Tag Archives: Membership

Why I finally joined a Rotary club

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Erin Maloney watching a recording of the 2020 Virtual Convention on her laptop. (On screen is her brother, 2019-20 Rotary International President Mark D. Maloney

By Erin Maloney

Until this summer, I had never really thought about joining a Rotary club. Even though I have been involved with service – from anti-domestic violence issues to giving music lessons – for all of my adult life, I was not interested in the traditional model of Rotary (with weekly meetings).

Living in Turkey, I was becoming more interested in reducing human trafficking, as I was concerned that female university students from abroad were being “groomed.” After the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it became more difficult to address this issue. Continue reading →

What Rotary has to offer young members

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Paxton

Tory Paxson and her family

By Tory Paxson, vice president, Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club, District 7780, Maine, USA

What’s life like for people between the ages of 18 and 35 in the Boothbay Region of Maine? Through Rotary, young people take on leadership positions that expand their skills while they serve. Rotary does more than help during a crisis like COVID-19; it provides experiences that translate into a better future in any career. Continue reading →

Uncertain times call for innovation

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Unloading face shields

Rotary members load boxes of assembled face shields for Form5 Prosthetics. With the help of Rotary members in New Albany, Ohio, USA, the company has produced more than 5,000 face shields for health workers.

By Michelle Davis, past president of the Rotary Club of New Albany, Ohio, USA, and an assistant governor in District 6690

Wash your hands. Wear face masks. Self-quarantine. COVID-19. Pandemic. Whoever thought these phrases or words would become part of our everyday life!

As a Rotarian, I know we are “problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.” When our District 6690 leaders communicated an opportunity to use a district grant in response to the global COVID-19 crisis, I knew we needed to jump in. But how?  What impact could we make in our community using a district grant? Continue reading →

Honoring the mothers behind our Peace Fellows

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Lea Yague leads an activity with the newly formed Rotary Club of Solana Moonlight.

Erika Isabel Yague

By Erika Isabel Yague, Rotary Peace Fellow at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

As Rotary Peace Fellows, we find inspiration when we take time to remember and recognize the people who support and motivate us in our work of pursuing a sustainable peace. For me, the principal person is my mom, the first woman that inspired me to live life in a way that would give back to the community. And given that May is the month of Mother’s Day, I felt it doubly fitting to talk about my mom as we honor the amazing mothers or mother figures we have in our lives. Continue reading →

7 reasons young people should join Rotary

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Ryan Bell explains what Rotary has to offer young people, including exciting service opportunities that will connect you to others in your community.

By Ryan Bell, Iowa City District 6000 Public Image Co-Chair

I have a message for all you young people out there who may never have heard about Rotary. Or if you have, it was from a parent or grandparent who spent more time talking about the lunch menu or how great the salad bar is. If that’s all you’ve heard about Rotary, then you’re missing a lot. And let me tell you why, in the middle of this pandemic, Rotary is more relevant than ever. It’s definitely something you want to know about. Continue reading →

How we created five new clubs in under a year

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Shah and Bhatt

Vikash Shah with Sharmila Bhatt, 2018-19 governor of District 9211, at a club event.

By Vikash Shah, Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam Oyster Bay, Tanzania

My year as Rotary club president was approaching, and I knew I had to do something substantial to leave my mark. I had participated in a district team training seminar by our district governor, Sharmila Bhatt, and was inspired by her vision for growing Rotary. For many years, the growth in District 9211 (Tanzania and Uganda) had come mostly from Uganda. But she saw potential in the “sleeping giant” of Tanzania. It was then that I conceived the bold idea to form not just one, but five new clubs during my year as president. Continue reading →

Stories, not stats, attract people to Rotary

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Joe Otin

By Joe Otin, governor-elect of Rotary District 9212 (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan)

I gravitate naturally to statistics despite the negative feelings some people have about them. I think that information is the fuel that our world runs on and without it our systems will sputter, stall, and shut down. That is because statistics are significant in decision making.

When I joined the Rotary Club of Nairobi East, Kenya, 19 years ago, I was told that good Rotarians were defined by the regularity of their attendance, the frequency of their gifts to The Rotary Foundation, and most importantly by their ability to introduce new members to the club. Continue reading →

How do we innovate at Rotary?

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By John Hewko, Rotary International General Secretary

Innovation and flexibility. Those are two words you hear a lot today when we think about any organization adapting to a rapidly changing environment.  But what do those two words mean for Rotary?

In short, they will define Rotary’s future, because they are fundamental pillars of our strategic plan for enhanced impact, reach, engagement and adaptability. Continue reading →

What value does your club have for young professionals?

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Michael Walstrom

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of blog posts celebrating Membership Month.

By Michael Walstrom, president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton, Florida  

Rotary, like any business, has customers. For us, those customers are our members and we must provide value to assure satisfied customers. The key to attracting and retaining young professional “customers” is presenting a Value Proposition that is attractive. Continue reading →

How we added younger members with an evening group

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Stratford-Upon-Avon club members prepare for the Shakespeare Duck Race.

By Jonathan Craig, secretary of the Rotary Club of Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England

Our club meets at lunch and has a membership that is mostly retired. We do have a few younger members who have their own businesses or retired early, but gone are the days when employers encouraged their local bank managers to take two hour lunches. We began to be seen as a club that wasn’t a good fit for young working people. So it became a strategic goal for our club (and also for RIBI) to attract younger members and also more women. Continue reading →