By Rotary International

Nel corso della Convention di Atlanta 2017, sono stati messi in rilievo venti progetti considerati degni di nota, particolarmente distinti per l’impatto comunitario, sostenibilità, coinvolgimento dei rotariani e replicabilità. Delle sovvenzioni hanno beneficiato comunità di diversi paesi, con una certa prevalenza del Sud America. E non poteva mancare l’Africa con interventi in Uganda e nel Benin. In questo paese ha operato di recente anche il Distretto 2080 che, proprio grazie alle sovvenzioni, ha instaurato un bellissimo rapporto di collaborazione con il Rotary Club di Abomey Calavi.

Tutto nasce con un Matching Grant (lavori conclusi nel 2010) sponsorizzato dal Distretto 2080, che ha impegnato FODD, e da tutti i 27 club allora presenti in Sardegna. Con una spesa di circa 82.000 dollari fu realizzata una condotta di 3.500 metri alimentata da un pozzo trivellato e sostenuta da una torre di distribuzione della capacità di 20 Mc. Ne beneficiano i 6.000 abitanti del villaggio di Dessah che attingono a fontane pubbliche.

Nel corso della realizzazione del progetto, e al di fuori dello stesso, dalla Sardegna è partita verso Dessah un’ambulanza usata, (seguita poi da una seconda) opportunamente revisionata, riempita con abiti nuovi per bambini, biancheria, materiale scolastico raccolti in Sardegna. La positiva esperienza …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Rotary connects food banks and

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Source:: Rotary.org

Rotary, Heifer program helps farmers provide healthier food to people in their own

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Source:: Rotary.org

By Rotary International

A club member gets a turn in the driving simulator during the Rotary Club of Brisbane’s vocational visit to the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety.

By Daniel Vankov, president of the Rotary Club of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

One of the biggest conversations around Rotary these days is membership growth. There are quite a few stories flying around and all of them provide good advice. But there is a second topic that is as important, if not more so, than membership acquisition, and that is retention. What can we do to keep these members we have worked so hard to bring in?

My club did well in both membership growth and retention last year, receiving our district’s Errol Richardson Membership Development trophy, and one for membership retention, having not lost a single member over the previous year. As I began my year as club president, I naturally focused on growing our membership. In the first two months, I brought in two members, but we also lost two members. So no retention trophy this year! But more importantly, I realized I needed to discover what gives value back to our members. It is not good enough just to keep …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Rotary helps disaster victimsSevere storms, an earthquake, and hurricanes are wreaking havoc across the globe from the United States and Mexico to South Asia and Africa. The Rotary Foundation and Rotary clubs in affected areas are helping

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Source:: Rotary.org

By Rotary International

Members of the Rotary Club of Lacrosse-After Hours mug for the camera during a recent service event.

By William Pritchard, Rotary Club of La Crosse-After Hours, Wisconsin, USA

In La Crosse, Wisconsin, and neighboring communities, we have a high number of Rotary members and clubs for our relatively small population. There are eight clubs and 500 members for a population of less than 80,000. We are well-known in our community for the things we do, from planting trees and gardens, to building parks and playgrounds. But what truly makes Rotary special in the area is our ability and interest to work together – to keep the “walls” between clubs very low so it is easy to “step over” and work together on projects.

Some attribute this unique quality to the downtown club, which opened its arms to all the other area clubs to make its Foundation an area wide collaboration with representation from all clubs. Others point to community leadership that has developed projects like Kids Coulee, iFeed, and Rotary Lights that are larger than any single club. But whatever the secret sauce, Rotary clubs around La Crosse collaborate and work together in a Rotary Community kind of way.

STAR program
One of the ingredients …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Check dams increase farm incomes and reverse migration in India’s semidesert

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Source:: Rotary.org

By Rotary International

Taking a usie, a selfie with others, during a recent club meeting.

By Kamlesh Chandan, assistant governor for District 7680 and past president of the Rotary Club of Lake Norman/Huntersville, North Carolina, USA

It was an honor to serve as the 19th president of my Rotary club this past year. It broadened my horizons and deepened my insights into our great organization of People of Action. Before the year began, I had a bold vision. I wanted to engage members, do service projects, have fun, incorporate technology, and leave members more educated about Rotary and our club. Every meeting, we took a usie (selfie with others) and shared what we were doing on social media. What did I learn from all this activity?

Leading a service club is so different from leading a business. If you have a passion for and dedication to making a difference, your club members will stand by you, help you, and support you.

During the year, my family hosted a Youth Exchange student from Brazil. We now have a life-long friendship we did not have before. I also had the opportunity to lead our club’s first Friendship Exchange to India, and was thrilled with the hospitality we received everywhere …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Rotary districts collect emergency funds for Hurricane Harvey

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Source:: Rotary.org

By Rotary International

The Rotary Club of Hundred Islands forms the Rotary wheel with club members and guests.

By Fely R De Leon, past president Rotary Club of Hundred Islands, Pangasinan, Philippines

When I became president of my club, I shared a dream with some of the officers that the club could have a hundred members. But how? We had only 31 as of 1 July, 2016.

I faced challenges on two fronts. I had to make every meeting lively and enjoyable. And I had to make ours the club of choice for those who were looking for a worthy organization to join.

On the first front, I had to restructure our meetings from the usual drab, formal discussions to a fellowship where a member could really feel “at home.” Even new members could, in a relaxed manner, contribute to the free flow of ideas. Everyone was encouraged to present opinions on every issue. I gave responsibilities to every member, and even assigned project chairmanships to new ones. I tapped the expertise of the past presidents who gladly became advisers and confidantes.

Fellowship parties
Soon, the members started to feel the camaraderie and enjoyment of being a Rotarian. The last meeting of the month became our fellowship parties, hosted …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog