THE ROTARY CLUB OF VANCOUVER: A service club dedicated to improving the lives of others both in our community and around the ... world. Established in 1913 as the 1st club in British Columbia, and the 2nd in Canada, our Club has a long history of service. Rotary is an international service organization founded in 1905, with over 1.2 million members worldwide in approximately 35,000 clubs dedicated to Service Above Self. Each year Rotary renews itself by electing a new leadership team. This is true for Rotary at the International, zone, district and club level. Rotary INTERNATIONAL: A foundation supported by the worldwide membership of Rotary. Through a unique management program the foundation supports the grass roots efforts of Rotary Clubs around the world in Serving Humanity. Its greatest project has been the funding of the Polio Plus campaign. From the inception of the campaign in 1985 when there were 385,000 cases worldwide we are now down to 76 reported cases in 2016 in just 2 countries! OUR CLUB SERVICES Internationally: we ship containers of recycled medical equipment to third world countries; with funding support from RI Foundation, we provide safe drinking water and literacy projects in Africa. Locally: we help with funding for; Food on the Corner, Refugee resettlement programs, battered women’s shelters, and aboriginal studies Youth: through the Rotary Youth Exchange program we both receive and send students to and from around the world for a one year exchange; we fund breakfast and literacy programs in an elementary school, commit funding to grade 10 students for post-secondary scholarships to incent them to Stay in School Hearing: This is an area of special interest and focus for our club. In its 32nd year, our annual Bike a Thon ( 120km bike ride in July) is now averaging annually over $160,000 in funds raised to support hearing related research, and medical support in BC. We have raised almost $3 million to date for this cause. read more