Join

Should I join?

We aim to be smart, compassionate, persevering and inspiring volunteers, who are knowledgeable, perceptive, confident, thoughtful, sincere, engaging, bold, purposeful, courageous, upbeat, hopeful and visionary.

The first step is to join leaders by joining a club. Next we exchange ideas by joining Fellowships, Conventions and Exchanges. Ultimately we take action by implementing projects through Rotary Action Groups or individual projects by one or more clubs, at home or joining overseas clubs.

Why not get involved today? You are bound to have something you would like to see happen for a community. You are invited to visit us and try a project and of course join once you find the right club for you. 

There is no hard sell, as we are a private members club. But we will just say this. Someone, whether in your neighbourhood or the other side of the world, is hoping you will join to do that one thing that is easy for you but will change their lives. The only wages for doing it is to see the smile on their face when that happens. What may well happen in reality is you will join to change someone else's life and end up changing your own.

Members do get a discount card, but that would not be the reason to join, especially as it aimed at American international travellers!

What is Rotary like nowadays?

Southend on Sea Rotary was the first Rotary club in Essex in 1921. We are one of the most diverse clubs in Essex and in recent years have concentrated on three themes for helping the borough: homelessness, mental health and disadvantaged children. This has meant donations to local charities such as Street Spirit, Friends and Places, YMCA and Turning Tides, and projects to help those living with dementia and the famous Kids Out day in June each year where we help Thorpe Bay Rotary bring children from local schools across south Essex for a disco at Talk and a trip to Adventure Island. We helped support nurses during Covid. Currently we aim to support Southend Young Carers. 

We also offer a menu of service opportunities through Southend charities and microvolunteering through other charities. And we are always interested in opportunities to visit and work other clubs on joint projects, which allows our members to give back to the community even if they can't make some of our meetings. You can see what our sister clubs nearby are up to on the Rotary in Essex diary. There are also examples of volunteering opportunities in Southend on Volunteer Essex, but it's more fun to go with friends and we have own own projects too. On occasions we have been able to supply local charities with emergency trustees to keep them operating pending recruitment, or have helped charities network. Opportunities include disaster response, telephone befriending (carers, elderly,death, blind, dementia, mental health, strokes, hospital, family support), walk buddies, fundraising. 

There is no denying that Rotary started as a businessmen's networking club meeting in smoke filled rooms, before evolving into today's a humanitarian service club for men and women. Nowadays, volunteers of good repute, men and women, of any or no occupation and with any or no qualifications, are encouraged to join to help existing projects or to bring their own project, or to start their own group within a club or even launch their own club. Members typically include homemakers, care assistants, shopkeepers, retirees, professionals such as doctors and self-employed. It is not 'who you know', but 'what can you do?'

Members tend to stay with one club but are welcome to visit any club in the world. 

In the Southend area there are:

• three evening clubs (Westcliff - Thursdays 7pm, Southend City - Thursdays 7pm, Southend on Sea - Tuesdays 7pm (us)), 
• a luncheon club (Leigh on Sea - Mondays 12.30pm) and 
• a breakfast club (Thorpe Bay - Monday 7am).

There are no compulsory weekly meetings any more. Instead you are invited to join at least a couple of projects per year and attend as many weekly meetings as you like for fellowship, education and planning. Our club meets fortnightly. The time commitment we ask for averages a mere four minutes a day. But for many it becomes a hobby. It is the usual 'get out what you put in' scenario.

Nationally we have clubs for children called Rotakids and over 18s can join Rotary clubs. Whilst there are still plenty of retired men in Rotary, we look particularly for young professionals to create the next generation of volunteers.

We can reassure you that Rotary is not for the rich. Many members are on low fixed incomes. Subscription fees are nominal. The only significant cost for most clubs is meals, and we don't bother with those any more as part of regular meetings, although some members dine together unofficially before some of the regular meetings. 

To join you simply need to contact us so we can arrange for you to get to know members who might propose you.