As I head to my Rotary Club meeting, I want to talk to you all about the importance of service and community involvement. . When I first got out of optometry school, I looked for organizations to join that would help bring in patients. I joined a couple of organizations and tried them out for a couple of years, but I didn’t get the increase in patient volume that I thought I would. Then I had a patient who encouraged me to join Rotary. The core purpose behind Rotary is not to network and or increase your business, but rather to serve others. I realized that these organizations were not a means to an end, but rather an opportunity to positively impact the community one lives in. This does not mean that you don’t benefit from your membership. I went ahead and joined the Rotary, and low and behold, I got some patients from it! The reason why is because these are like-minded individuals with an interest in giving back in some way. You know how the saying goes “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. These individuals give back both financially as well as with their time in service types of offerings. My fellow Rotarians and I shared a passion for service, and many of them have come to see me as their primary eye care provider as a result. Being part of an organization that is much larger than me for what I can get is very self-fulfilling and gives a lot back to me. That’s something a club like Rotary, or Lion’s, or a host of others that are out there can do. So go into those organizations with the purpose and the intent of doing what their organization intends to do. Rotary’s purpose is service above self, so they provide services and financial support for a myriad of causes . All these different clubs have different purposes but it’s amazing how as a side benefit, you may end up getting patients. But ultimately if you join the organization with a sole purpose to fulfill the obligations of being part of it, even if you never get a single patient from it, you’re still going to benefit. An important aspect of being an involved community member is your opportunity to educate individuals on the importance of primary eye care. It’s also a great way to learn and get to know other young professionals like you, like accountants or attorneys, who may be able to provide you services that you’re looking for. So I encourage you to consider joining a club like Rotary as soon as you land in the town where you’re going to be practicing in.