Author Archives: Rotary International

How I found a sense of belonging in Rotary

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Maricler Botelho de Oliveria, left, takes part in a program promoting Rotary in Brazil.
Maricler Botelho, right, takes part in a program promoting Rotary in Brazil. Maricler says the support and acceptance she has found in Rotary has given her a sense of belonging and demonstrates the organization’s commitment to inclusion.

By Maricler Botelho, a member of the Rotary Club of Marilia-Pioneiro, and assistant governor of District 4510

When I share my Rotary story, it is one of recognition, support, and acceptance. I believe it also tells the story of Rotary’s commitment to inclusion.

I was born in Tupi Paulista, in the countryside of São Paulo, and grew up in the northern part of the state of Mato Grosso, in the city of Juara. I come from a simple family that set a high value on respecting others. I had to move about 600 miles away from my town to pursue my desire to be a lawyer. I’m the first on my mother’s side of the family to get a college degree. Our socioeconomic status created real limitations, which is why I grew up accepting a feeling that I didn’t really belong. Then I was introduced to Rotary.

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Helping Ukraine, one drill set at a time

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Emory Morsberger, surgeon, with drill set
Emory Morsberger delivers the drill set to a surgical team at the hospital in Kiev in June.

By Emory Morsberger, Rotary Club of Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA

Isn’t it a privilege to be a Rotarian who can actually serve others and make a difference in someone else’s life – and even more so if that life is on the other side of the world? I think so! I hope to rally fellow Rotarians on 24 August to join our movement, Helping Ukraine.

In 1998, I took a trip to Ukraine and have been yearning to go back since. The people there are so excited about their freedom. When the war broke out in February, I felt a strong call to do something to help these free-spirited people. I had been hearing about the massive destruction and wanted to do more than make donations.

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Pioneering diversity and inclusion in Cupertino

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Rotary Club of Cupertino
Members of the Rotary Club of Cupertino during a visit by 2021-22 District Governor Richard Flanders.

By Hung Wei, past president of the Rotary Club of Cupertino, California, USA, and District 5170 Governor-Nominee

When members in my district think of past district governor Don Allen, we remember a generous, kind, and intelligent person. This gentleman was a pioneer in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) by growing Rotary’s impact through encouraging Rotary clubs to reflect their community.

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Kick-start your club’s social media presence

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Service project in Houston
Take photos that tell a story. Capture images that show action rather than group shots, with people actively engaged in a service project or sharing a moment of laughter.

By Hannah Shaw, Rotary social and digital media specialist

Social media makes expanding your club’s reach easier than ever, but how? There are tips, tricks, and tools for creating content for social platforms, and the goal is simple: connection. A well-built social media presence will help you create connections in your community and beyond, from showcasing your club’s success to building awareness of its presence. To help boost your social media savvy, we’ve put together the following eight tips and tools:

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Creating a welcoming club environment

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Tom Gump at IA
Tom Gump addresses incoming leaders at the International Assembly in January.

By Tom Gump, past governor of District 5950, and a Member of Rotary International’s Membership Growth Committee

I love August because it is the time of year when Rotary looks seriously at the topic of membership. We are a membership organization and as such, we need members to grow and expand our impact. Service is the avenue by which we make a lasting impact in our communities and how we keep our members engaged.

There are at least three methods of strengthening membership. We can pour energy into attracting new members. We can focus on engaging existing members. And we can form new clubs that serve distinct needs and serve as a magnet for attracting still more members. At different times and places, our Rotary International presidents have focused on all of these aspects of membership.

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Creating positive change: Rotary’s Empowering Girls initiative

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Pace Universal
Pace Universal is a school for girls in Piyali Junction, outside of Kolkata, India, funded in part by Rotary clubs and The Rotary Foundation. Rotary’s Empowering Girls initiative encourages projects like this one to empower girls to be able to make choices and create positive change.
Elizabeth Usovicz

By Elizabeth Usovicz, Rotary International Director, chair of Rotary’s Empowering Girls Task Force

What does it mean to be empowered? For girls throughout the world, empowerment is the ability to make choices and create positive change in their own lives, as well as in their families and communities.

Empowered girls become empowered women. Reaching out to the girls of our world is the heart and purpose of Rotary’s Empowering Girls Initiative. Our stories of supporting girls are interwoven with their stories of empowerment, like the story of Atupele, a girl in Malawi.

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3 thoughts on attracting members and keeping them

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By Abdulwahab B Akinlade, past president of the Rotaract Club of Ikorodu Golden, Lagos, Nigeria

Abdulwahab B. Akinlade
Abdulwahab B. Akinlade

Membership is the backbone of organizations like Rotary. My friend Musiliu Babatunde has a favorite song about Rotary, and it is called Wake Up Rotarians. It talks about the importance of membership to a club and how a club will become inactive and die if there are no members. The song prompted me to think about ways we can attract members. Here are a few thoughts:

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Peace research brings calm to chaos

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Magnus Elfwendahl
Magnus Elfwendahl

By Magnus Elfwendahl, past governor of District 2350 and a member of the Rotary Club of Uppsala-Carolina, Sweden

Some months ago, I participated in the celebration of 50 years of Peace and Conflict research at Uppsala University in Sweden. During the anniversary symposium some prominent international scholars reflected on big societal challenges and the future of peace and conflict research. Experienced practitioners shared their thoughts on how peace and conflict research can contribute to policy and practical peace work. The keynote speaker, Jamie LeSueur, head of Emergency Operations of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), was a Rotary Peace Fellow during 2013-2015 when training for future peace work at Uppsala University.

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Why I am a peacebuilder and how you can be one too

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Kiran Singh Sirah, Rotary Peace Fellow,
Kiran Singh Sirah, Rotary Peace Fellow, speaks at the Rotary Presidential Conference Houston: Serve to Bring Peace 3 June in Houston, Texas, USA.

by Kiran Singh Sirah, president of the International Storytelling Center and a Rotary Peace Fellow alum

In early June, I was a keynote speaker at the Rotary Presidential Conference Houston: Serve to Bring Peace. We were a group of about 1,500 people, many who are leaders in their communities, and all interested in peacebuilding. They were from all over the world. And every day, I was asked the question: what led me to become a peacebuilder?

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Rotary e-club empowers girls in Kenya

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Young women receive training in self defense during a project to empower girls in Kenya.
Young women receive training in self defense during a project to empower girls in Kenya.

By Roberta Porter, Rotary E-Club of District 5450

I was shocked and stunned as I sat in silence listening to the pain in my daughter’s voice. She was calling me from Kenya where she had travelled as a volunteer with an Australian volunteer organization.

She described witnessing first-hand the impact poverty was having on the health and wellbeing of families and especially the children she was working with. The main focus for her at that time was lack of education about puberty, sexual health, and sexual violence.

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