When we talk about building membership, we all recognize that welcoming a new member into a Rotary club is only the beginning of our task. To turn a new club member into a committed Rotarian, much more is necessary – and the first step is helping that new member to get involved.

Every Rotarian in every club should know that he or she is not only needed but relied upon. Every Rotarian should have a job within the club – a role to play. After all, why are we in Rotary? We are here to make a difference. Yes, we enjoy our Rotary service, but that is not enough if we are to make Rotary a priority week after week, year after year. The knowledge that we are having an impact, that we are changing lives – that is what keeps us going, no matter what other demands may compete for our time. And this is why each one of us, however long we have been in Rotary, must always be striving to grow as Rotarians – to find new ways to help others, and to bring about all the positive change we possibly can. For this, more than anything, is what makes our Rotary service worthwhile.

Whether we are new members or old ones, each of us can find ways to become more involved in Rotary service – at the club level, the district level, and beyond. Rotarian Action Groups are a wonderful opportunity to put specific expertise or interests to work, in a way that brings Rotarians from every part of the Rotary world together for a common goal. Whether your passion is water and sanitation issues, or microcredit, or blindness prevention – whether you want to volunteer your dental skills or help organize blood drives – chances are there is a Rotarian Action Group for you. And if not, why not organize one yourself? You can learn more about Rotarian Action Groups at www.rotary.org/actiongroups.

Rotary is and always has been an organization based on its clubs. The purpose of Rotary International is not to direct its clubs, but to connect, inform, and support them. Where and how each club, and each Rotarian, chooses to serve, is ultimately the decision of each one alone. So follow your own ambition and your own vision. Open your eyes to the challenges in our world, and use the strength you have through Rotary to find ways to overcome them. Every one of us has so much potential, and can achieve so much, when we Reach Within to Embrace Humanity.

1. Membership Growth - Our membership grew from 23 at the start of this Rotary year to current 29. This represents a nett growth of 26 percent… and a retention rate of more than 85 percent.

    

2. The Rotary Foundation - Contributions to Annual Programs Fund came to USD1.9K, with USD1K from May Yan and CBS (USD900).  Thank you too to Jennifer, May Yan, and Santanu who contributed USD200 each towards fulfilling the Club's contributions for the EREY for its 29 members. We also contributed another US$2K towards PolioPlus thanks to CBS and Shirin.

    

3. PETS & District Assembly - First time attendees included PE Jennifer Soen, Rtn Santanu Das Sharma and newly inducted member Vicky Soo. At the Governor's Banquet, DG Zainie recognised the excellent leadership of our Club's District Officers, namely, CP CBS, PP Ronnie Tan and PP Leslie Sim. Interact Club of ITE College East won the 'Best Interact Club Project' with Candles of Brookside and came in 1st in our E-Club 3310's "How We Interact" Video Contest. Congratulations!

    

4. RI District 3310 Berhad - Our District 3310 has been corporatised at the recommendation of RI. It was incorporated on 21 December 2011. A copy of the Constitution can be viewed on our Club's website. The members of RI District 3310 Berhad are all Rotary Clubs in good standing in District 3310. As Rotary E-Club of 3310 is a Club in good standing, we are now a member of RI District 3310 Berhad.

   Both CP CBS and PP Leslie are members of the Board of RI District 3310 Berhad by virtue of their appointments as District Preserve Planet Earth Chair and District New Generations Chair, respectively. 

    

5. Avoidable Blindness - We are not done for the year. Under the guidance from PP John Tan, District Avoidable Blindness (AB) Committee Chair, we are planning to get involved in a "local" Eye Screening project for the elderly. Details on this AB event will be announced once ready. We need your participation.

Yours in Rotary

Tan May Yan

President 2011-2012 

In the first message I wrote for this magazine, last July, I quoted Mohandas K. Gandhi, who said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” And in the months since, I have had incredible opportunities to travel the Rotary world and see how Rotarians everywhere are bringing those words to life.

Creating positive change means, at its simplest, using our knowledge and resources to solve a problem. But when we are talking about solving humanitarian problems in a real and lasting way, knowledge and ideas and resources are not enough to ensure results. We have to remember something else that is no less important: sustainability.

A sustainable solution is one that will continue to work even after the Rotarians who proposed and facilitated it are gone. This means that even though the project might have come from Rotary originally, the community will take ownership of it. That, of course, means that when a part breaks on a water pump, there will be a process in place to repair it and to keep that pump functional – carried out by the community, and without further recourse to Rotary.

The first step toward sustainability is understanding the need – for example, the cooking fuel problem common in much of the developing world. In many regions, solar ovens are a wonderful solution: They are inexpensive; they rely on a source of energy that is free, nonpolluting, and inexhaustible; and they are simple to use and maintain.

