By PDG Carl Treleaven
Celebrating the Rotary Foundation Month
November is a special month when Rotarians and Rotaractors worldwide come together to recognize and celebrate the incredible work of our Rotary Foundation. Over the past twelve months, the Foundation has continued to make remarkable contributions across Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus:
- Community and Economic Development
- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
- The Environment
- Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention
- Basic Education and Literacy
- Disease Prevention and Treatment
- Maternal and Child Health
Rotary clubs and districts across the globe are organizing special events, including dinners, to honor contributions to the Foundation and highlight impactful projects.
RAGCED’s Celebrations and Milestones
The Rotary Action Group for Community Economic Development (RAGCED) joins in this global celebration, reflecting on the impactful CED global and district grant projects from the past year. This year, we also commemorate an exciting milestone: the chartering of our first non-English chapter.
Introducing RAGCED’s Spanish-Speaking Chapter
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our Spanish-speaking chapter, led by Rotarian and CADRE member Juliana Corredor from Colombia. The leadership team includes:
- Wally Gardiner (RAGCED President-Elect, Canada)
- Amalia Calderon (Ecuador)
- Jose Antonio Gonzalez (Mexico)
- Alexandra Ferriol (Argentina)
- Roberto Ribadeneira (RAGCED Director, Ecuador)
- Bill Armstrong (USA)
The chapter held its inaugural meeting on November 6th, conducted entirely in Spanish. This group plans to organize regular meetings, webinars, and produce Spanish-language materials, including updates on the ragced.org website.
Expanding Multilingual Outreach
RAGCED’s efforts to engage Rotarians globally don’t stop there. Plans are underway to form our first French-speaking chapter, spearheaded by PDG Sunny Akuopha (Nigeria, living in Bamako, Mali), PDG Peter Verbeeck (USA), and Guillaume Bourgogne (France). The organizing team anticipates holding its first meeting in French very soon.
With Rotary’s official languages including Spanish, French, and English, RAGCED aims to foster the creation of additional non-English chapters. If you’d like to contribute to this initiative, please reach out to the following contacts:
- For Spanish-speaking chapters: Juliana Corredor at Email.
- For French-speaking chapters: PDG Sunny Akuopha at Email.
- For other languages: PDG Jim Louttit at Email.
Our Commitment to Greater Impact
RAGCED leadership is dedicated to ensuring that language barriers do not hinder Rotarians from making an impact in the Community Economic Development area of focus. Expanding our reach through multilingual chapters is a key step toward achieving greater Rotary impact.
Celebrate Rotary Foundation Month
This November, let’s honor the transformative work of our Rotary Foundation, which continues to change lives for the better. With the addition of non-English-speaking chapters, we’re paving the way for even greater global impact.
Together, we are building a stronger, more inclusive Rotary community.