We want to expand our local area involvement by allocating $50,000 to a project that ‘builds capacity’ within our community. The successful project will benefit people and promote the core values of our club and Rotary. We are casting a broad net to tell interested participants about this challenge and to encourage them to suggest possible initiatives.
It's time to go. My adventure started at 7:40 on August 23rd, 2011 but really it started much earlier. I embarked on my three year life changing experience when first - I applied to be a long-term exchange student, that was ten months ago. In other words, I've been thinking and preparing for August 23rd for the last ten months yet when the time came I still got cold feet. I remember sitting at the airport debating whether or not this exchange was a good idea. I thought about friends and family but mostly I thought : “Am I going to waste a year of my life in France?” “Is it a smart idea to put my education on hold for a year?” “What if I can't adjust to life in France?”
My final decision was that I had no way of knowing what will happen in France unless I actually go to France. No one knew at the moment in time how MY year in France would go. Therefore I decided that I needed to give France a chance and if worst came to worst, I could always come back to Ottawa. After this thought, I got up, dragged my red little suitcase behind me, said goodbye to my brother, my Swedish brother and my mother; went through security and left Canada.
Our club is celebrating its 42nd year of service to our local and global community.
Rotary is a world-wide network of volunteers like you and me who have decided to give back to society and help make a difference in creating a better future. Rotary clubs are nonreligious, nonpolitical and open to every one who wants to participate and share in ‘service above self’.
Our club is involved in a broad range of projects focused on developing youth, improving literacy, alleviating poverty and providing people with the tools to help themselves. These initiatives are driven by the belief that creating a better future is a shared responsibility between those who help and those who benefit.
I hope you are enjoying your summer. In April, eleven boys and girls from our community participated in the “Youth As Leaders Workshop” organized by Right To Play. The workshop lasted for three days. They were taught how to take up leadership roles in their communities.
At the end of the workshop, they were all given assignments. The students from our community organized a massive cleanup exercise involving the adults and the children in the community.
RI President Kalyan Banerjee talks about his life, including how he started in business, how he met his wife, and how he unlocked Rotary's potential for doing good in the world.
