Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through [the] fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders". It is a non-political and non-religious organization. Membership is by application or invitation and based on various social factors. There are over 46,000 member clubs worldwide, with a membership of 1.4 million individuals, known as Rotary members.
Civitan International, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is an association of community service clubs founded in 1917. The organization aims "to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities." The organization includes 40,000 members in almost 1,000 clubs around the world.
4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times in the organization's original motto "head, heart, hands, and health", which was later incorporated into the fuller pledge officially adopted in 1927. In the United States, the organization is administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 4-H Canada is an independent non-profit organization overseeing the operation of branches throughout Canada. There are 4-H organizations in over 50 countries; the organization and administration varies from country to country.
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC), known in French as Radio Amateurs du Canada, is the national association for Amateur Radio in Canada. It is a not-for-profit membership association with headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, representing the interests of Amateur Radio all across Canada. Speaking on behalf of Canadian Radio Amateurs, RAC provides liaison with government agencies and carries the Amateur voice about regulatory and spectrum issues to the discussion table with government and industry leaders, nationally and internationally.
Epsilon Sigma Alpha International (ΕΣΑ) is a community and collegiate service organization for anyone ages 18 and older. The organization states that its purpose "is to inspire leadership and service by bringing good people together to pursue programs and projects that make a positive difference locally, nationally and internationally."
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (ΦΒΣ) is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as charter members. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to organize a Greek letter fraternity that would exemplify the ideals of Brotherhood, Scholarship and Service while taking an inclusive perspective to serve the community as opposed to having an exclusive purpose. The fraternity exceeded the prevailing models of Black Greek-Letter fraternal organizations by being the first to establish alumni chapters, youth mentoring clubs, a federal credit union, chapters in Africa and a collegiate chapter outside of the United States. It is the only fraternity to hold a constitutional bond with a historically African-American sorority, Zeta Phi Beta (ΖΦΒ), which was founded on January 16, 1920, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., through the efforts of members of Phi Beta Sigma.
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (ΣΓΡ) is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922. The organization was formed as a club in 1920, by seven African American women in Indianapolis, Indiana. At its inception, the sorority was created to support Black women pursuing degrees in education. It was incorporated within Indiana in November 1922 as a sorority for school teachers and held their first national conference in 1925. The sorority became a national collegiate sorority on December 30, 1929, when a charter was granted to the Alpha chapter then established at Butler University that year. The sorority was incorporated as a national collegiate sorority in 1930. Sigma Gamma Rho is the only sorority of the four historically African American National Pan-Hellenic Council sororities established at a predominantly White institution instead of at Howard University. It was the second African- American sorority established at Butler University. The sorority's slogan is "Greater Service, Greater Progress".
The Shad Planking is an annual political event in Virginia which takes place every April near Wakefield in Sussex County. It is sponsored by a chapter of the Ruritans, a community service organization which was founded in the small town of Holland about 30 miles to the southeast.
SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations.
There have been American Scouts overseas since almost the inception of the movement, often for similar reasons as the present day. Within the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), these expatriate Scouts are now served by two overseas Councils and the Direct Service program. Within the Girl Scouts of the USA, the USAGSO serves such a purpose.
The National Exchange Club – a service organization with 700 clubs and more than 21,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico – celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Michigan, by businessmen who wanted to “exchange” ideas on making their community better, the Exchange Club moved its headquarters to Toledo in 1917. The name "Exchange" was suggested by Charles A. Berkey, the founder who was also a 33° Mason. For a hundred years, Exchange Club volunteer efforts have supported the needs of the country and of local communities, making it the country's oldest American service organization operating exclusively in the United States. Its second oldest club is the Exchange Club in Toledo, Ohio, formed in 1913.
In times of crisis and natural disasters, amateur radio is often used as a means of emergency communication when wireline, cell phones and other conventional means of communications fail.
Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts are not wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know whom to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared personnel preventing operation. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.
Sertoma Inc., formerly known as Sertoma International, is an organization of service clubs founded on April 11, 1912. The name is an acronym for Service toMankind. Sertoma has clubs all over the United States and in Canada. Sertoma's primary focus is on assisting the more than 50 million people with hearing health issues and educating the public on the issues surrounding hearing health. In order to achieve these goals, Sertoma has undertaken a multi-faceted approach by launching programs that address both the treatment and prevention aspects of hearing health.
The Brushy Mountain Apple Festival is a one-day arts and crafts fair held annually in downtown North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Founded in 1978, the fair is held on the first Saturday in October. Over 160,000 people visit the fair each year, and it is one of the largest single-day arts and crafts fairs in the Southeastern United States. The fair is held to celebrate the apple harvest from the nearby Brushy Mountains. Over 100 church, civic, and other non-profit organizations from Wilkes County and neighboring counties participate in the fair each year.
Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) is one of the largest fraternal benefit societies in the United States, with more than 750,000 members. Total assets reached US$15.4 billion in 2016. Though it shares the same founder, it is not affiliated financially in any way with another, similarly-styled fraternal benefit society, WoodmenLife, and despite the name "Modern" is actually older than its counterpart.
The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) is a trade association in the United States that represents the electrical contracting industry. NECA supports the businesses that bring power, light, and communication technology to buildings and communities. Through advocacy, education, research, and standards development, NECA works to advance the electrical contracting industry.
Pioneers, a Volunteer Network, founded and more commonly known as the Telephone Pioneers of America, is a non-profit charitable organization based in Denver, Colorado in the United States. The association was organized in Boston in November 1911 by 246 pioneers active in the early days of telephony, including Alexander Graham Bell who received membership card No. 1. The first elected president was Theodore N. Vail, president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).
Youth Volunteer Corps,(YVC), is a non-profit service organization operating throughout the United States and Canada that was created to introduce, encourage, and support the spirit of volunteerism in youth ages 11 to 18 through consistent, well-organized volunteer opportunities. It began in 1987 as a single organization in Kansas City, Missouri, sponsored by the Heart of America United Way and was funded by numerous public and private sources.
The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is one of the two main national organizations in youth soccer in the United States for children aged 4 through 19. AYSO was established as a non-profit soccer organization in Torrance at Jefferson Elementary School in 1964 with nine teams. Today the organization claims membership of over 50,000 teams, with over 630,000 participants.
