Rotary & Songs for Peace - Successful "Social Networks"

     It’s common knowledge, to members of Rotary International, that a man named Paul Harris founded the organization in 1905.  He was then a lonely young lawyer, new to Chicago, and sought a way to replicate the neighborliness of the small New England town where he was raised.  Wallingford, Vermont, in the beautiful Green Mountains, was a place where people knew and helped each other.  And so, as Harris recalled in his autobiography, “My Road to Rotary,” published posthumously in 1948:  “The genealogy of my contributions to the (Rotary Club) movement goes back to my Valley, the friendliness of its folks, their religious and political tolerance.  In a way, the movement came out of the valley.” 

     From that first Rotary club started by Paul Harris in Chicago, Rotary has grown to include people all over the world — more than 20,000 clubs in countries scattered across the globe, with well over a million members.  Men and women of every color, and every faith.  It was, and is, the first successful “social network,” born out of a yearning for friends, and support.  And it has grown--and thrived.   

     In the same way, Songs For Peace (www.songsforpeace.net) has begun the journey of creating a community of peace loving people worldwide.  We will use the international language of music to speak to everyone.  And the message of peace will resonate, and it will heal. 

                                                                                                Candy Isaac

                                                                                                Songs for Peace