More Than An Abstract Idea

I love the paragraph that opens the District 5340 Newsbits email newsletter each week.  The editor Sandy Pugliese has chosen well. It is a quote from the 1921 Rotarian and sums up why I continue to enjoy Rotary.

Reflection:  "There is nothing intangible about Rotary: It is reality itself.  To give is to receive; to lose oneself; to be happy is to serve.  These are old truths...for the individual...and the mass, whether application be the exchange of goods, toil, knowledge, or love."    - The meaning of Rotary, THE ROTARIAN, November 1921

Editor: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Wow! Who would have thought in 1921, just after the Great War ended that Rotarians would define the purpose of the organization so well?  Today in 2016, in Escondido, CA the same still holds true.  At each Rotary meeting President Royce puts up the calendar of events for our club and it spells out that there is nothing intangible about our Rotary Club, it is reality itself. 

Our projects help other people in our community and around the world to live better, safer, and healthier lives.  In Escondido, students at the Quantum Academy received musical instruments with an ERC grant of $3,500 and matching DDF monies of $3,500 for a $7,000 project.  In Ecuador, women who participated in the Village Banks Global Grant received small loans of $150 to $200 to start businesses selling food commodities, clothing, or small furniture.  The ERC contributed $1,500 that was matched 1:1 for another $1,500 as part of a $69,000 project that included eight Rotary Clubs coming from both countries.

As John Germ, President, Rotary International has said, the people we help might not have met a single Rotarian.  But they are drinking clean water, receiving polio vaccine, playing a musical instrument, or starting a small business to help their children and families.  We are touching the lives of people we do not know because Rotary serves humanity and there is nothing intangible about that.

Johnny Watson, Director, International Service