The 2011 District Conference was a great success. Rotary International President, Ray Klinginsmith, visited the conference on the final Sunday. In his address to the audience, Mr. Klinginsmith expressed, “…adding the fifth Avenue of Service will facilitate our quest to make the youth and young adult programs even Bigger, Better, and Bolder in the future.”   The Group Study Exchange (GSE) teams from Peru and Italy had a chance to visit with RI President Klinginsmith. Both teams at the District Conference provided Rotarians a great opportunity to learn about their country....

This week’s Photo Friday features a new pump provided by the International H2O Collaboration at a launch ceremony in Ghana in May. The International H2O Collaboration is a partnership between Rotary International and the U.S Agency For International Development (USAID). Launched in 2009, the International H2O Collaboration works to implement long-term, sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene projects in the developing world. Villages in four regions of Ghana are being equipped with ventilated pit latrines, showers, and boreholes featuring hand pumps and mechanized pipes through the efforts...

Rotary released its new public service announcement, “This Close,” aiming to raise awareness about our 25-year fight against polio. Check out the 60-second spot, and see how it was created with behind-the-scenes footage.   You can watch more Rotary clips by clicking here.

Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Foundation is teaming up with Rotary International to promote early childhood reading.  The Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library program provides children with an age-appropriate book every month until the child is five.  Rotary clubs in the United States, Canada, and the U.K. are being encourage to support the program. “I am thrilled about our partnership with Rotary International,” says Parton, who developed a personal love of books growing up in rural Tennessee, where she saw firsthand the toll illiteracy can take on families. “Rotarians love...

LEAD—Leadership Education Adventure Direction—was established in 1998 as a component of the City of Eugene Outdoor Program. In July 2001, LEAD became an independent nonprofit agency offering a comprehensive leadership development program serving low-income teens ages 12 – 17 in Lane County. A lot of work goes into organizing this program with Heather Brule as the LEADership group program director, the program is like butter. Heather has facilitated groups of teens and adults in rock climbing, rafting and other outdoor adventure activities for various organizations during the last five years. She...

Today marks the 104th birthday of the Rotary, and clubs across America are celebrating. What started as one man’s wish to capture the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth in Chicago in 1905 turned into an  international philanthropic effort. Clubs around the world are doing an extra special something to celebrate this momentous day. District 7720 (North Carolina, USA) has big plans for celebrating Rotary’s anniversary, 23 February, this year. All 45 clubs in the district have committed to carrying out a service project, ranging from reading in schools to...

On 1 July, Rotary’s new year began, ushering in new leaders, a new RI theme, and new goals. In 2008-09, RI welcomes its first president from Korea, Dong Kurn Lee. Rotarians already have shown enthusiastic support for Lee’s theme, Make Dreams Real , which will focus on decreasing child mortality and building membership. We’ll bring you more about our club and President Steve Clarke’s goals soon. In the meantime, RI President Lee’s speech announcing his theme below: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsJijThnAHY]

Rotarians heading to the 2008 RI Convention in Los Angeles next month are urged to bring one or several books in the language of their choice for Rotary’s Wide World of Books, a commemorative project of the LA2008 Convention Host Organization aimed at boosting literacy among local schoolchildren. Those who want to be a part of this global literacy initiative but aren’t able to attend the convention, can still help by making a virtual donation. The Eugene Airport Rotary contributes significantly to the SMART program each year. Our club is committed to improving literacy among children. Scholastic,...