Ruritan is a national organization dedicated to improving communities and building a better America through,”Fellowship, Goodwill, and Community Service”. Its purpose is to create a better understanding among people and, through volunteer service, make their community a better place to live and work. Ruritan rarely has national programs. Rather, each club surveys the needs of its community and then works to meet those needs.
The first Ruritan Club was chartered May 21, 1928 in Holland, Virginia. Since that first club, Ruritan has grown throughout the United States, and in so doing, has become “America’s Leading Community Service Organization. Currently 32,000 members serve over 1,200 local communities across our Nation.
The name “Ruritan” was suggested by Daisy Nurney, a reporter for the Norfolk Virginia-Pilot newspaper. The word is a combination of the Latin words for open country (ruri) and small town (tan), interpreted as pertaining to rural and small town life.
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