By Barry Villamil, Rotary Club of Pearlridge, Oahu, Hawaii, USA
I have been a Lion and Rotarian for over 13 years and appreciate the opportunity to be a part of both international service organizations while serving with outstanding community leaders, volunteers, and partnerships who are the heart and soul of successful, productive, and healthy communities in which to live and thrive together as one.
Celebrate Community week encourages members of local Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, and Optimist clubs to work together on collaborative service projects and showcase the value of service in our communities.
A few years ago, we were visited by our district governor, Sandy Matsui, who shared with us an inspiring message from that year’s Rotary International president. Part one of the message was a call to energize and motivate clubs via their leadership to increase membership by three members per year. The second part asked Rotary clubs to partner with other international organizations such as Lions and Kiwanis and to develop partnerships that support youth leadership programs.
We were happy to report that we had already been working together with several Lions clubs.
This April, I represented my Rotary club on an early Saturday morning at a beautification project sponsored by the Lions Club of Mana Loa Nimitz. It was led by Lions club member Dexter Aoki in the Aiea community. I joined volunteers from several Lions clubs in the area and other community volunteers as we cleaned and painted over graffiti on a pedestrian overpass near Aiea Elementary School.
It was a true honor to work alongside Lions District 50 Governor Gary Nip. The effort added another positive layer upon the foundation of our efforts to do what that past RI president had asked and unite behind community and global partnerships and initiatives that strengthen our organizations’ outreach while strengthening communities and improving lives through our collaborative efforts.
As both a Lion and a Rotarian, I encourage other Rotary clubs to look for ways to collaborate with your community’s other service organizations during Celebrate Community week and throughout the year.
Celebrate Community, an annual collaborative initiative from the service organizations Kiwanis International, Lions International, Optimist International and Rotary International, will take place the week of 11-17 September, 2023. Learn more on the event’s Facebook page
https://blog.rotary.org/2023/06/06/why-we-support-celebrate-community-week/