PEOPLE OF ACTION
SERVICE ABOVE SELF
Rotary is known by the results that are achieved. Rotary International provides services to others, promotes integrity, and advances world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders
Welcome to Rotary in District 5330. We represent Rotarians in Southern California in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Rotary unites over a million people worldwide to take action locally and globally. Each day, our members pour their passion, integrity, and intelligence into completing projects that have a lasting impact. We persevere until we deliver real, lasting solutions.
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PEOPLE OF ACTION
WHO WE ARE
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision. For more than 110 years, Rotary’s people of action have used their passion, energy, and intelligence to take action on sustainable projects. From literacy and peace to water and health, we are always working to better our world, and we stay committed to the end.
Learn more about our structure and our foundation and our strategic vision.
What we do
Rotary members believe that we have a shared responsibility to take action on our world’s most persistent issues. Our 35,000+ clubs work together to:
- Promote peace
- Fight disease
- Provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
- Save mothers and children
- Support education
- Grow local economies
- Protect the environment
Our mission
We provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
Vision statement
Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
We are opportunity-creators
Rotary members look for opportunities to improve our communities today and invest in the next generation for tomorrow.
We are problem-solvers
Together, we apply our professional experience and personal commitment to tackle our communities’ most persistent problems, finding new, effective ways to enhance health, stability, and prosperity across the globe.
We are people of action
We connect passionate people with diverse perspectives to exchange ideas, forge lifelong friendships, and, above all, take action to change the world.
We are community-builders
We collaborate with community leaders who want to get to work on projects that have a real, lasting impact on people’s lives.
OUR CAUSES
Rotary is dedicated to causes that build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever..
Promoting Peace
Rotary encourages conversations to foster understanding within and across cultures. We train adults and young leaders to prevent and mediate conflict and help refugees who have fled dangerous areas.
Fightingdisease
We educate and equip communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases like polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. We improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in developing areas.
Providing Clean Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
We support local solutions to bring clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to more people every day. We don’t just build wells and walk away. We share our expertise with community leaders and educators to make sure our projects succeed long-term.
Saving mothers and children
Nearly 6 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. We expand access to quality care, so mothers and their children can live and grow stronger.
Supporting education
More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
Growing Local Economies
We carry out service projects that enhance economic and community development and create opportunities for decent and productive work for young and old. We also strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, in impoverished communities.
Protecting the environment
Rotary members are tackling environmental issues the way they always do: coming up with projects, using their connections to change policy and planning for the future.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
At Rotary, we understand that cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realizing our vision of a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
We value diversity and celebrate the contributions of people of all backgrounds, across age, ethnicity, race, color, disability, learning style, religion, faith, socioeconomic status, culture, marital status, languages spoken, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as well as differences in ideas, thoughts, values, and beliefs.
Recognizing that individuals from certain groups have historically experienced barriers to membership, participation, and leadership, we commit to advancing equity in all aspects of Rotary, including in our community partnerships, so that each person has the necessary access to resources, opportunities, networks, and support to thrive.
We believe that all people hold visible and invisible qualities that inherently make them unique, and we strive to create an inclusive culture where each person knows they are valued and belong.
In line with our value of integrity, we are committed to being honest and transparent about where we are in our DEI journey as an organization, and to continuing to learn and do better.
DIVERSITY
Rotary welcomes people of all backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and identities.
EQUITY
Rotary strives for the fair treatment, opportunity, and advancement of all Rotary participants.
INCLUSION
Rotary is working to create experiences where all people feel welcomed, respected, and valued.
2023-2024 RI PRESIDENT
R. Gordon R. McInally
President 2023-24
Rotary Club of South Queensferry
Scotland
R. Gordon R. McInally was educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh and at the University of Dundee, where he earned his graduate degree in dental surgery. He operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh until 2016. McInally was chair of the East of Scotland branch of the British Paedodontic Society and has held various academic positions. He has also served as a presbytery elder, chair of the Queensferry parish congregational board, and commissioner to the general assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Gordon joined Rotary in 1984 at age 26. A member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry, he has served as president and vice president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland. He has also served RI as a director and on several committees, most recently as an adviser to the 2022 Houston Convention Committee and chair of the Operations Review Committee.
Gordon says he looks forward to working with members to build new Rotary clubs and groups. “My vision is that Rotary should exist everywhere in a style to suit everyone who has the desire to be part of us and to help us do good in the world,” he says.
He is a patron of the UK-based nonprofit Hope and Homes for Children and led a partnership between that organization and RIBI to support children in Rwanda who had been orphaned in the genocide there. He is a patron of Trade-Aid, an initiative of the Rotary Club of Grantham Kesteven, England, that provides sustainable humanitarian aid to individuals, families, and businesses in the developing world. He is also an ambassador for Bipolar UK, a national mental health organization. In August 2022, he was made a laureate of the Sino Phil Asia International Peace Awards Foundation.
