As It Turns Out, You Can Change the World

Do you get discouraged thinking of all the social problems in the world, and think “I’m just one person and I can’t do anything about it.” Well, what if you could? In fact, individuals do it all the time.

I attended a Rotary International conference recently. As I met new people, I asked what their favorite service project was. One man told me of a retired man who refurbished classic cars. He shared his skills with a group of young men, teaching them job skills. Some Rotary members visited his shop and were so impressed that they invited the man to join Rotary and provided financial support to continue his work. These young men were pulled out of unemployment and added value to the business community.

Another man told me of the high rate of hunger in their community. Many children eat one meal per day – their school lunch. His small Rotary club holds fundraisers to support a backpack program. They fill the children’s backpack each Friday to ensure that they have food over the weekend. A different Rotary club also has a problem with hunger in their community. They provide food for children each day over the summer.

My favorite local Rotary club project is a furniture service project. There are far too many children that sleep without beds, and families who may not eat at a table. This low cost service project takes in gently used furniture that would otherwise be thrown out and delivers it to families that need it. My favorite international Rotary project is the building of wells in drought conditions of Africa. I was fortunate to take a trip to Uganda sponsored by Rotary International.

On a larger scale, Rotary members around the world committed themselves to eradicating worldwide polio since 1979 and only two polio endemic countries remain: Pakistan and Afghanistan. It started with a recognized need and a desire to help.

It just takes one person with an idea and a desire to help. So where do you start? First, pick your passion. What do you feel passionate about? What problems do you see that you feel a desire to address?

Second, find a service club that best fits your goals. What’s a service club? A service club is a voluntary nonprofit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money. Many of today’s service clubs got their start as social clubs for business networking, but quickly evolved into organizations devoted more to service than to networking.

The world’s first service club was Rotary International which formed in 1904. There is also the Elks, Kiwanis and Lions Club to name a few. Each is composed of volunteers and has a different focus. Rotary club members work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio. The Lion’s Club works to eradicate blindness and to assist the visually impaired. Kiwanis serves children by promoting health and education, and encouraging leadership. They have also developed programs to shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, mentor the disadvantaged, and care for the sick. They have built playgrounds and raised funds for pediatric research. The amount of work that these service clubs do is impressive.

These clubs have developed thousands of programs and have the expertise to guide your project. Many of the clubs have available funds and will even train you on the grants application process. What more could you ask for?

Third, commit yourself to that club. Join hands with other compassionate people to assist their goals as they assist you. Some problems can be addressed by a single individual, while others require a collaborated effort of millions of people. Some problems take more time than money to fix; other problems take more money than time. Some can be addressed quickly, other problems, like polio, take 30 years.

These service clubs have the expertise to do whatever needs to be done to make our world a better place. You can change the world. I’m a Rotarian with one regret. I wish I had joined sooner. There is much work to be done. Anything is possible. Let’s get at it.