Ian Riseley is selected as 2017-18 Rotary president

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International Ian H.S. Riseley, of the Rotary Club of Sandringham, Victoria, Australia, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International in 2017-18. He will become the president-nominee on 1 October if no other candidates challenge him.
Riseley says that meaningful partnerships with corporations and other organizations are crucial to Rotary’s future.
“We have the programs and personnel and others have available resources,” says Riseley. “Doing good in the world is everyone’s goal. We must learn from the experience of the polio eradication program to maximize our public… …read more

Source:: Rotary.org

A dozen ways to make a difference

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International August is Membership and New Club Development Month, which means it’s time to celebrate your Rotary club, your members, and the good you do in your community and around the world.
Make the most of your membership. Here’s how.
Learn more about Rotary Global Rewards, a new member benefit program that offers discounts on products and services – travel, hotels, car rentals, dining, and entertainment. Visit the Member Center.
Identify a need in your community and work with your club to design a hands-on project that addresses it.
Learn how to apply for a grant to implement a project.
Know a young… …read more

Source:: Rotary.org

New delegation tool launches

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International As part of several recent updates to My Rotary, we’ve launched Delegation, a new tool that will help you carry out your responsibilities more efficiently. If you have a club, district, or regional role, you can now delegate your role-based access in Rotary.org with fellow Rotary members so that you can share tasks and responsibilities to better serve your club. See an example of the Delegation landing page.
Go to My Rotary to learn how it works. If you have questions, contact us at rotarysupportcenter@rotary.org. …read more

Source:: Rotary.org

Pakistan Rotary members distribute free books

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International

Students at St. Mary's Academy in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, display the books they received from the Rotary Books for the World program and the Hashoo Foundation.

Students at St. Mary’s Academy in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, display the books they received from the Rotary Books for the World program and the Hashoo Foundation.

By Nosherwan Khalil Khan, a member of the Rotary Club of Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan

Back in June, my Rotary club partnered with the Hashoo Foundation to distribute books to schoolchildren in Rawalpindi during a ceremony held at St. Mary’s Academy.

Through the Rotary Books for the World program, Rotary members in Pakistan are working with the Hashoo Foundation to actively promote education throughout Pakistan, and to help our country meet the Millennium Development Goals for literacy set by the United Nations. The books and educational material help teachers and students increase their knowledge, enhance classroom learning, and promote community development.

The Rotary Books for the World program began in Houston and has spread to Rotary clubs in 16 U.S. states, involving multiple book shipments a month. The Second Wind Foundation is the financial arm of the program, which handles collecting, warehousing, and shipping the books. It received funds from Rotary Foundation grants and donations from Rotary members and private donors.

My Rotary club and the Hashoo Foundation have agreed to distribute the books to selected …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Join a Twitter chat on membership with General Secretary John Hewko

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International Kick off Membership and New Club Development Month by participating in a Twitter chat with Rotary International General Secretary John Hewko on 5 August at 10:30 Chicago time (UTC-5). Get tips and resources for gaining members and becoming more involved in your club. Share your own ideas and expertise on how Rotary members can encourage their friends to join. Use #RotaryChat to participate and follow @Rotary and @JohnHewko. …read more

Source:: Rotary.org

My brush with Lyme disease and what my Rotary club is doing to help

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International

The ticks that cause Lyme disease can be small, and the victim often does not feel their bite.

The ticks that cause Lyme disease can be small, and the victim often does not feel their bite.

By Stephen “Steve” Borgos

I’m a longtime Rotarian from Glens Falls, New York, USA. I taught college-level business administration for 31 years, served as a local elected government official and as executive director of the regional emergency medical service council, and made a part-time occupation of commercial real estate sales into a full-time retirement job. At age 68, I began considering slowing down, but I was still going strong.

Then in the spring of 2010, I began to notice significant changes in my energy and concentration levels. My cognitive function became compromised, to the point where I began to experience trouble navigating my way home after meetings more than a few miles away. There were times when my wife had to accompany me to meetings to respond to simple questions, because I couldn’t find words to answer for myself. I realized that what I had thought were simply natural changes due to aging might be something else.

Within 10 days of visiting my doctor, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease, an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Borrelia type transmitted through the bite of a …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Nigeria sees no wild polio cases for one year

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International Today marks one year since Nigeria last reported a polio case caused by wild poliovirus, putting the country on the brink of eradicating the paralyzing disease.
The last case was reported on 24 July 2014 in the northern state of Kano. If no cases are reported in the coming weeks, the World Health Organization is expected to remove Nigeria from the list of countries where polio is endemic, leaving just two: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Nigeria is the last polio-endemic country in Africa. The continent is poised to reach its own first full year without any illness from the virus on 11 August.
“… …read more

Source:: Rotary.org

A milestone for polio eradication in Nigeria

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International

By Michael McGovern, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee

Today is a special milestone for global health and for every Rotary member. Today, Nigeria has gone one year with no new cases of wild poliovirus.

This is the longest the country has ever gone without a case of polio and a critical step on the path toward a polio-free Africa. We’ve come a long way; it was only a decade ago that polio struck 12,631 people in Africa – three-quarters of all cases in the world.

A vaccinator looks for children that were missed during the mop up phase of a polio immunization drive in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Photo by Diego Ibarra Sánchez

Last year, thanks to its extensive polio eradication infrastructure, Africa’s most populous nation was able to reduce polio cases by 90 percent and thwart the deadly Ebola virus with a swift, “world-class” response.

I had the privilege of speaking earlier this year at the UN Economic and Social Council about Rotary’s work as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The UN wanted to hear from the most successful partnerships in the world of human development, and it was a great honor to talk about the achievements in which you have all …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Out of tragedy, some people create something good

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International From the August 2015 issue of The Rotarian
What’s the worst that could happen? For most of us, that’s a simple question. We might be late for a train. We might miss out on a promotion, or even lose a job. But for some, the worst is unimaginably worse. An unfortunate few endure what Ani Kalayjian calls “true trauma.” War. Fire. Flood. A daughter disappears. A son contracts Ebola. When faced with such disasters, “people feel anger, guilt, sadness, frustration – feelings that can poison the body and spirit,” says Kalayjian, a trauma specialist at Columbia University. “Trauma survivors may think… …read more

Source:: Rotary.org

San Diego students tackle vaccine controversy

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International From the August 2015 issue of The Rotarian
A group of teenage journalism students in suburban San Diego were in the early stages of a new project – an educational film funded by a Rotary grant – when their teacher’s phone rang. A prominent blogger had caught wind of what they were doing from a local news story, and wasn’t pleased. The fledgling film came under fire almost overnight as ripples of protest spread through the blogosphere. With calls pouring in before shooting had even begun, the advisers considered halting the project, questioning whether it would be worth the controversy… …read more

Source:: Rotary.org