Rotary projects around the globe
November 2025
United States
A talent showcase held by the Rotary Club of Carpinteria in California has raised more than $325,000 since 2009. The club has used the funds for service projects, including purchasing about 300 musical instruments for children and awarding around 100 college scholarships. A sellout for the 16th straight year, April’s showcase presented a range of entertainers, including dancers, musicians, storytellers, comedians, and jugglers. “All of our members play a role in one way or another” in organizing the show, says Club President David Powdrell. “‘Find what brings you joy and get involved’ is our motto.” Several participants over the years have gone on to become professional entertainers, including Will Breman, who found success on the television series The Voice, and magician Mark Collier.
Canada
When leaders at the Rotary Club of St. Thomas in Ontario noticed a lack of engagement, the club adapted by adjusting its schedule to allow more time for service. The result has been astonishing, with an energized mission and growing interest by prospective members, says Barbara Warnock, immediate past president of the club. “Meeting every week was a deterrent to new members, and we felt that we needed to have more active participation in local projects,” says Warnock. The club now meets the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, with the other Wednesdays designated for volunteering at two local organizations: Grace Café, a street mission and soup kitchen, and Harvest Hands, which collects and distributes edible foodstuffs that would ordinarily have been discarded. “Our Rotarians have embraced this work to contribute to feeding those in need,” Warnock says.
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28.00
Seasons of the television series The Voice
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US$18.00 million+
Value of food products rescued by Harvest Hands
Scotland
The Rotary Club of Elgin supports numerous initiatives for youth, including a Rotaract club, an Interact club, and several RotaKids clubs, which are a program of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland to build citizenship and leadership skills in children under 12. At the Greenwards school, RotaKids clubs are a go-to activity, reports teacher Kirstin Mustard, one of four club leaders. In February, the RotaKids held a rummage sale, collecting about $100 for The Rotary Foundation. In June, they sponsored a walk that raised about $3,200 for Harry’s Hat, a charity for the condition hydrocephalus, a buildup of water in the brain. That organization assisted the family of one of the youths. Stephanie Urchick, 2024-25 RI president, visited that month and was treated to a performance based on a history project. “It was truly inspiring to see the passion, creativity, and compassion shown by the pupils,” she says. “Their community spirit shines through.”
India
The Rotary Club of Coimbatore Cotton City designed a project to raise awareness about the illicit practice of caging and trading wild parakeets. Volunteers meticulously placed nearly a ton of millet grains in a 1,200-square-foot artwork depicting the clipping of a parakeet’s wings. “Each grain represents hope,” says Niketu Shah, a club leader who directed the project, part of a larger effort by an animal rescue organization and supported by the state forest department. The artwork was completed in May at a shopping center. Last year, the club helped provide the forest department with an X-ray machine for birds. In captivity, many birds suffer from disease and stress that reduces their lifespan.
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1.00,978
Publicly funded primary schools in Scotland
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11.00
Native wild parakeet species in India
Philippines
Many people in the Philippines lack access to affordable dental care. To address the problem, members of the Rotary Club of Bacolod Central launched Project Smile, which provides dental care to teachers at public schools. Rotarians screen recipients and schedule extractions, fillings, and fittings. The club pays the costs not covered through the volunteer care of the Negros Occidental chapter of the Philippine Dental Association and supplemental funding from the local congressional office. Thus far, the project has delivered 55 dental makeovers. “These dedicated heroes often choose to spend their own money to supplement their teaching needs rather than on their personal health and well-being,” says club member Maria “Toks” Lopez.
This story originally appeared in the November 2025 issue of Rotary magazine.