Have you perused the latest edition of the ROTARY magazine? ICYMI, here are some of the highlights from the May 2023 edition.
Note: If you see a word or phrase that is gold in color, you can click on it, and a new window will open with more information about the underlined word. There are three such links in this article.
I am always excited to get my copy of ROTARY magazine. Reading about what Rotarians are doing around the world is inspiring. To be transparent, I sometimes only give the magazine a cursory page flip before I donate my copy to the small library I manage. This month, as I browsed through the magazine, I did so, intending to find something that I could do as a Rotarian that would be helpful to my club or looking for something actionable. I found so many gems in this month's edition that I thought I would write a quick article to bring attention to them.
- On page 15, a story titled The Future of Rotary is about the history of Interact. The 2-page spread that follows details projects that different Interact Clubs have completed. Seeing what high school students are accomplishing worldwide is impressive and inspirational. Since our club sponsors an Interact Club, this article was a good reminder that I must look for opportunities to encourage the youth in my community.
- A few pages later, on page 24, there is a story about a club that began collecting pocket change (Building Up Like Pocket Change) which is donated to a fund for Alzheimer's research. Our club is looking for new ways to raise money, and this one certainly seems viable! My church has accomplished some big things by asking people to give their pocket change. It all adds up. Those pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters quickly multiply, as do our efforts when we work together.
- On page 48, there is an article celebrating Interact's 60th birthday titled 4 Ways to Elevate Young Voices. Great advice is given about including youth on teams and committees, letting them lead, and working toward their goals instead of yours. Item 4 says, "Watch out for "adultism,"" which is the attitude or belief that adults know best. The article suggests asking questions and listening before interjecting our opinions or ideas.
- One of my favorite regular features of the Rotary magazine is the Calendar. This month, the calendar is located on page 55. I love reading about club events to raise money for projects. The Tustin Lobsterfest sounded especially interesting to me as it is being held in a place where I once lived.
- Almost at the end of the magazine, on an unnumbered page (63), there is an advertisement for a free course called the Rotary Positive Peace Academy. I enrolled in the academy and completed the course over two days. If you do the course straight through, it's about two hours. I learned quite a bit about positive peace and how Rotary's seven avenues of service contribute to global positive peace.
- One final thing to note, I also found the Rotary podcast very interesting. This month's featured podcast today is about a Rotarian who joined a group of Afghan women in running a secret marathon. I like podcasts because it's possible to listen while doing other activities. I often listen to podcasts when I exercise. I don't particularly enjoy exercise; it makes the time more enjoyable, and I learn something simultaneously!