Who we are

Verkkorotary is a group of active and social people who act along the Rotary motto “Service Above Self”. Verkkorotarians are very agile in networking and communicating through modern technology.
Twice a month we meet in an online meeting and once a month we have a so-called Terra meeting where we see each other live in Helsinki Capital area. Our meeting schedule can be found on this web page under Events -it is worth having a look! Our Terra meetings usually are held in companies or other organizations which have current topics that interest our members. We also meet in cultural and sports activities and learn to know each other in person besides online. Our family members are also welcome to join these meetings. During the past years, we have had emphasis on topics around sustainability and continues as one of the themes. Our club members are curious and willing to learn more all the time. Furthermore, our presentations and topics give us tools to influence and do good.

Our membership count has been over the past years between 30 and 40 men and women, from below fifty up to eighty years of age. Club members live around Finland, the majority being in the Capital area, but we also have members abroad in different continents.

Our primary meeting language is Finnish, but we occasionally conduct our meetings in English as well, especially when we have guest speakers who prefer English. We have occasionally also had joined meetings with other e-clubs in the world, both in the Nordic countries and elsewhere.
The story of this experimental and open-minded Rotary club started at the beginning of the millennium, where 14 clubs participated in Rotary International´s pilot program from 2004 to 2010. The idea of founding a “cyber-club” also in Finland was seen potential at a very early stage. Due to an intensive preparation, our Rotary e-club of Verkkorotary.fi was chartered by Rotary International on 18.5.2004 as the fourth e-club in the world and the first e-club in Europe.

Hobby With a Purpose
The idea of Rotary is to bring together positive minded influencers to get to know each other, learn together and do good in the society.

One of Verkkorotary’s essential way of doing good has been participation in Rotary´s International Youth Exchange program. Youth Exchange is grass roots-level internationalization at its best, especially for education and peace issues. We are sure that the results of this exchange will last beyond our times. Our club has from almost the very beginning annually participated Rotary´s youth exchange in all its forms from short to long term exchange.

For several years we have also supported ShelterBox-relief operations by sending supplies to catastrophe areas around the world. We have also participated various service projects in Finland together with other clubs in our District and in Finland.

An Influential International Organization
We are part of the world wide Rotary network. Rotary was established on 23 February 1905 in Chicago. It is an international service and charity organization. The homestead of Rotary International is Evanston, Illinois in the USA. Our motto is Service Above Self.
Rotary has 1.2 million members in 35,000 clubs in more than 200 countries. Rotary is a remarkable international service and charity organization, see Home EN | Rotary International. Finland is divided into five Rotary districts. Verkkorotary belongs to District 1420, which covers the Uusimaa region in Finland and besides that also includes the Estonian clubs. In Finland and Estonia, there are 300 clubs altogether, with close to 9 thousand Rotarians.

For more information on Verkkorotary please contact jari.karpakka (at) kolumbus.fi