Rotary Magazine

Raise your recycled glasses! For the first time in Rotary history, we have a new Area of Focus – and it’s focusing on all things clean and green.

Here is everything you need to know about cVDPV – a form of polio that has been spreading in recent years due to low immunisation rates within community.

Heidi Eggleton, the outgoing Chair of Rotaract GB&I, reflects on a week spent in Houston, Texas in June as part of the Rotary International Convention.

Lets talk about single-use plastic and why they cause such a danger to the environment.

From the devastation of a horrific explosion in Beirut a year ago, Rotarians from across Great Britain & Ireland have helped fund the rebuilding of part of a hospital destroyed by the blast.

The Treekly apps aim is to encourage participants to get outdoors and exercise as a result trees will be planted. So why not walk 5,000 steps a week to save the Madagascar forest?

You may have never heard of ESRAG, but that’s about to change! ESRAG – or the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group – is a worldwide organisation which, you guessed it, focuses on environmental sustainability.

Rotarians can help protect the environment by incorporating environmental considerations into all of its humanitarian projects.

We take a look ahead to Rotary Ride, and how the event has helped raise awareness for prostate cancer across the UK and Ireland.

Former Rotary International President, Barry Rassin, is spearheading a task force which is looking at the future shape of the organisation globally.

Last October, Willem Buttinger organised the Norfolk Climate Change Conference involving a distinguished panel of experts. The Norwich Blackfriars’ Rotarian assesses what lessons Rotary can learn.

Just before COP26, the Rotary E-Club of Innovation held a sustainability forum hosted by the Norwich Science Festival. One of the organisers, Willem Buttinger, reflects on some of the discussions.

The story of one couple transforming over 26 schools and how their family helped to introduce modern technology to the classrooms of Malawi.

Can you help bring nature back from the brink and build a zero-carbon future, by becoming a member of the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) today?

Join us in congratulating Greg Singleton who has been honoured a Champions of Change award for his Action Covid-19 project to alleviate hunger.

How a joint initiative between Rotary clubs and a football team is already making a difference for those who suffer from loneliness.

Rotary President-Elect Jennifer Jones spoke at the Global Citizens Live concert in Paris.

The virtual platform, the exhibitors, the speakers, the workshops and more – check out our ultimate guide to Volunteer Expo Online.

Winchester Rotarian, Luke Addison, is the European Youth Team Co-ordinator for PeaceJam. Here, he writes how youngsters are at the forefront of championing change.

What is being watched, posted, liked, shared and tweeted in the world of social media.

Every year, Rotary salutes its Champions of Change. Half a dozen Rotarians drawn from all walks of life are honoured for their valuable work in the community. Theirs is a snapshot of the amazing work which Rotarians and Rotary clubs perform on a daily basis across Great Britain and Ireland.

In recent months, Mark Mullally and Sally Schofield from NatWest’s Community Banking team have been speaking to a number of Rotary clubs warning about the dangers of online fraud. Here’s their advice on what action you can take to beat the online scammers.

In 2022, The Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service on the throne. Here are some wonderful opportunities for Rotary clubs and districts to celebrate the occasion.

Mariafernanda Burgos from Colombia is a Rotary Peace Fellow who describes her studies based at the University of Bradford.

As the nation slowly eases out of the 16-month pandemic and a semblance of normality returns to our lives, Rotary is standing alongside a host of other organisations to support the national Thank You Day on 4th July.

World Polio Day was celebrated in style with eye-catching publicity organised by Rotary clubs to celebrate this landmark day.

Introducing Michael Gray from Fleetwood Rotary who has been honoured with a Rotary Champions of Change award for his work in founding Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs.

More than 12 months on since Europe felt the full impact of the pandemic, so it has taken a heavy toll on the jobs market. But Rotary has been helping some of the unemployed to get back on their feet.

Rotary International Trustee chair, K.R. Ravindran, reflects on the meaning of peace at this special time of the year.

President of Rotary in Knowle & Dorridge Colin Winstone provides a reminder of the benefits of corporate membership within Rotary clubs.

The Champions Awards were presented at Volunteer Expo in May honouring the great and the good – both within Rotary, and the communities which we serve. Here, we focus on the three winners, all of whom are Rotarians.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of Britain’s greatest Paralympians, was on hand to support a Rotary sports event in north-east England.

Rotary Magazine looks through the incoming Rotary board and it’s restructuring that promises a bright new future for the way Rotary is run in Great Britain & Ireland.

Internationally-recognised actor Liam Neeson recently received honorary membership from a Northern Irish Rotary club to celebrate their 80th anniversary.

Meet John Griffith who has been honoured with a Champions of Change award for his work in founding Grifaid.

Introducing Chris Hayer, from Milton Keynes Grand Union Rotary Club, who has won a Rotary Champions of Change award following her work with the Bakau Drainage Project.

Rotary is supporting the ‘distance aware’ badges which are now being worn by people across Great Britain & Ireland.

Alan Geeson from Grantham Kesteven Rotary describes a project which, for 14 years, has been equipping people to transform lives in the most desperate situations.

Rotary clubs from across Great Britain & Ireland nominated their community champions for the Champions of Change awards.

Manchester plays host to the Rotary Action Summit in September attended by Rotarians from across Europe to hear from a variety of top-notch speakers.

As many Rotary clubs meet online to keep going during COVID-19, remarkably the pandemic has seen the start of a number of new clubs.

Reading Matins’ Rotarian Dorothy Dix and her charity Creating Better Futures are tackling the fall-out from COVID-19 in Zimbabwe.

What if you heard there was an exciting event celebrating one of your personal passions? It’s in a state-of-the-art venue. It’s going to help make a difference to society. There’s loads to do. Your friends and colleagues are coming too. And to top it off, it’s free to attend. Too good to be true, right? Wrong. Welcome to Volunteer Expo Live!

John Elford Box from Rotherham Rotary in South Yorkshire is a polio ambassador. To mark World Polio Day on October 24th, this is his story of how he refused to allow the condition to limit his ambition.

Currently, around 850,000 people in the UK suffer from dementia, including 1 in every 14 people over the age of 65. There can be few who have not been touched in some way by dementia; as a sufferer, a carer or through a family member or friend. 

A Rotary club in Surrey has won a local award for its innovative lockdown fundraising activities, including a particularly successful fundraising campaign.

Rotary’s new partnership with Bipolar UK aims to make it easier to reach out to the many people affected by the condition.

Meet Rotary Champions of Change winner, Douglas Kerr, awarded for his work raising funds for MND Plymouth and Kidney Research UK.

The Rotary International ‘Service Above Self’ award is a coveted honour, which has been bestowed on three Rotarians from Great Britain & Ireland.

Leprosy is the silent killer. One where many people even go undiagnosed, spreading the infection within the tight-knit communities. St Francis Guild is a charity that enables early diagnosis and care resulting in decreased consequences and people leading normal lives.

Rotary clubs throughout South Wales have focussed efforts on raising money to rebuild the public hospital in Karantina after the Beirut explosion.

One of Rotary’s most prestigious awards has been given to two Rotarians from Great Britain & Ireland for their dedication to The Rotary Foundation.

Martin Low from Sidcup Rotary in Kent is a District 1120 Lead and Deputy National Lead in England for Rotary’s partnership with Carers UK.

The heart-warming Rotary story of a new boat that can be found on the shores of Filey, New Yorkshire