Welcome To The International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians
IFSR Home Page
Rotary and Scouting
Rotary International has been a partner with the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in serving young people since their inception. As Rotary spread around the world, its support of Scouting and Girl Guiding also spread. In 1916, Rotarians in Edinburgh, Scotland, joined by 100 local Scouts, organized a special Christmas party for children whose fathers were serving in World War I. In 1922, the Rotary Club of Manila, Philippines, established a local Scout council. Rotary Clubs from Australia to Brunei built huts for Girl Guide groups.
The principles and goals of Rotary, Scouting and Guiding are closely allied: Character-building; service to country, to others, and to self; teaching leadership skills; and becoming aware of the world around us. These are all incorporated into the programs and activities of each organization. The values expressed in Rotary International's Motto and the Four Way Test greatly parallel those articulated in the Scout Oath, Law, Motto, and Slogan.
Rotarians have long served as role models, demonstrating leadership, character, and the value of selfless service to the community. Rotary founder Paul P. Harris was himself a recipient of Scouting's prestigious Silver Buffalo award in 1934. His and others' efforts represent to a high degree the slogan "Every Rotarian an Example to Youth."
One of the first interactions between Rotary and both Scouting and Guiding were in helping provide camps. Many early camps were called Camp Rotary and many such camps still exist. Rotary clubs also chartered or otherwise supported Scout and Guide groups. Today, Rotarians remain among the foremost sponsors of Scouting and Guiding, seeing it, like Rotary, as an excellent way to serve others. Rotary clubs in the United States charter over 1,400 Scouting units (Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout Troops, and Venturing crews) serving about 45,000 Scouts.
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Message from IFSR World President,
PDG Mark Kriebel
Springtime brings much of the Rotary and Scouting world out of winter hibernation and gives us all the opportunity to reconnect in person through many planned Rotary events, including the Rotary Internation-al Convention.
We will again be hosting a booth in the House of Friendship at this year’s Convention in Singapore, and would like to invite you to all of you attending the Convention to both visit the booth and help in volun-teering to spend some time in the booth greeting our visitors and an-swering questions about Scouting and our Fellowship. If you can help us, please let us know by emailing Our Secretary Randy Seefeldt (IFSR@scoutingrotarians.org) and he’ll pass that information on to To-by Suzuki, our Asia Pacific Chair who is in charge of the booth. Thank you Toby for your service!
Beyond the Convention, there are many other opportunities to tell our Scouting Rotarian story on the Zone and District levels, at venues like our President Elect Training Seminars and our District Conferences. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that one of my District Rotarians, PDG Michael O’Brien from Hancock, NY, took the initiative and arranged to have the IFSR represented at both our Multi District PETS and Multi District Conference! Thanks for your efforts, Mike! Your Service Above Self will certainly raise awareness of the strong bond between Rotary and Scouting, and we look forward to seeing some pic-tures of the IFSR displays. I invite all our members to “be like Mike” and plan an IFSR display at YOUR Dis-trict Conference and/or PETS, if not this year then next year. Our IFSR Secretary Randy Seefeldt can sup-ply you with banners, literature and other resources at no cost to you.
I would also like to invite those annual members to consider an IFSR lifetime membership. The cost of our membership has not been raised in many years as prices have continued to rise. You will receive a beautiful newly designed tie or scarf as part of your membership, and avoid the inevitable membership price increase that will soon take place.
As always, we’re looking for new IFSR members, and also deserving individuals who have performed ex-traordinary service to Scouting and Rotary to receive the Cliff Dochterman award. After all, it’s YOU, our members, who make those award nominations and it’s YOU who also invites your Scouting Rotarian friends to join us in our Fellowship. We can’t do it without YOU.
In Scouting and Rotary,
President Mark
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IFSR & The Unnoticed Intersection
by Dr. Johannes Winter
Brian Thiessen with Dr. Johannes Winter of Nanheim, Germany at the IFSR Meeting on July 29, 2011, in Sweden.
Parallels between Rotary and the Boy Scouts are numerous, and the potential remains unused in my country (Germany).
Scouting's educational goals - based on a system of values established by the Scout Law and Promise - promote the development of young people to be responsible citizens who play an active and constructive role in their community, "creating a better world". The Scout Slogan, “Do A Good Turn Daily”, represents the social commitment of service to society. The parallels between the Four-Way Test and the Scout Law, Promise and Motto "Be Prepared!" are significant. So it is not surprising that in the early 90s, at the suggestion of a group of British Rotarians who were also scouts, the International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians (IFSR) was launched.
The IFSR goal is a strong international forum of Rotarians who are also Scouts to promote Scouting at local, national and international levels. There are around 1,300 US Rotary clubs actively involved.
