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SKILLS OR OCCUPATIONS
By including men and women from diverse professions and backgrounds, Rotary recognizes the importance of all skills and occupations. A vibrant Rotary club reflects the businesses, organizations, and professions in its community, embracing diversity in experiences and perspectives. Your professional life and vocational service go together. Rotarians have a dual responsibility: to represent their occupations within their club and to exemplify the ideals of Rotary in their places of work.
VOCATIONAL SERVICE IN ACTION
The Rotary Club of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., USA, launched partnerships with a half-dozen local nonprofits. Members acted as strategic consultants, offering their expertise
to their partners free of charge. The partnerships brought four benefits:
1. Improved service opportunities for club members, which resulted in greater local impact
2. Increased visibility for the club and its partners
3. Attracted new members
4. Strengthened Rotarian/ non-Rotarian service teams
ROTARY NAME
The name “Rotary” came from the practice of rotating meeting sites among members’ places of business. That tradition remains an excellent way for Rotarians to share their
occupations with their club. Invite each member of your club to briefly share about his or her profession, an area of specialty, or a particular skill set during club meetings throughout the year.
TAKE ACTION
Join a Rotarian Action Group, and support service projects around the world. These independent groups include Rotarians, family members, and Rotary program participants and alumni who have expertise in a particular field. Members advise clubs and districts and collaborate with them on service projects. Learn more at rotary.org/actiongroups.
Join or form a Rotary Fellowship that’s related to your vocation. Rotary Fellowships are international groups of Rotarians, family members, and program participants and alumni who share a vocational or recreational interest. Many fellowships are related to professions, such as Editors and Publishers, Health Professionals, Lawyers, Photographers, and Police and Law Enforcement. See more at rotary.org/fellowships.
Volunteer to work on a service project, and use your vocational skills to serve others. Think about the skills that make you successful in your profession: Maybe you have training in some branch of science or medicine, are handy with tools or machinery, know how to start a business, have expertise managing finances, or can influence others through public speaking or writing. Use your unique set of talents to make a difference in your community. Share your expertise through your district resource network. If you have technical expertise in one of Rotary’s six areas of focus — or with project planning and implementation; community assessment, measurement, and evaluation; or other important aspects of large-scale project grants — let your district international service chair know. Lend your skills to local clubs, and help develop projects with greater impact.