But before we step into a community and attempt to solve its fuel problem with solar ovens, we have to fully understand its situation – and look beyond the problem we see. Perhaps the local foods need to be cooked at a temperature higher than the solar oven can provide. Perhaps the area is windy, and the solar ovens would blow away. Perhaps it’s traditional in that area to begin cooking before dawn, which, of course, you cannot do with a solar oven. These are issues you simply might not have thought of, but that could soon lead to the solar ovens being used to patch roofs or keep animal feed dry instead of for cooking.

This November, I had the opportunity to speak at the Rotary institute in Kolkata, India. The focus of this institute was on peace and the ways in which we in Rotary could work to build peace. When I received the invitation, I began to think about what I might say, knowing that with all that Rotarians do in this area, my main challenge would be keeping within the time limit!

But just before I arrived in Kolkata, I spoke at a water conference in Tel Aviv. It was a wonderful event at which Rotarians and non-Rotarians from all over the world came together to discuss the many challenges of keeping an ever-growing population supplied with an increasingly scarce resource. Before I could begin to talk about Rotary’s contribution, however, I had to explain what Rotary is and what we do – because even in that very educated audience of scientists and entrepreneurs and executives, there were many people who had simply never heard of Rotary.

As I left that event, I began to think again about what to say in Kolkata, because so much of what we do in Rotary to build peace depends on public awareness of who we are. Why have we been so successful in our work to eradicate polio? Because Rotary is able to go where no government and few other nongovernmental organizations can – into homes, into schools, and into communities, with the trust and confidence of the people we serve.

When we in Rotary work for peace, we don’t do it by negotiating treaties or demonstrating in the streets. Instead, we build peace by example – by working together, whatever our nationality or background, and putting others’ needs above our own. We build peace by dealing with the problems that disrupt people’s ability to live normal, peaceful lives – whether those problems are a lack of water, or sanitation, or safe, affordable housing; whether they stem from a shortage of education or health care, or a need to build productive and positive connections between communities. In everything we do, we rely on our good name.

This is why all of us have a responsibility to be sure that our good name is indeed known. We need to not just work through Rotary, but talk about Rotary – letting the world know about the work we are doing, the differences we are making, and the benchmarks we are setting. Our Rotary work speaks to our belief that a better, more peaceful world is possible, and we need to be sure that our voices are heard.

2008: Rotary officially launches its effort to match a US$100 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help eradicate polio. In 2009, Rotary receives another grant of $255 million from the Gates Foundation and launches Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge to match a portion of the grants and further support efforts to End Polio Now.

2007: The Rotary Foundation celebrates the millionth Paul Harris Fellow by recognizing 34 individuals – one from each Rotary zone. The donors receive plaques and certificates honoring their contributions

2006: Only four countries remain polio-endemic: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Polio cases worldwide have dropped by 99 percent since 1985.

2005: Rotary celebrates its 100th anniversary at the centennial convention in Chicago. Clubs commemorate the centennial by launching hundreds of community service projects and contributing thousands of volunteer hours.

2004: RI hosts its largest convention to date in Osaka, Japan. A record 45,381 paid registrants from 113 countries and geographical areas attend, surpassing the attendance record set by the Tokyo convention in 1978. The inaugural class of 66 Rotary World Peace Fellows graduates.

2003: The Rotary Club of Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan is chartered. Jonathan Majiyagbe, of Kano, Nigeria, becomes Rotary International's first president from Africa. Five Rotary Centennial bells begin their journey to Rotary clubs around the globe in honor of the organization's 100th anniversary in 2005. The bells embark in June from the RI Convention in Brisbane, Australia.

2002: Europe is declared polio-free at the RI Convention in Barcelona, Spain. By the end of the year, only seven countries remain polio-endemic. Rotary announces a new US$80 million campaign to support polio eradication. Rotarians respond by raising over $129 million.

1999: Rotary establishes the Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution to help prepare future leaders and diplomats. The program offers coursework in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies, and conflict resolution at several partner universities throughout the world.

:1995 The first women begin their terms of service as district governors. The eight women are Mimi Altman, District 6440 (Illinois, USA); Gilda Chirafisi, District 7230 (Bermuda; New York, USA); Janet W. Holland, District 5790 (Texas, USA); Reba F. Lovrien, District 5520 (New Mexico; Texas, USA); Virginia B. Nordby, District 6380 (Ontario, Canada; Michigan, USA); Donna J. Rapp, District 6310 (Michigan, USA); Anne Robertson, District 6710 (Kentucky, USA); and Olive P. Scott, District 7190 (New York, USA).

