Lake Ridge Rotary Club is a branch of Rotary International founded on February 23rd, 1988. Their motto is Service above Self, and the main goal of the club is to help those less fortunate in the community by partnering with local and international organizations.
When asked what rotary is to him, Club President Allen McBride answered, “Rotary to me is putting the needs of others above your own” referring to their slogan ‘Service Above Self.’ “10 years ago, I was introduced [to rotary] through a friend, it was described as a group of ‘do-gooders.’” Jacob Mosser responded in a similar fashion, “To me, it’s service above self, it’s about community members coming together to support a common cause and help out not just the local community, but the international community”
Rotary is constantly raising money for various causes. Allen McBride talked about a project that Herndon Rotary took on for a girl’s orphanage in Haiti, “Herndon is about the same size as our club, but we partnered with them and a handful of other clubs, all of us pitched in around $350, then the district head saw what we were doing and doubled it, and then Rotary International doubled it again.” When asked about the reach of Lake Ridge rotary, Service Coordinator Gary Perkins, responded “It’s beyond my comprehension, we touch every corner of the world with the help of other clubs.”
As well as the thousands of worldwide rotary clubs, there are youth programs offered by rotary such as Early-act, Interact, and Rotaract. WSHS has an Interact club with about 30 members. Interact is a small-scale version of rotary that enables teenagers to be mentored by rotary club sponsors and develop leadership skills. Leo May, leader of the Interact club said, “Jacob Mosser, being a political contact of my father, reached out to me earlier this year asking for my help to re-start Interact, this is the first year of it since before Covid.” Leo is trying to encourage more people to join next year, “Interact is a great opportunity to get yourself down on the level to say I can help people.”
Rotary helps many youth groups such as scouting troops and school clubs. Youth Services Coordinator, Jacob Mosser, wanted to say something to the youth of Lake Ridge, “If you ever need help with a project, don’t be afraid to come to rotary and ask for it, and if you don’t have a massive project, no small action is a waste of time, if everyone took even a few seconds out of there day to do a good deed such as picking up a piece of trash off the ground, we’d see much more improvement”
Rotary is one of the few non-profits untouched by bias; they consistently remain neutral on political issues, religious issues, and personal biases. This club’s members take this decision to remain unbiased very seriously. At the end of every meeting, the members take the 4-way test:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
This test enables the club to continue being unbiased and remain ethical in their practices.
The local rotary clubs are not all that there are. There are thousands of small clubs worldwide that make up one organization: Rotary International. Rotary International is a non-profit founded in Chicago, IL by Paul Harris in 1905. The intentions of the club were to let like-minded professionals with diverse backgrounds converse and create meaningful friendships. Within the next two decades, rotary spread around the USA and out to six different continents. As rotary grew, its mission changed, and rotary members (also known as Rotarians) pooled their resources and started using the club for humanitarian and volunteer efforts.
If you are looking for some volunteer work to do in your free time, Rotary is a fantastic way to get some community service hours. Don’t forget to investigate it, join it, and tell your friends and family about it!
