Rotary projects around the globe – November 2026
Learn how Rotary clubs are taking action in Canada, the Cayman Islands, Wales, India, and Indonesia.
by Brad Webber
30 Oct 2026
Second Chance Art Sale
Canada
The Rotary Club of Calgary Heritage Park in Alberta collected more than 2,000 pieces of donated art for its Second Chance Art Sale. “The art sale is hugely successful for enhancing member engagement and increasing awareness of Rotary in our community,” says Bill Skinner, a past president of the club. The sale itself is a visual stunner, Skinner notes, with wall art, textiles, and ceramics displayed in an off-season hockey arena. “It overwhelms customers on their first visit,” he says. The event, held in April, goes beyond decluttering and finding new homes for paintings: Proceeds have funded projects including a science and mathematics school in Nigeria, the refurbishment of a water system in Guatemala, and the rehabilitation of below-market housing by clubs across Calgary.
Cayman Island Rotarians with pickleball paddles
Cayman Islands
Believing that healthy Rotarians are best equipped to deliver service, the Rotary Club of Central Cayman Islands hosts a robust exercise regimen open to the islands’ Rotarians and Rotaractors. Beginning in July 2025 the club instituted Wellness Wednesdays on the third week of the month, with sessions attended by a core group of 30 of the club’s 80 Rotarians, says Jennifer Leach-Tippetts, a past president. “Most sessions are led by local fitness professionals and wellness experts. One of our members, a certified water fitness instructor, led our water aerobics sessions in May,” Leach-Tippetts says. Other activities include pickleball, spin classes, kickboxing, and 5-kilometer runs. The club also recruits meeting speakers on topics such as nutrition and avoiding burnout.
US$35,000
Net proceeds from Second Chance Art Sale in 202614,000
Members of Cayman Islands’ biggest pickleball club
Woman rappels down cathedral
Wales
The Rotary Club of Rhyl took fundraising to new heights when it organized its most successful drive in the Welsh club’s history: an 84-foot abseil from the highest point of St. Asaph Cathedral in April, says club member Alan Duke. “I must confess to feeling some trepidation when climbing more than 100 narrow spiraling steps to reach the top,” says Tracey Phillips, a club member who rappelled down the face of the tower. Fifty people participated, ranging in age from 11 to their mid-70s. Dozens collected pledges for the club and their designated charities, tallying more than $36,000. “The experience was really fulfilling,” Phillips says, “and I am delighted that my team has raised so much money for the club’s charitable causes.”
Man hands out chilled drinks
India
As a heat wave pounded swaths of India in one of the hottest and driest Junes on record, Rotary members embarked on Rahaat 3.0, a 10-day drive to distribute chilled drinks to help vulnerable frontline workers cope with the oppressive temperatures. Members of the Rotary Club of Chandigarh Mid Town and the Rotaract clubs of Chandigarh Midtown and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies-Chandigarh participated in the event, which distributed more than 4,000 packets of Amul lassi, a yogurt drink, and served over 5,500 people chabeel, a sweet pink drink traditional in the Sikh community. “In this weather, a cold lassi isn’t a luxury, it’s lifesaving,” says Jeeten Bhambri, a past president of the Rotary club who founded a similar project as a Chandigarh Midtown Rotaractor.