1989: Rotary returns to Hungary and Poland. The Rotary Club of Budapest, originally admitted to Rotary in 1925 and terminated in 1942, is readmitted on 25 January. The Rotary Club of Warszawa, originally admitted in 1931and terminated in 1940, is readmitted on 30 June. Many European Rotary clubs disbanded during World War II because of wartime restrictions on travel and communication. Once clubs could no longer fulfill Rotary's meeting and communication requirements, Rotary International was forced to terminate them.

1988 :Rotarians raise US$247 million through a PolioPlus fundraising campaign. Their generosity inspires the World Health Assembly, convened annually by the World Health Organization , to adopt a resolution to eradicate polio by 2000. The resolution paves the way for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative , the largest internationally coordinated public health program to date. Rotary International is among the first to commit funds to the initiative. 

1987: Women join Rotary. On 4 May, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that Rotary International may not exclude women from membership based on gender. Hundreds of women across the United States are admitted to Rotary. The club that started the legal battle, the Rotary Club of Duarte, California, is reinstated after its termination in 1978 for admitting women. [In 1989, the Council on Legislation votes to eliminate the requirement that club membership be limited to males, permitting clubs worldwide to admit women.]

1985: Rotary launches PolioPlus to fund the operational, social mobilization, and training efforts required to eradicate polio. It is unveiled at the annual RI Convention, where Dr. Albert Sabin, who discovered the oral polio vaccine, urges Rotarians to maintain their commitment to immunization around the world. Sabin warns that without action, there could be an additional eight million cases of residual paralytic polio worldwide by 2005.

1979: The Rotary Foundation funds the first Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grant: a project to immunize six million Philippine children against polio. RI President James L. Bomar signs an agreement with the Philippine government to begin immunization and administers the first drops of vaccine to a Philippine child. The grant sets the stage for Rotary's decades-long commitment to the eradication of polio.

1907: The Rotary Club of Chicago performs one of its first acts of community service. The club calls a meeting of civic organizations to establish a committee for installing city comfort stations, or public toilets, to improve sanitation. "In common with my fellow members, I had learned to place emphasis on the giving rather than the getting," Paul Harris later writes in his book This Rotarian Age.

1908: The second Rotary club, the Rotary Club of San Francisco, receives its charter on 12 November. Founding members Homer Wood, Chester H. Woolsey, and Roy R. Rogers attend the charter banquet. Club members elect Wood president, and he becomes known as the father of Rotary on the Pacific Coast.

1910: The National Association of Rotary Clubs of America holds its first convention in Chicago at the Congress Hotel, 15-17 August. Sixty registrants attend. Rotarians elect founder Paul Harris president of the association. Rotary comprises 16 clubs with over 1,000 members throughout the United States.

1911: Rotary launches The National Rotarian (later The Rotarian ) with Chesley Perry as editor. The first issue appears in January. The 12-page periodical includes an essay written by Paul Harris about the purpose of Rotary clubs, announcements of newly chartered clubs, and other club news items.

1912: The first official Rotary club outside the United States is chartered. The Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, receives its charter on 13 April, two years after its first meeting. The Rotary Club of London is the first European club to be chartered. Rotary changes its name to the International Association of Rotary Clubs to reflect its new membership.

1914: Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland form the British Association of Rotary Clubs. R.W. Pentland is their first president. At the international convention, Rotary recognizes the British association of 1,128 members as a legitimate extension.

1916: The Rotary Club of Havana, Cuba, is the first Rotary club in a non-English-speaking country. The club is established on 29 April with 22 members. The club participates in city planning and, in 1917, helps establish traffic laws.

1917: RI President Arch C. Klumph proposes an endowment fund "for the purpose of doing good in the world." The fund receives its first contribution, $26.50 from the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, USA. The fund is the precursor to The Rotary Foundation, a not-for-profit philanthropic corporation that supports Rotary International.

1918: U.S. Rotarian Ancil Brown creates the Allied Rotary Club of France in Paris. The club's first meeting is on 23 August at the Hotel Continental. As the club's first president, Brown invites U.S. Rotarians who are in Paris for the war effort to attend. The Rotary Club of Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay, becomes the first Rotary club south of the equator.

1919: The first International Assembly is held in March in Chicago. On 1 June, the Rotary Club of Manila, Philippines, becomes the first Asian club admitted to Rotary. On 17 July, the Rotary Club of Shanghai becomes China's first club.

1921: The 1,000th Rotary club is chartered in January in York, England. The Rotary clubs of Melbourne, Victoria, and Sydney, New South Wales, are the first Australian clubs admitted to Rotary. The Rotary Club of Johannesburg, South Africa, is the first Rotary club in Africa.

