 1985, Rotary International created PolioPlus – a program to immunize all the world’s children against polio. To date, Rotary has contributed more than US$1 billion and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries. Rotary is currently working to raise an additional US$200 million toward a US$355 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These efforts are providing much needed polio vaccine, operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment and educational materials for health workers and parents. With its community-based network worldwide, Rotary is the volunteer arm of the global partnership dedicated to eradicating polio. Rotary volunteers assist in vaccine delivery, social mobilization and logistical help in cooperation
with the national health ministries, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Peace: In an effort to educate tomorrow’s peacemakers and ambassadors, up to 110 Rotary World Peace Fellows are sponsored each year to study at one of the eight universities for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution. Since 2002, 431 fellows from over 75 countries have participated at a cost of more than $23 million. International Education: Rotary is the world’s largest privately-funded source of international scholarships. Each year, about 1,000 university students receive Rotary scholarships to study abroad. Rotary clubs also coordinate a high schoolage student exchange program that has sent nearly 8,000 students abroad for three months to a year. Humanitarian Projects - Rotary clubs initiate thousands of humanitarian service projects every year. These volunteerdriven projects address the root causes of conflict, such as hunger, poverty, disease and illiteracy. Literacy: Rotary clubs work to improve literacy rates worldwide. A unique, Rotary pioneered approach called the Concentrated Language Encounter (CLE) has proven very effective in resource-strapped developing countries. It was so successful in Thailand, that the Thai government adopted the program nationwide. Water Management: Recognizing the importance of clean water, many Rotary clubs help to install wells and develop water treatment and distribution systems to increase access to fresh drinking water for communities in need, especially in developing countries
