Why I Rotaract

A group of us were talking about community service recently. I laughed that community service was the reason I love Rotaract so much. Someone else in the conversation argued that I seemed to love Rotaract for Rotaract's sake. Ok, that may be true, but here in a few neatly summarized points, is why I love Rotaract, community service, and all things Rotary. And not just because of my Dad either... promise.

During a recent Rotaract presentation, we talked about Why We Serve. The reasons listed, altruistic, faith-based, humanist-based, or just a basic guilt for having a good life, were dependable and expected. Nothing wrong with expected, hey, I'm sure mine's expected to.

I serve because I think humans share a bond, we're all part of the creation, and I think we need to not be afraid to help other parts of the creation. This means finding a way to make sustainable change in a manner that is friendly to the local culture. Long-lasting effects are what I'm interested in, not a short term good feeling.

So I Rotaract because I believe the change that Rotary/Rotaract/Interact are trying to bring about is long lasting change, e.g. the End Polio Now campaign. Not only has polio been eradicated from most of the world, but they're still fighting to get it out of places where politics or the population density holds up progress. These things impress me, that tenacity is something I'm interested in, and I believe Rotary (and the other groups through them) are interested in tenacity, making a real difference and not giving up until they do.