Rotary President Jeff Apland and past President Steve Clarke have been delivering water to the “homeless and the hot” the last 2 days, and hope to continue throughout the week until the heat passes.  Jeff Apland, Steve Clarke and his son Alex and nephew Malcom, loaded up trucks and canvassed the Eugene/Springfield area.  Their road map included all the streets and avenues of downtown Eugene, parks, bridges, walkways, and dirt trails along the river.  The crew passed out over 300 bottles of water on Monday, and passed an additional 250 bottles on Tuesday.  Most of their delivery was by foot,...

A Ssese Islander sits on a schoolroom bench in Kasekulo Village, Kalangala, Uganda, while a volunteer dentist extracts a tooth. Ugandan Rotarians have taken hourlong ferry rides from Kampala to the community of islands for more than 16 years.  The Rotarians provide dental care, general health treatment, and deworming for islanders, many of whom have never left the island or their fishing villages. Since 200l, twice each year, members of the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA, have participated in the one-day clinic. To read more about the project visit: A Program With Teeth

The Great Rotary Duck Race, which benefits agencies that fight child abuse, will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 10, 2009 at Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Ore. For the past 20 years, Rotarians are responsible for sponsoring, promoting and selling 811,046 Ducks at $5 each. Since 1988, local Rotarians have raised over $4 million to combat child abuse. 2009 Rotary Duck Race proceeds will benefit the following agencies: Family Relief Nursery – Cottage Grove, Heart Gallery of Lane County, Direction Service Willamette Family Treatment, and Committed Partners for Youth. The Great Rotary Duck...

Analia Ramos, Food Security Coordinator in Sudan for Concern Worldwide and a 2004-06 Rotary World Peace Fellow from Argentina, has helped the people of South Sudan battle hunger for nearly a year.  Ramos works on projects that provide seeds and tools to poor households, establish seed banks and tree nurseries, and train people in agricultural plowing, beekeeping, and blacksmithing.  According to Ramos, hunger has claimed more lives than armed conflict or disease.  Therefore, Ramos maintains that freedom from hunger is a basic human right. “Rotary gave me a new angle,” she says. ...