The mission of the Rotary Foundation and Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through seven different areas of focus, protecting the environment, growing local economies, supporting education, protecting mothers and children, providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, fighting disease, and creating environments of peace. Monmouth Rotary Club member Stan Jenks states peace is a cornerstone of Rotary’s mission:
“As a humanitarian organization, peace is a cornerstone of Rotary’s mission. We believe when people work to create peace in their communities, that change can have a global effect. Some of the things that affect peace is the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources. So Rotary really does try to focus on that and they have some peace scholarships that they provide for students to go to a school and become educated on how to work with people and so forth.”
The Rotary Club first began in Chicago in 1905. Monmouth Rotary was chartered thirteen years later in 1918.
