I’ve been a Rotarian going on 5 years now. I know what you’re thinking…. You’re too young for that club! or That’s a bunch of old retired white guys!

Far from the truth. I belong to the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay and our club has about 46 members and about half of them are women. Active, participating, relatively young, business women. Yes, I’m probably still the youngest one there, but at one time or another, there were members younger than I. It’s just that it can get difficult to stay in the club for various personal or professional reasons.

Being a Rotarian is a wonderful for me. It has introduced me to some great friends I wouldn’t have ordinarily have met otherwise. These friends share the same values of service and dedication to a greater good not just in our town but around the world. These friends come together in friendship, fellowship and whenever we need it, we help each other when times get tough personally.

I often get the question “Why do you do it?” or “Why are you part of the Rotary Club of all things” and I can’t imagine not being a part of it. It’s a way for me to give back. I don’t want to be that person who waits until her retirement to “give back” and “volunteer”. Why wait? Who knows if I’ll have that time in the future? I know I can carve out some time now to make a difference. There’s not going to be a “good time” to do these things. The time is now. I will make the time to do so now.

Phil has been super supportive of this. I can’t be a part of an organization that meets weekly, be on the board of directors that meets monthly and on top of that, there are some other social or volunteer obligations that comes with being a Rotarian. If not for Phil’s support, I couldn’t be a productive Rotarian. Phil has to take on single dad duties while I attend meetings or work on projects. He gets “dragged” to social events where he does small talk with everyone (he doesn’t hate it, but he doesn’t love it either).

The best thing about being a Rotarian, is the difference I’m making now. I am not one of those people who asks themselves, “What am I here to do?” “What have I done to leave this place better than it was” or “What is my legacy going to be?” I KNOW I’m making a difference and I’m making a difference through my work with the Rotary Club and Rotary International. I’m making a difference NOW.

Our club has been instrumental in starting a free medical clinic in town. We have a major fundraiser each year to help fund the clinic. We have helped non-profit organizations around our community with small grants and helped with different service projects.

We introduced the Laws of Life Essay contest that gets rolled out to the high school kids in our community (including the young men’s detention facility… not sure it’s the correct term) and the continuing education high school. Probably the most moving experience of the year is to listen to the writers read their stories, heartfelt, tear-filled personal essays of their lives and what they’ve learned. Sometimes my heart just hurts to know that such young people have gone through such adversity and have the courage to share it to a room full of strangers.

Internationally, our club has helped bring clean running water into several villages in Ecuador. I don’t think many people realize what the lack of clean water can do to a village. Imagine having to walk for 2 hours to get water each way, each day just to get clean water. But that’s not all, if there’s no clean water and there’s no clean or safe way to dispose of waste, there’s bound to be many cases of diarrhea. And that’s what kills young children in these poor villages. Bringing clean running water is a key way to help lower the mortality rates and increase their production by freeing up time for the women to do other things than haul water each day.

There’s just so much that we Rotarians do. I’m proud of what our Rotary Club does and I’m super proud of the fact that I’m one of the cogs in the wheel that helps to make it all happen.

I often tell people that if they really wanted to make a difference, they’d join a Rotary Club, or some other service organization NOW. Not later. There’s no time like the present. There’s no telling what the future will hold. There will always be something that comes up and stops you from doing something, contributing and making a difference. Just do it. NOW.