Photos by Chris Senate

By William Tauro 

This past Tuesday afternoon , the Somerville Rotary Club hosted its Annual Service Club Luncheon Meeting at the Somerville Holiday Inn.  
Local service club members from the Somerville Rotary, Lions Club and Kiwanis Clubs were in attendance at the annul luncheon event.
Somerville is very fortunate to have three very active service clubs in the city that are always supporting local worthy charities and organizations in the city and beyond. 
A service club or service organization is a voluntary non-profit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined firstly by its service mission and secondly its membership benefits, such as social occasions, networking, and personal growth opportunities that encourage involvement.
Many of today’s service clubs got their start as social clubs for business networking, but quickly evolved into organizations devoted more to service than to networking. 
Historically, most service clubs consist of community-based groups that share the same name, goals, membership requirements, and meeting structure. Many of these clubs meet weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly on a recurring established day and time, commonly at a mealtime. Most of these clubs started with a single club in a single city, but then replicated themselves by organizing similar clubs in other communities. Many of the service club organizations have become worldwide movements, and have obtained official recognition by the United Nations and various governments as non-governmental organizations (NGO).