Posted by DG Fay Campbell
 
Spring is the start of new beginnings as the earth and its creatures come to life again.  Spring’s new beginnings are built on past love and care of the earth and a future commitment to use its gifts wisely. So too is our Rotary journey: mindful of the past, active in the present, and transformational in the future.
 
As we welcome the new Rotary year let us be mindful of the PAST - “Connect the World”, the PRESENT - “Rotary Opens Opportunities”, and look ahead to the FUTURE in which we “Serve to Change Lives” and “Grow Rotary”.  I would like to invite you to my version of the ABCs of Rotary.  Let us start, this month, with the letters A and B.  During the year we will examine the entire alphabet.
A is action.  We are people of action. We are motivated by serving and changing lives, while knowing that what we provide is truly of assistance and can be assured that it serves a purpose and fulfils a plan and is part of a vision of those we serve.
 
More than a century ago, Rotary pioneered a new model of service: leadership grounded in person-to-person connections. Today, those connections are a network that spans the globe—bridging cultural, linguistic, generational, and geographic barriers—and shares the vision of a better world. As People of Action, we understand that fulfilling that vision requires a plan. This is Rotary’s Action Plan through 2024: to increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt.
 
The next letter is B.
 
B is building relationships that will be Beneficial to the people who have lost every hope by supporting and encouraging them to a Bright and Better future. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities by supporting basic education and literacy, reducing gender disparity in education, and increasing adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults; our efforts must be “Beneficial to All”.
 
New beginnings are within reach.  I hope the blooms of spring and your Rotary service will make your heart sing as we “Serve to Change Lives”.