United SERTOMA (SERvice TO MAnkind) in Lemont, Illinois, is a volunteer-based 501 (c)(3) charitable organization by a group of dedicated individuals who had a desire to help those in need of assistance in Lemont, Lockport and Homer Glen communities.
About our organization
Chartered in 1996
Over the past twenty-five years, our organization has grown and the need has become greater of families and organizations not only in Lemont, but the Lockport and Homer Glen communities as well.
Our Mission
The SERTOMA Foundation, an international charity, believes that universal communication, whether heard, seen or spoken, is the key to human understanding. The purpose of the SERTOMA Foundation is to support the approved charitable and educational programs of our SERTOMA family through effective fund raising, investment of funds and the distribution of proceeds.
Through the financial support of SERTOMA’s programs, we become the catalyst for greater human understanding and Service to Mankind. (Adopted at the July 1990 International Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.)
History of
Sertoma
International
The first official luncheon meeting of the founding Club was held on April 11, 1912, at the Coates House Hotel, then the fashionable hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. The founder’s of the first Co-Operative Club were George W. Smith, M.D., Charles E. Allen, M.D. and William R. Rowe. These three men are now recognized as the Founding Fathers of The Co-operator Club of Kansas City, Missouri, and of SERTOMA International.
The name by which the first Sertoma Club was identified was the “Stand Together Club.” This name was used even before the Club was officially organized as The Co-Operative Club of Kansas City, Missouri.
The Kansas City Club progressed rapidly from its very beginning. Originally, there was no throughout of starting a new national or International organization. Consequently, the club was a Kansas City institution for a period of several years. However, as members moved to other cities, a few of them started similar Clubs.