ShelterBox deployment near Bologna, Italy, following a 5.9-magnitude earthquake 20 May. Photo by James Edgerley/ShelterBox
For the over one million people whose lives have been saved the answer is easy: it’s a ShelterBox. Founded in Cornwall in the United Kingdom by Rotarian Tom Henderson, this international disaster relief charity delivers emergency shelter including a 10 person tent, blankets, cooking utensils, water storage and purification and other essential life saving equipment all wrapped in a big green box. Continue reading
The wonderful partnership between Dolly Parton and Rotary International continues to flourish in communities both large and small all across the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Although every community approaches the program in its own way, one thing impresses me much more than dollars raised or even time invested –and this is the enormous influence Rotarians exert in their communities. Continue reading
You can never get enough books in the hands of children, says country music legend Dolly Parton.
Since 2009, Rotary International has been working with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to promote early childhood reading. Through the program, a child receives an age-appropriate book each month until age five. Rotary clubs throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have been teaming up with Dolly to bring books to children in roughly 300 communities.
Dolly talks about the reasons she began her program, in this video from the Imagination Library. You can also read about Rotary’s work with the Imagination Library in the March issue of The Rotarian. David Dotson, president of the Dollywood Foundation, took part in a literacy webinar sponsored by Rotary on Tuesday.
Steve Root organized a Rotary display in Canterbury.
By Steve Root, Rotary Club of Canterbury Sunrise, England
Three years ago I was invited to a Rotary meeting by a customer. I’d heard of Rotary but really had no idea what the organization did.
I quickly realized that everyone there wanted to do good things in the community and that together, we could achieve a lot more than we could as individuals. I’d be able to join in and help with projects others were working on — for example, helping at a charity fundraising day — as a new member.
