John Hewko is “overwhelmed”

Consider applying for a disaster response grant

Find out how Rotary districts can apply for a grant from the Disaster Response Fund.

Now through 31 December 2022, districts can apply for grants to provide relief such as water, food, shelter, medicine, and clothing to refugees or other people affected by the crisis. Districts should work closely with local officials and groups to ensure that the funding will meet a specific community need.

Ukraine has 62 Rotary clubs and six satellite clubs with about 1,100 members, and 24 Rotaract clubs with more than 300 members. District 2232 (Ukraine and Belarus) formed a committee to help people affected by the crisis.

One of Rotary’s vital focus areas — peacebuilding and conflict resolution — came into sharp focus at the Houston convention, in the background of the war raging in Ukraine. RI general secretary and CEO John Hewko’s address to the 11,000-plus participants on how Rotary had helped the oppressed Ukrainians under siege, gained even more poignancy as his parents originally hailed from Ukraine.

He said he was happy at the kind of help the people of Ukraine had got from across the world, especially the young. The Fortnite (an online video game) players decided to support Ukraine refugees by donating funds.

The average age of a Fortnite player is 19; these players blew those projected numbers out of the water and ended up donating $155 million to the Ukraine relief efforts. That is an astonishing number, and it all came from young people wanting to belong to just more than a video game community. They wanted to show they cared about something that is happening right now, something important and wanted to make a difference.”

This is exactly what Rotary and Rotarians plan and do, said Hewko. “When we were formulating our new Rotary Action Plan a few years ago, our research consistently found that young people are hungry for just these kind of engaging, meaningful connections. It also found that all generations want to connect and belong and take action that makes a meaningful difference in the lives of others. That’s why our vision statement says:

“Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.”

Rotary does this “by taking action and through meaningful personal engagement, which improves personal wellbeing much more than getting financial rewards. Doing good makes people feel good and also improves physical health.”

Of course, the members also have to feel that the club they belong to is relevant and fun. “For the first time in seven years, Rotary will gain net members; this is good news, but it is up to us now to keep these new members,” he said.

A Houston club’s transformation

When it came to “grow Rotary”, clubs could take a leaf out of the book of a club in Houston — the Plano West Rotary Club. Three years ago, the club had just 20 members who certainly did not represent the community they served. Their median age was 67 and it had only 5 women and one person of colour. “It hadn’t really positioned itself as a resource for community action.

So the club members adapted and changed their approach. They started with activities such as distributing after-school meals to school children, forming close ties with teachers. They reached out to police officers and when the pandemic began, they handed out material about Covid-19 in underserved communities.”

Next, the members started delivering meals directly to the families in need during the pandemic in AfroAmerican and Latino neighbourhoods. “Because of this effort, people from across the community started showing up to help. The club started drawing members from the Afro-American, Latino and LGBTQ groups, and it also became younger. “Today it has tripled its size to 65 members, including 37 women and 28 men, and its median age has come down from 67 to 50,” Hewko said to thunderous applause.

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PRIP Rajendra Saboo (1991-92) and Usha with a delegate from Ukraine at the Houston Convention.