District 7770 is one of the largest and most effective districts in the Rotary world. The district is well known throughtout Rotary and is well respected for the quality results achieved by its members.
Rotary Districts are formed to assist Rotary International in administering the more than 31,500 Rotary clubs located throughout the world. District 7770 comprises the 25 eastern counties of South Carolina (the remainder of the state is in District 7750). Today, District 7770 encompasses 78 Rotary clubs with a membership of approximately 5,000 Rotarians.
Over the years since 1916 when the Rotary Club of Columbia was formed, the area that currently comprises District 7770 has had numerous changes in both size and numerical designation to accommodate Rotary's phenomenal growth.
Two District 7770 Past District Governors have served on the Board of Directors of Rotary International, Lambo Schwartz and David Michaux, both from the Myrtle Beach Rotary Club. The district has many outstanding Rotary leaders, with several having served or presently serving in leadership positions on the Zone level.
District 7770 is proud of our Rotarians' service to mankind over the years. We are one of the top Districts in the world in support of the Rotary Foundation, having contributed over $1,000,000 this past Rotary year. During the initial Polio Plus drive in the late 1980's our district raised enough money to inoculate the nation of Peru! In 2002-03, district Rotarians contributed and/or pledged an additional $517,000 to the final Polio Eradication "push". Each year, we are also actively involved in awarding several Ambassadorial Scholarships and in sending and hosting GSE (Group Study Exchange) teams.
District 7770 has also proudly adopted the Gift of Life program where impoverished children from around the world come to leading South Carolina medical institutions (e.g., the Medical University of South Carolina, McLeaod Regional Medical Center, Hilton Head Hospital) for life-saving surgery at Rotary's expense.
In time of community catastrophes, such as the devastating drought in 1986, Rotarians here and in Ohio arranged for the shipment of tons of hay to South Carolina to assist our farmers in feeding their cattle. When Hurricane Hugo devasted many parts of our district in September 1989, the district issued a worldwide appeal through Rotary channels for assistance. Over $200,000 was sent by Rotarians around the world, including strong support from Rotarians within our district. In 2006-2007 our district emphasis was on the Adopt-a-Club program which was initiated to provide assistance directly to Rotary Clubs in the Louisiana/Mississippi Gulf Coast region which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. District 7770 raised over $200,000 for the effort and many clubs also had teams of members travel to the area to personally deliver supplies as well as provide man/woman power for many of the projects to refurbish the devastated area.
In 1994 the district created a district-wide drug abuse program, known as RIDDE (Rotarians in Drug Deterrence Education), which was so successful it was showcased by RI at the 1995 Rotary International Convention in Nice, France.
Another major District 7770 program, Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust (CART Fund - http://www.cartfund.org/ ), has raised over $1,000,000 for research that will lead to a prevention or cure of Alzheimer's disease. The program was initiated in 1995 by the Rotary Club of Sumter, then adopted by District 7770 and now has spread to all the Rotary Districts in South Carolina, North CArolina and Georgia.
District 7770 has 60 Interact Clubs and sponsors an annual Interact District Conference relecting the district's dedication to encouraging our youth to service an important part of their lives. District 7770 also has a very active Youth Exchange Program sponsoring on the average of 40 youth exchanges a year with Rotary clubs from around the world.
