The club's affiliation with Rotary International (RI) places College Park Rotarians in the company of more than 1.2 million Rotarians organized into 31,651 clubs in 166 countries around the world including new clubs in Russia, China and eastern Europe. RI is well known for its contributions to world peace, international understanding, and improved health. Perhaps the best known project of RI is its PolioPlus Campaign that has raised approximately $500,000,000 (including substantial contributions from the College Park Club) in support of the worldwide effort to eradicate polio - hopefully by 2005 the hundredth anniversary of Rotary. Rotarians have also participated directly in efforts to administer the vaccine. Other RI international programs include student exchanges, exchange programs for young professionals, post-baccalaureate scholarships, grants for community projects, and others.

From the beginning the College Park Club has emphasized the four lanes of Rotary service - club service, community service, vocational service and international service. Rather than attempt a chronology of the club, this history will include highlights of the club's activities in each of the four lanes.

Club service involves the activities which contribute to good fellowship and highly informative meetings for the club. The club's weekly programs have been noted for their wide-ranging and stimulating subject matter. A sample of notable speakers includes - Sumner Welles, Undersecretary of State (1941), Mrs. E. G. Sellers who had just left Singapore (1942), Congressman Richard M. Nixon (1948), Sir Howard Beal, Ambassador of Australia (1963), Singing Sergeants of the U.S. Air Force (1965), field trip to Goddard Space Flight Center (1972), Walter Rodgers, ABC White House correspondent (1976), Ray Leonard, Olympic welterweight boxing champion (1977), Jerry Claiborne, Maryland Football Coach (1978), University Park Elementary School Chorus (1980), Dr. Elizabeth John, Professor of Art, University of Maryland (1981), Lefty Driesell, Maryland Basket Ball Coach (1982), Carlos Canseco of Mexico, President-Elect of Rotary International (1983), Richard F. Schubert, President, American Red Cross (1985), Louis Goldstein, Comptroller of Maryland (1984), Victor P. Mozolin, President, Rotary Club of Moscow, Russia (1990), Chief John Farrell, Prince George's Police (1995), Gen. Oleg Kalugin, KGB spymaster (2000), and William E. "Brit" Kirwan, Chancellor, University of Maryland System(2002), etc. Other club service activities include a weekly newsletter published continuously since 1947 and social events such as an annual crabfeast, Christmas and Valentine parties, charter night dinners, and attending Bowie Baysox games as a group.

Community service programs have involved members in "hands on" projects as well as fundraising. Beginning with the early days projects have included organizing an unemployment committee to assist over-aged men find work (1938), hosting servicemen in World War II (1942-45), playground equipment for county kids (1942), selling War Bonds (1943), collecting over 4000 pieces of costume jewelry to be sent to troops in the South Pacific for barter (1944), organizing a Sea Scout Ship (1946), equipping a room at PG General Hospital (1951), organizing the Halloween Party at Boys Village (1956), sponsoring a historic marker for the College Park airport (1960), purchasing a police dog for the county police K-9 corps (1962), beautifying one of the entrances to College Park (1967), supporting the prize-winning Parkdale High School band trip to Austria (1972), participating in the purchase of new station wagon for PG County Red Cross (1978), beginning significant contributions to the Children's Health and Development Clinic (1981), treating 200 Health and Development Clinic kids to the Ice Capades (1991), and assisting with clean-up of several tributaries of the Paint Branch (1996). Current community projects include refurbishing an auditorium and staff lounge at St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home, providing festive Christmas dinners for seniors at Attick Tower and Spellman House, continuing about 60 years of bellringing for the Salvation Army at Christmastime and participating in "Rotary Reads" at local elementary schools. Funds from the club's annual fall charity golf tournament go to a number of charitable organizations.

From its founding international service has been central to the purpose of the College Park Rotary Club. The club has been involved in many international service projects including collecting shoes for the needy in Europe (1948), collecting clothing for the poor people of Korea (1953), a member serving as the leader of a Group Study Exchange team visit to the Philippines (1980), a member funding and arranging for the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow to President Tadeucz Mazowiecki of Poland (1990), collecting and arranging shipment of a ton of books to a university library in Ecuador (1995), and funding and establishing a village bank in Peru (1997). An important avenue of international service for the club has been through the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Overwhelmingly the programs of the foundation are international in nature. The College Park Club has supported the foundation through the creation of more than 193 Paul Harris Fellows (each fellow represents a contribution of $1,000) and contributions of more than $115,000 to the PolioPlus Program.

Because of Rotary's tradition of having members come from a variety of occupations and its emphasis on high ethical standards, vocational service has been a major club emphasis. Each new member presents a classification talk outlining the development of his/her career. The club promotes high ethical standards in business and the professions and encourages adherence to the 4-Way Test (see below). Most years the club conducts poster and essay contests among students in local schools with the 4-Way Test as the theme. Club members have participated in school career fairs. To promote the ideals of Rotary including high ethical standards in one's vocation, the College Park Club sponsors an Interact Club at Parkdale High School and a Rotaract Club at the University of Maryland College Park.

For seventy years the Rotary Club of College Park has been a vital and influential member of the College Park community and an active participant in efforts to build goodwill and better understanding among the peoples of the world. This dynamic club continues to offer men and women of talent, energy and dedication a good place to join their energies with others of a similar outlook to make effective contributions to their community and to world peace. And they have a good time while participating.