Unfortunately, Germany has only a small number of members in this Rotarian brotherhood of scouts, though certainly, in their youth, very many Rotarians were in the Boy Scouts. From the Rotarian viewpoint, the Scout Movement is definitely worthy of support, in part because of the many substantive commonalities. The IFSR is looking forward to having even more members from Germany (and throughout the world).
[This was originally published in the October 2015 Rotary Magazine in German.]
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To Help Other People at All Times
  Such is the burden we carry as Scouters and Guiders. Coupled with our commitment to "Serve Above Self" as Rotarians, the opportunities to give of ourselves are endless. Many of us give of our time and talent on a local basis. Virtually every one of us has shown an interest in reaching out beyond our own borders through our affiliation with this fellowship.
Conversely, Scouting and Guiding has proven to be a strong partner in Rotary's mission "to help build a better world". One example is ShelterBox, which provides supplies designed to help an extended family of up to 10 people survive a disaster for at least 6 months. This project was started in 2000 by a Rotary Club in Cornwall, England. It has spread to become the largest project of any Rotary club in the world. Scout and Guide groups quickly joined in supporting ShelterBox. In 2009, The Scout Association officially became a partner in Shelter Box, and in 2012 Rotary International became a project partner. ShelterBox has worked on every continent, responding to earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, typhoons, hurricanes, volcanoes and conflicts.
The most recent IFSR report lists 1,118 active members in 45 countries.
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About the International Fellowship of
Scouting Rotarians
At the Rotary International Convention held in Mexico City in 1991, several Rotarians who were also Scouters met and discussed how to provide an outlet for both interests through a fellowship group within Rotary International. It was felt that because of these dual interests and involvement, there should be many opportunities for past and present Scouters to further the Scouting/Rotary ideals and relationships at local, regional, national, and international levels.
Thus was born the International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians. Numbering over 1,000 members worldwide at the present time, this group is aiding the on-going spirit of Service Above Self. After approval was received from Rotary International, IFSR joined the over 60 different Fellowships and Action Groups sanctioned by Rotary International in which active Rotarians may share their interests and hobbies.
Like original Scouting, the first such group was located in the British Isles (RIBI) and is now spreading throughout the Rotary and Scouting worlds. Canada, Eastern Russia (RI District 5010), the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean were formed into the Inter-American Region. The IFSR is structured along the lines of the World Organization of Scout Movement, which has six distinct regions or areas for administrative purposes - European, Eurasian, African, Australian, InterAmerican, and Asian.
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Who We Are - Our Aims - Our Objectives
Who We Are
The International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians (IFSR) is one of more than fifty Rotary
Fellowship Groups established
to bring together Rotarians with similar interests from around the world. This fellowship is
not an agency, or controlled by, Rotary International, WAGGGS or WOSM.
It is made up
of Rotarians, Rotarian spouses, Interact and Rotaract Members who are or were, also, members and/or supporters of the Scout and/or Girl Guide movements.
IFSR Annual Meeting at BSA National Meeting
IFSR Annual Meeting at Rotary International Convention
Our Aim
The aim of IFSR is to develop a strong association
internationally between Rotarians and associates who are, or have been, active
members and/or supporters of the Scout Movement including national organizations
that are members of the World Organization of Scout Movements (WOSM)
or the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS).
Our Objectives
The Objectives of IFSR include the following:
- To encourage and foster the ideal of service by Rotarians to promote the growth and development of the Scout movement.
- To provide opportunities for social and fellowship interaction among IFSR members.
- To give active encouragement to Scouting at local, national and international levels.
- To recognize individuals who have provided exceptionally unique service to Scouting and to Rotary.
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Items contained throughout the website have been updated on date indicated at the bottom of each page.
Directory of IFSR Website
••IFSR - Founded in 1991 ••
- Home Page
- Message from IFSR World President
- Rotary & Scouting
- IFSR & The Unnoticed Intersection
- To Help Other People At All Times
- About The IFSR
- Who We Are - Our Aims & Objectives
- IFSR Awards
- IFSR Silver Wheel Award
- IFSR Youth Service Award
- IFSR Community Service Award
- Cliff Dochterman
- The Man
- The Award
- Recipients
- Wear the Rotary Pin
- RI President is Recient
- BSA CSE is Recipient
- Cliff Dochterman At 94
- IFSR Certificates For Youth
- Certificates for US & Canada
- Ordering Certificates
- Youth Achievement Certificate
- Examples of Presentations
- IFSR Events
- IFSR at World Jamboree
- Annual General Meeting
- Asia Pacific Region Meeting
- InterAmerican Region Meeting
- IFSR at BSA Jamboree
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IFSR Social Media
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Last Updated:
July 18, 2020
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