Service Changes the World

Tomorrow I am getting on a bus to attend one day of the week-long Rotary International Convention in Houston. While there I will visit the House of Friendship, which will showcase Rotary service projects from around the world. These projects include prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs, cleft palate surgeries, literacy, peacemaking, improving the lives of women and girls, and others too numerous to mention. The convention itself will focus on this year’s theme, Serve to Change Lives and will include sessions on increasing club diversity and carrying out meaningful service projects.

I have been a Rotarian for 13 years, and my husband has been a member for over 50 years. Although the perception of Rotary over the years has been one of good old boys having lunch, the truth is that Rotary is a dynamic group of men and women whose motto is service above self. It is an organization dedicated to service and solving real world problems. Through the Rotary International Foundation, this worldwide organization has eliminated polio in all but two countries. It has built countless water systems, provided thousands of wheelchairs, built libraries, funded drug rehab centers and job training programs, given scholarships, and worked diligently for peace through exchange programs and international peace programs.

In several previous blogs, I have struggled with what I can do to make a difference in the world. Things seem bleak and hopeless in so many areas of life, and it is difficult to think that anything that I do will help. As I continue to struggle with these issues, it occurred to me that my involvement in Rotary and in other worthy causes is what I can do. I can’t save the whole world, but my involvement in trying to make a difference through Rotary and other organizations can help people have better lives and provide opportunities that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. It can make a difference one person at a time.

Being involved in something greater than oneself may not seem like much. But my small effort contributes to the whole. When I join with other people in a small service project, our joint efforts produce something much bigger than any of us could accomplish alone. Our joint efforts move the needle just a little in a more positive direction. When thousands of us join together with our time and our treasure, we can begin to change the world.

When I look at what organizations, not just Rotary, accomplish for peace and understanding around the world I begin to see that change can happen, that peace is possible, and that by joining those efforts, I can make a difference. Whether it is Rotary or some other organization, find a place to plug in where you can serve others in some small way. It will bring brightness to your own life while changing the world one small step at a time.

Barbara Garland
June, 2022