RI President 2022-23 Jennifer
Jones
Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland
Ontario, Canada
================
Dear Fellow Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends,
August 2022
We’ve all taken our own path to become a member of Rotary.
Some of you joined because your father was a Rotarian. Some of us
signed up because an employer tapped us on the shoulder and asked
us to attend a meeting. Others became members only after a U.S.
Supreme Court ruling made it possible. Yet each of us entered through
one mechanism — an invitation.
An invitation that unlocks our imaginations and allows us to know
that everything and anything is possible. Each one of us has that
same opportunity — the honor to extend an invitation.
It is awe-inspiring to imagine how we can look out across our communities
and identify our future leaders. It’s often tempting to attract
people who are exactly like us. It’s a special form of ingenuity
to consider how people who are seemingly very different can, in
fact, share our values and have some of those same talents, just
waiting to be unleashed.
It’s time for Rotary to take our next step in advancing Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) across our organization.
Embracing an experience where people feel included is more than
just making our membership numbers more diverse. It’s about
making our meetings and events places where we can speak openly
and honestly with each other, where our members feel welcome and
safe. This means removing barriers for entry and opening doors for
inclusion. Our values remain our strength — and our commitment
to excellence requires us to maintain high standards for our members
as well.
I believe we are all committed and determined to advancing DEI across
Rotary. This is rooted in the deepest traditions of our organization,
and it will ensure that we remain vibrant and relevant for decades
to come.
A few years ago, our Rotary Board set the ambitious goal of increasing
the share of female members to 30 percent by 2023. We have less
than a year to go, but I believe we can meet and exceed this target.
We need Rotary leaders to rise from every continent, culture, and
creed. We need young members and young thinkers to take on larger
roles and responsibilities. We need to listen to new Rotary members
just as keenly, and with as much respect, as those with many years
of membership.
During our recent convention in Houston, we heard from astronauts
about their journeys into space. We reflected upon a time in the
1960s when U.S. President John F. Kennedy urged the world to dream,
with his declaration that we would “go to the moon [and do]
other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Fully committing Rotary to DEI and meeting our ambitious membership
targets may seem as unlikely as a moon shot. But I know that when
people of action are committed to a big goal, we make it worth every
ounce of our energy.
Jennifer Jones
President 2022-23
Trustee Chair's Message - Augest
2022
Ian H.S.
Riseley
Trustee Chair 2022-23
Sandringham, Victoria, Australia,
Trustee chair's
message
During my travels, Rotary often comes up in conversation.
Most people associate us with local projects and fundraisers
— which is great — but few know what a
global force Rotary is. It’s easier to understand
this aspect of Rotary through an example, such as
how Rotary responded to the devastating bushfires
in Australia in late 2019 and early 2020.
The result of extreme drought, global warming, and
adverse weather conditions, the fires caused catastrophic
damage. The need for help was obvious and substantial.
No stranger to forest fires themselves, Canadian Rotarians
knew the best way to help was through The Rotary Foundation.
They were soon joined by Rotary clubs and districts
in other countries and Taiwan, resulting in three
Foundation global grants totaling $280,000 to support
the economic recovery of farmers affected by these
fires.
One farmer wrote a letter of thanks on behalf of the
remote communities we helped, saying they “were
in disbelief that Rotary clubs from other countries
would step up and help our relatively small farming
region” and adding that “they were very
grateful and honored to be considered worthy of such
aid.”
Friends, this is the kind of impact your Foundation
has every single day around the world and why it deserves
the support of all Rotary members.
The most significant projects done in Rotary’s
name are those accomplished through The Rotary Foundation.
The list goes on and on. Think of the impact of our
polio eradication efforts, our peace education programs,
and our Programs of Scale grants. All these efforts
to make the world a better place emanate from our
Foundation.
The Foundation also impacts our club experience, membership,
partnerships, and so much more. The more visibility
and impact we have through Foundation projects, the
more people want to be part of what we are doing as
partners or as members. Everybody wins.
To me, Rotary and its Foundation are inseparable —
you can’t have one without the other. They are
two sides of the same coin. I love the friendship
and fellowship and projects I experience as a member
of the Rotary Club of Sandringham, Australia; but
I am also thrilled to be part of a global movement
that is changing the lives of countless people through
The Rotary Foundation.
Remember that other side of the Rotary coin and support
your Foundation. By doing so, you will also be supporting
your fellow members who are bringing to life the projects
our world truly needs.
http://www.endpolio.org/donate.
Ian H.S. Riseley
Trustee Chair 2022-23
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