How Much Time is Required?

Members make their time available to Rotary according to their lifestyle and the changing demands of family and work commitments. Rotary as an organisation recognises the need for members to place family and employment ahead of volunteer activities and expects that each Rotarian will prioritise their time appropriately.

Teamwork is essential to achieve the club’s goals and therefore members need to spend time together regularly to get to know each other well. To that end, the club meets weekly throughout the year to provide a forum for team-building and information exchange. Guest speakers are a feature of Rotary meetings as they provide members with access to a wide variety of people addressing interesting and relevant topics.

Members are encouraged to attend as often as possible and to average 60% attendance over a six-month period. Members will also be working on one of the club’s project committees or take a Board position which usually meets once a month at an agreed time to plan and report on projects under their direction.

Sometimes a Rotarian is caught in a business disaster or has a family crisis and can’t attend meetings. This is not a problem as leave of absence can be granted where the club Board believes this is reasonable. Also, attendance of another Rotary club’s meeting is credited towards the member’s attendance. If you can’t make the time of your own club’s meeting, take the opportunity to visit another club and enjoy the company of other Rotarians in your area.

We all get too busy at times but when the demands on our time diminish, then we can enjoy club meetings again and make our time available for teamwork.