1922: Rotary International becomes the official name of Rotary. The name is approved as part of the new constitution and bylaws adopted at the international convention

1924: The Board of Directors votes to adopt the modern Rotary emblem, a new version of the gearwheel first adopted in 1918. The redesigned logo has a more realistic gearwheel with a keyway.

1928: Canadian Rotarian James W. Davidson embarks on a mission to organize clubs in Asia and the Middle East. During the three-year odyssey. Davidson charters 23 clubs in 12 countries, as far west as Turkey and as far east as Thailand.

1929: The Rotary Foundation gives its first gift of US$500 to the National Society for Crippled Children, later Easter Seals, founded in 1921 by Rotarian Edgar F. Allen, of the Rotary Club of Elyria, Ohio, USA. Paul Harris served as chair of the organization.

1930: Rotary celebrates its 25th anniversary with the Silver Jubilee Convention in Chicago, 23-27 June. All but three of the past RI presidents attend. Rotarians take trips to the University of Chicago, sail on Lake Michigan, and golf at more than 30 golf clubs. Rotarians' wives enjoy tea at the Edgewater Beach Hotel. All attend the Venetian Carnival, held off Navy Pier.

1940: World War II tests Rotary's hope for peace. Rotarians establish the Rotary Relief Fund to help war victims. They also draft a resolution calling for "respect for human rights," setting the stage for Rotary's prominent role in promoting world peace.

1943: Rotary International officially adopts The Four-Way Test, one of the world's most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics. Herbert J. Taylor, a member of the Rotary Club of Chicago who would later become the 1954-55 RI president, drafts the 24-word test in 1932 to help an aluminum company on the verge of bankruptcy after the Great Depression.

1945: A group of 49 Rotarians help draft the United Nations Charter. Rotary International is granted adviser status at the UN Charter Conference. Rotarians provide translation and dispute-resolution services to attendees. Rotary's early involvement with the UN sets the stage for future partnerships with UN agencies.

RI President-elect Sakuji Tanaka unveiled the 2012-13 RI theme, Peace Through Service, during the opening plenary session of the 2012 International Assembly, a training event for incoming Rotary district governors. Rotary Images/Alyce Henson

• Watch a video excerpt of the theme speech
• Send a theme e-card
• Get Rotary graphics
• Download the theme speech (PDF)
• Learn more about Rotary Peace Centers
• Order RI Theme materials

I take this opportunity to wish every members and friends the season's greetings and Happy Holiday to all. Have a Happy and Joyous Christmas and a very good New Year 2012.

In a fast changing world geared towards economic progress and success, there are many needy families and individuals who may be left behind to fend for themselves. With this in mind, the Foundation of Rotary Clubs (Singapore) Limited has continually revamped itself to stay relevant and to proactively pursue programmes and services to help these families. I am pleased to say that despite the challenging times,

Rotarians continue to provide strong support and uphold their mission and vision of “Impacting every Family and Individual in need through our ideal of service above self”. In pursuit of this ideal, the Foundation of Rotary Clubs (Singapore) Limited set up the Rotary Family Service Centre (RFSC) in 1997. We have further increased efficiency by streamlining our operations recently. The Foundation of Rotary clubs will be led by its Director of Operations. The Rotary Family Service Centre (RFSC), which is an integral division of the Foundation of Rotary Clubs, will be led by the Executive Director. Our Chief Financial Officer will keep a watchful eye on finances and governance.

RFSC is staffed with a team of trained and experienced social workers who offer support to families and individuals through a range of social programmes and services. Some of these services include, the giving of hardship allowance and School Pocket Money Fund with support from the Lee Foundation and National Council of Social Service respectively.

Presently, we are faced with the challenges of an aging population. As one of the fastest aging populations in Asia, we will by 2030, have one in six Singaporeans to be over 65. As such, the Foundation has taken various initiatives to get a head start to better understand and address some of these challenges. To prepare ourselves for this journey, we have formed a working management committee with NTUC Eldercare Services to gain a better understanding of the resources required.

By launching the NTUC - Rotary Silver Circle in Marsiling, Rotarians have taken yet another step towards helping our senior citizens lead a healthy and more fulfilling life in their twilight years.

Furthermore, we have initiated many activities with various grassroot organisations to expand our outreach and embark on new partnership programmes. All these projects are described in more detail in this brochure.

With the ever growing desire to provide services for the needy, there is a continual need to build up the Foundation’s reserves. We aim to achieve this through the generous donations from the Rotary clubs in Singapore and also through fund raising activities such as the Rotary Charity Golf fellowship that we hold annually.

I would like to thank all Rotarians, Rotary Clubs, organizations and volunteers who have provided us with their continuous and unwavering support and valuable contributions to our various programmes and services.

I look forward to a challenging, exciting and fulfilling year ahead serving the community through the Foundation of Rotary Club (Singapore) Limited.

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