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Inner Wheel is an international women's organisation to create friendship, service and understanding. It has clubs in over 100 countries with over 100,000 members. It was founded in Manchester.
The organisation was officially founded on 10 January 1924 [1] by Margarette Golding, a nurse, business woman and the wife of a Manchester Rotarian, [2] who met with 26 other wives of Rotarians in November 1923. The first official Inner Wheel meeting was held on 10 January 1924 – this date is now known as "International Inner Wheel Day". This organisation was originally established for the wives and daughters of Rotarians although no Rotary connection is now required. Gradually other groups formed themselves into Inner Wheel Clubs and in 1934 the Association of Inner Wheel Clubs in Great Britain and Ireland was formed.
The number of clubs around the world grew and in 1967 the International Inner Wheel came into being. There are clubs in many countries around the world. Inner Wheel clubs are grouped into districts with twenty-nine districts within Great Britain and Ireland. Most clubs meet monthly, often with a speaker at the meeting but members meet socially on a regular basis. Clubs raise and donate money to a huge variety of charities.
Helena Foster, who was the President in 1969–70, proposed that "Inner Wheel Day" should be celebrated on 10 January each year on the day that the original Manchester group adopted the name of "Inner Wheel" in 1924. [1]
Following the decision taken at an International Convention in 2012, membership was opened up to all women over the age of 18.
The International Inner Wheel objectives are (a) promoting true friendship, (b) encouraging the ideals of personal service, and (c) fostering international understanding.
In 2008, Inner Wheel had over 100,000 members in 102 countries and was one of the largest women's organisations with consultative status at the United Nations. [3]
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, 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.
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the first speaker in 1897. It was based on the British concept of Women's Guilds, created by Rev Archibald Charteris in 1887 and originally confined to the Church of Scotland. From Canada the organization spread back to the motherland, throughout the British Empire and Commonwealth, and thence to other countries. Many WIs belong to the Associated Country Women of the World organization.
Soroptimist International (SI) was founded in 1921 as a global volunteer service for women with almost 66,000 members in 118 countries worldwide. Soroptimist International also offers Associate Membership and E-Clubs.
Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is a Rotary International student exchange program for students in secondary school. Since 1929, Rotary International has sent young people around the globe to experience new cultures. Currently, about 9,000 students are sponsored by Rotary Clubs every year. Typically, students are sent to another country for a year-long stay, generally living with multiple host families during the year and being expected to perform daily tasks within the household as well as attend school in the host country. Short term exchange programs are also quite common. These typically involve direct student exchanges between two families arranged through Rotary to coincide with major school holiday periods.
Friendship Day is a day in several countries for celebrating friendship. It was initially promoted by the greeting card industry; evidence from social networking sites shows a revival of interest in Friendship Day that may have grown with the spread of the internet, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. Mobile phones, digital communication, and social media have contributed to popularize the custom. Those who promote the day in South Asia attribute the tradition of dedicating a day in honour of friends to have originated in the United States in 1935.
Probus Clubs are clubs for retired or semi-retired people from all walks of life and may include business or professional people. The movement operates worldwide.
Paul Percy Harris was a Chicago, Illinois, attorney. He founded the club that became the humanitarian organisation Rotary International in 1905.
Youth for Exchange and Understanding (YEU) is an International Non-Governmental Non-profit Youth Organisation established in 1986 and member of the European Youth Forum in Brussels. YEU is recognized by the Council of Europe and the Directorate of Youth and Sports of the European Commission. YEU has its Head Office in Brussels, Belgium and a second office in Faro, Portugal from where it coordinates a network with more than 27 member organisations from Europe and North Africa. YEU is a non-profit International Youth Non Governmental Organization (IYNGO) independent of all political affiliation.
Ambassadorial Scholarships was a program of the Rotary Foundation. The program ended in 2013 and was replaced by the Rotary Global Grant Scholarship, which expands on the Ambassadorial mission, by now ensuring that every Rotary Scholar advance Rotary's International mission to " promote service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace.".
41 Club is the more commonly used shorter name for The Association of Ex-Round Tablers' Clubs a social networking organisation for men aged over 40 who are also former members of Round Table. Thus, 41 Club forms part of the Round Table Family of clubs, together with Round Table, Ladies Circle, Tangent and Agora Club International.
Tangent is a social networking organisation for ladies aged over 45, primarily intended for former members of Ladies Circle. It is part of the Round Table Family of clubs, together with Round Table (club), Ladies Circle and 41 Club.
The Round Table Family organisation is a group of social networking and charitable clubs that together form a worldwide movement of tens of thousands of people.
The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) is an organisation established in 1965 to promote understanding and friendship between British and Chinese people. The organisation has no political affiliation and is open to all who are interested in China and its peoples. It is a registered charity and currently operates with branches in different parts of the country. In the 1970s SACU offered a rare point of contact with the PRC authorities: it provided information at a time when there were few other sources available and was one of the few organisations that could arrange visits. The organisation's first chairman and president was the much esteemed scientist and sinologist, Joseph Needham, FRS, Fellow and President of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.
The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions.
The Catenian Association is a Roman Catholic lay society with around 8,000 members in a number of English-speaking countries. Catenian men and their families meet socially to help develop their faith and build lasting friendships.
Active 20-30 International is an international service club focused on helping children and developing leadership skills in younger adults ages 20–39. In the United States and Canada, the organization is called the Active 20-30 Club and has over 28 local chapters. In Latin America, the group is called Activo 20-30 Internacional and has over 60 chapters.
The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (1901–present) is a voluntary charitable organisation that connects people from Commonwealth countries. There are currently branches in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with affiliated organisations in Canada and the USA. It is headquartered in Bayswater, London, United Kingdom.
Jean Thomson Harris was the wife of Paul Harris, a lawyer who founded the first Rotary Club in Chicago in 1905. She supported the organisation but was never allowed to join because she was a woman. She eventually joined the Inner Wheel and she was the first honorary member of the Inner Wheel Club of Edinburgh. Both her birthplace and burial site are commemorated with plaques. She is known internationally.
Margarette "Peggy" Golding was a Welsh born nurse and businessperson who was the founder of the "Inner Wheel" club in Manchester that has grown to be an international organisation - originally open to the wives of members of the Rotary Club only, but now open to all.
Round Table International is an international non-political and non-religious organisation for young men founded in Norwich, England, in 1927 by Louis Marchesi. The members in the organisation are of community leaders, professionals and driven individuals. Initially, the organisation was founded for young men in England. As of 2024, the organisation has 30,000 active members from over 65 countries, who are known as Tablers.