In his free time, Gordon enjoys rugby, good food and wine, and stick dressing, the traditional Scottish craft of making walking sticks.
Gordon describes The Rotary Foundation as “the engine that provides the energy to do Rotary service.” He and his spouse, Heather, also a Rotarian, are Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors, Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation, and members of the Bequest Society.
Gordon wishes to dedicate his presidency to making the world a better place for his granddaughters, Ivy and Florence, and all the children of the world, to live and thrive.
PRESIDENTIAL INITIATIVE
Initiatives Overview
Rotary International President R. Gordon R. McInally wants Rotary to exist everywhere in a style that suits everyone who has the desire to work with us to do good. During this year, he’ll focus on three presidential initiatives that Create Hope in the World: prioritizing mental health, building peace through virtual exchanges, and empowering girls.
Prioritizing mental health
Gordon encourages Rotary members to make mental health a priority. Rotary has a unique ability to connect people and cultures, giving hope and receiving it through acts of kindness. Now is the time to expand this culture of care — both within Rotary and in the world at large.
Providing care in such a way benefits not only the communities we live in and work with, but also our members as they take part in addressing mental health. Research shows that performing acts of kindness is the most effective way to protect our own sense of well-being and become more resilient.
Rotary can create the kind of world we want to live in: one where we all feel supported as part of a community and where we help expand access to quality care. Members can do this by:
- Erasing the stigma associated with caring about emotional well-being
- Raising awareness about mental health needs
- Working to improve access to mental health services
Everyone in Rotary has a role in this effort. Members can help each other prioritize self-care in the ways that are most meaningful. Clubs can make sure they offer welcoming environments where everyone who interacts with us is treated with care, respect, and dignity. We can talk openly about mental health, let people know they’re not alone, and encourage them to get professional help if necessary. And we can work with community and national leaders to create or expand access to quality preventive care and interventions for mental health.
Resources for education and support
Review the Prioritizing Mental Health brochure to learn more about this initiative and find ideas for how your club or district can support activities that encourage mental well-being.
The Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives is a global community of Rotary members and friends with expertise in or a deep commitment to helping people improve their mental health.
Other action groups specialize in related topics, such as addiction prevention. Review the list of Rotary Action Groups and contact them directly for guidance with your service initiatives.
Consult your district resource network, led by the district international service chair, to connect with local professionals who have expertise in mental health. You can also consider applying for a Rotary Foundation district or global grant to support your efforts.
Browse the Mental Health Initiatives campaign through Rotary Showcase to find out how other clubs and districts are identifying and addressing mental health priorities in their communities. Share your own efforts to destigmatize mental health issues and erase misperceptions about these issues.
Rotary International would love to know about your club experiences with the mental health initiative. Tell us your stories.
PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE – MAY 2024
May 2024
I am deeply gratified by the enthusiasm shown across the world in the past year to better support the mental health needs of each other and the people we serve.
In January 2023 when I first spoke about the need for Rotary to become more engaged on this crisis, I noted that the global mental health system couldn’t be described as broken only because it didn’t exist. But I also offered a highly aspirational wish that Rotary could help build that system.
The first glimmers of this vision have been brought to light by you in dozens of mental health projects. But just as important is the invitation many of you have given to fellow Rotary members to share their stories.
I am impressed by the leadership young Rotarians and Rotaractors have shown and by the brave, inspiring stories they have shared. Former Rotaractor Freddie Almazan, a survivor of gun violence who refused to give in to despair, has an especially powerful personal narrative that you can hear firsthand at this month’s Rotary International Convention in Singapore.
To create lasting change, the work we do needs to have a sustainable impact on the people and communities we serve. One great example of that kind of impact: Rotary clubs in Colorado endowing a pediatric mental health fellowship at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
At the convention, you can also hear from 2024 People of Action honorees lauded for the impact they and their clubs have made through mental health initiatives. Bindi Rajasegaran will talk about a Rotary-led project in Malaysia helping children develop skills to cope with mental health challenges and building capacity for support throughout the country.
In addition, Rita Aggarwal, an officer of the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives, will be recognized for her success in applying the Wellness in a Box framework, a mental health literacy approach for adolescents, in her hometown of Nagpur, India. This highly scalable and clinically backed framework can be adapted for use just about anywhere — reach out to the action group if your club would like to support or implement it.
As we look ahead, the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives will play a critical leadership role in promoting proven, measurable projects. In doing so, it will empower clubs to focus on initiatives that drive scalable, sustainable impact.
I invite you to go to the Learning Center on My Rotary and check out the Increase Your Impact series, which includes a wonderful short video explaining impact. When we focus on impact, we bring Rotary’s vision statement to life, creating lasting change across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves
