We’re looking forward to an exciting September at the Greenwich Rotary Club, with inspiring speakers and meaningful conversations throughout the month.
Greenwich Rotary Club meetings are held at the Riverside Yacht Club. We welcome members, guests, and those interested in learning more about Rotary and our commitment to Service Above Self.
Thank you both for joining us and for such an informative and inspiring presentation about the YMCA of Greenwich and the Running Start Program. It was a pleasure learning more about the many ways the YMCA supports our community.
We look forward to working together and to having our Rotary members volunteer with the YMCA. We would also be delighted to arrange a tour and continue the conversation about future opportunities to collaborate
The Greenwich Rotary Club was honored to welcome Dr. Robert Michler and Margaret Feldmeth as our featured speakers. Their presentation highlighted the life-changing work of Heart Care International, an organization dedicated to providing lifesaving cardiac care to children in underserved communities around the world.
Greenwich rotary board members attended the Rotary District 7980 Awards Ceremony & Brunch ,celebrating an incredible year of service and welcoming our new District leadership.
Today we celebrate the values that unite us—freedom, service, and community. On this Independence Day, we wish everyone a safe, joyful, and meaningful 4th of July filled with pride, gratitude, and celebration.
Together, we continue to make a difference through Service Above Self.
The Greenwich Rotary Club proudly welcomes our 2026–2027 Board of Directors, Foundation Board, and Leadership Team as we begin another exciting year of service above self.
On June 10, 2026 ,the Rotary Club of Greenwich welcomed guest presenters Peter Kozak and Jill Tuck, co-founders of Especially Everyone, an organization dedicated to building more connected and inclusive communities through the power of music. Their inspiring presentation highlighted how music can foster belonging, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful opportunities for people of all abilities to connect and thrive.
On May 20, 2026, the Rotary Club of Greenwich welcomed a local team of board-certified Healing Touch practitioners to speak with members about the benefits of Healing Touch, an evidence-based biofield therapy used to support stress reduction, relaxation, emotional well-being, resilience, and the body’s natural healing process.
On May 16, 2026, the Rotary Club of Greenwich proudly participated in Rotary’s EPIC Day of Service with its annual Ice Cream Social at Nathaniel Witherell. The afternoon brought together Rotarians, volunteers, residents, staff, family members, and guests for a joyful celebration of music, fellowship, and service. With sweet treats, live music by Rotarian Frank Rogers and his band, and the warmth of community connection, the event reflected Rotary’s commitment to creating lasting impact through Service Above Self.
An estimated 500 million people worldwide became infected. Many cities closed theaters and cinemas, and placed restrictions on public gatherings. Rotary clubs adjusted their activities while also helping the sick.
This is how Rotary responded to the influenza pandemic that began in 1918 and came in three waves, lasting more than a year.
The Rotary Club of Berkeley, California, USA, meets in John Hinkel Park during the 1918 flu pandemic.
Photo by Edwin J. McCullagh, 1931-32 club president. Courtesy of the Rotary Club of Berkeley.
Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.
During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter.
Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
Women are active participants in Rotary, serving their communities in increasing numbers and serving in leadership positions in Rotary. The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary.
“My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world,” said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01.
The vote followed the decades-long efforts of men and women from all over the Rotary world to allow the admission of women into Rotary clubs, and several close votes at previous Council meetings.
Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”
In early 1919, Rotarian Roger Pinneo of Seattle, Washington, USA, traveled to the Philippines to try to organize a Rotary club in Manila. Leon J. Lambert, a Manila business leader helped Pinneo establish the club. Several months later, on 1 June 1919, the Rotary Club of Manila was chartered and became the first Rotary club in Asia.
The club would be the only one in the country for more than 12 years. Eventually, Manila club members organized Rotary clubs in the Philippine cities of Cebu (1932) and Iloilo (1933). Iloilo club members then started a club in Bacolod (1937), and Rotary continued to expand across the country.