Our stories

Expanding our reach through Rotary ambassadors

Rotary ambassadors include artists, musicians, actors, and humanitarians who support Rotary’s work to create lasting change. Through events and advocacy, our ambassadors engage with members and supporters to promote our vision and amplify our impact.

Kat Graham, actress, singer, producer, humanitarian

Sibongile Mlambo, actress, producer, philanthropist

Gaby Moreno, artist, producer

Archie Panjabi, actor, producer

Rising from the ruins in Turkey

After powerful earthquakes shook Turkey and Syria in 2023, Rotary and our partners quickly mobilized to provide relief. Today, Rotary members continue to support rebuilding efforts.

Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact clubs from Districts 2420, 2430, and 2440 (Turkey) sent more than 200 trucks with emergency supplies, including food, water, generators, heaters, diapers, sanitary pads, fuel, toys, and body bags. They also worked with ShelterBox, Rotary’s project partner in disaster relief, to distribute over 2,500 tents and played a pivotal role in ShelterBox’s work connecting to local leaders.

Modified shipping containers funded and built by Rotary members serve as homes, providing occupants with toilets, showers, cooking utensils, beds, and air conditioning. A Rotary field hospital continues to serve more than 200 patients each day. And a school that was built with contributions from Rotary members gives children the opportunity to learn.

This year’s Sylvia Whitlock Leadership Award recipient, Ayda Özeren, supported rebuilding efforts through several economic relief projects. She led efforts to provide mobile health care and dental facilities and worked with city governments to distribute olive and sumac saplings to women in the farming sector, enabling them to stay on their land and continue farming after their crops were destroyed.

Supporting environmental sustainability

Our members are protecting the planet through projects that conserve natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. 

Most electronic waste (or e-waste) is disposed of unsafely and can then leach dangerous substances into the environment. The Rotary Club of Kaohsiung in Taiwan partnered with the Rotary Club of Daeso Mugunghwa in Korea and used a Rotary Foundation global grant to found Digital Waste to Digital Hope to begin to address the issue. University instructors, students, and mentors disassemble, clean, repair, and reassemble used computers. They are then donated to elementary school students in rural areas, many of whom have never had computers in their homes. The project has already led to a measurable reduction in e-waste and saved around 24,000 kg (53,000 pounds) of carbon. But the long-term impact lies in the self-renewing system it has created. Every new school year brings a wave of students who pass on the knowledge they gain, ensuring the project’s sustainability.

Ocean reefs all over the world are suffering significant degradation. Artificial reefs can be effective substitutes that offer habitat for corals, fish, and other marine life, but building them is difficult and expensive. The Rotary Club of Puebla Gente de Acción, Puebla, Mexico, partnered with the Rotary Club of Prescott, Arizona, USA, on a global grant to help fund an environmental impact study and sink a number of decommissioned military vehicles to create a habitat. Building on the success of similar Rotary-supported projects, club members are confident that the new artificial reef will attract not just animals and plants but tourists and local fishers, as well as create conservation education and research opportunities. 

A stretch of the former border between West and East Germany has been transformed from a militarized area into miles of green space known as the Green Belt. Land that was littered with land mines, barbed wire, and watchtowers is home to hundreds of rare plant and animal species, including the endangered freshwater pearl mussel, which is now being protected by local Rotary and Rotaract clubs. Members are blocking drains and “rewetting” the land to restore the mussel’s habitat and absorb carbon dioxide. Four Rotary districts located along the Green Belt are working with the conservation group that manages the nature reserve. This approach is being used throughout Europe along 12,500 kilometers (about 7,800 miles) of former East-West border zones.

Mental health and membership

Connection and advocacy are powerful tools for staying well. In Uganda, cultural taboos often prevent people from seeking support, so when Stuart Raymond Kasule struggled after moving from Kampala to Australia to study, he felt very alone. “I was struggling, and my then girlfriend kept asking me about my mental health. But because I’ve come from an African background, I didn’t want to hear about it,” he said. Eventually, Kasule turned to a teacher for help and realized he wanted to help change the way many Ugandans thought about mental health. Uganda is one of about two dozen countries where suicide is a crime.

Kasule, a member of the Rotary E-Club of Brindabella, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, started the Hope for Life campaign to reduce the stigma associated with mental health care.  

He's collaborating with organizations in Australia and Uganda to provide suicide prevention training. He meets with village elders to discuss the stigma attached to suicide and how to best support those who are struggling.

Kasule also hosted a small summit for members of the military, police officers, academics, lawyers and parliament to discuss decriminalizing suicide, which he filmed as part of a documentary he's working on about suicide in Africa.

As a passionate advocate, Kasule is building bridges between families, churches, and government leaders to support those struggling.

As we face this loneliness epidemic, the solution is within our grasp. It begins with each of us choosing to connect — to reach out to a neighbor and to join a local group. In doing so, we not only enrich our own lives but help build a society where no one has to feel alone.

General Secretary John Hewko, "Curing the Loneliness Epidemic, Rotary-style" Published on 7 February 2025 in the Chicago Tribune