Taylor Huie, seated left, with the RI Membership Committee in September. Taylor Huie, Rotaract and Rotary clubs of Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA — Taylor Huie I often joke that at 26 years old, I’ve been a member of Rotary for 27 years. Coming from a Rotary family means, quite literally, growing up through this organization. I…
The Adivasi women participating in the training learn sewing on their new machines. By Aruna Koushik, Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada — As a recently widowed person, I had been coming to grips with the change in my marital status and the subtle social changes I was experiencing, those of isolation and a noticeable…
Nerissa Persaud By Nerrissa J. Persaud, Rotary Club of Montego Bay, Jamaica — I recently received my first Paul Harris Fellow recognition pin and certificate in the mail. I held it in my hands, expecting to feel a sense of pride, maybe even excitement. After all, this recognition stands as a symbol of giving –…
Abigail Pratt speaks about partnering with Rotary and the Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge during the International Assembly 12 February 2025. By Abigail Pratt, Gates Foundation malaria program — As I sat down to prepare my remarks for the International Assembly, Rotary’s annual training event for incoming leaders, my little boy came down with a fever.…
Participants in From Pain to Hope join hands in a powerful symbol of the program’s motto: “We are not alone.” By María Julia Moreyra — As a lawyer in Argentina who specialized in the fight against gender violence, I have been grieved by recent developments in my country. Argentina has a history as a pioneering…
Elementary school students in Georgia take part in an anti-bullying program. By Debbie Cwalina In the fall of 2014, shortly after I joined the Rotary Club of Roswell, Georgia, I came across a disturbing article about the rise in suicides among middle-school-aged kids due to cyberbullying. It immediately made me think of my brother who…
Hashim Taqvi (left) and two of the new members he has sponsored. By Hashim Taqvi — When I first joined Rotary in 2014, I immersed myself in the Rotary experience. I actively participated in our district’s events and training sessions and met amazing people. These opportunities and connections offered me invaluable insights into the world…
Rotary members and other volunteers pack supplies at a warehouse in Zamosc, Poland, about 60 kilometers (27 miles) from the border with Ukraine in April 2022. By John Hewko, RI General Secretary and CEO — On 4 February, I had the honor of participating in a panel discussion, “Healing the Wounds of War – Visible…
Tom Gump (left), aide to RI President Stephanie Urchick, and Urchick at the entrance to Rotary’s Peace Center at International Christian University in Japan. By Tom Gump — Much has been written about RI President Stephanie Urchick’s initiative of using the Rotary Action Plan to grow Rotary. Recently, I witnessed her living another of her…
Volunteers sort and label boxes of medical donations at a warehouse around O’Hare airport in February 2022 for airlift to Ukraine. By Pat Merryweather-Arges, 2023-24 RI Vice President and a member of the Rotary Club of Naperville, Illinois, USA — I met Dr. Olha Paliychuk shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As…