World Immunization Week is April 24-30th. Rotary International has spent over 40 years making sure children receive life-saving polio vaccines, beginning with our first immunization campaign in the Philippines in 1979. Three Members of Brookline Rotary share their thoughts & experiences volunteering for END POLIO NOW.
Susan Rack: I had the monumental good fortune to participate in a Polio Immunization trip to India with two of my fellow Brookline Rotarians in 2018. This trip literally saved lives and everyone associated with the trip, including the families receiving the vaccine, knew it and were overwhelmed.
Though I have done a fair amount of globe trotting, this will always be a seminal trip. Forever in my memory are: sharing with Rotarians from across the US, Canada, Australia, England and the Netherlands, the experience of participating in a loud, musical street parade to promote immunization in the crowded streets of Agra; joining the multi-cultural and multi-lingual team of 6 administering oral vaccines to babies and children in a farming community that welcomed us into their homes and thanked us for coming with tea and biscuits; joining students and teachers in the Macarana at a school built by local Rotarians; and sitting together for a photo in front of the Taj Mahal.
Sharon Herman added: We also partnered with WHO and Rotary clubs in India and worked with teachers to provide and administer the polio drops.
Read on for Joyce Graff's (DG Elect 2024-2025) sharing ...
For 34 years Laura Walters, a member of Rotary, has been walking in Project Bread's Walk For Hunger! This year she is walking on behalf of the Brookline Food Pantry, specifically Brookline Thrives. 
Join in this creative, fun service project continuing only until June 7th!
2 volunteers are needed each week: one to do the grocery shopping and deliver the items to the Teen Center on Thursday/Friday, and another to help set-up, assist in cooking, and then clean-up. To volunteer, click the Healthy Cooking button on the "Coming Soon" above section on this website
In partnership with BU Occupational Therapy doctoral students & those in Nutrition, the Rotary District Grant supports a weekly cooking class on Friday afternoons from 3 to 5 pm. Volunteers will work with Teen Center middle schoolers and high schoolers to cook a vegetarian, low-cost, healthy entree and dessert. BU professor and Rotarian Karen Jacobs will work with Teen Center members to create the menu, and BU OT doctoral students will lead the classes. Further questions? contact Susan Rack, Service Projects Chair.
In May the Project will transition to its final phase when local restaurants will provide a variety of meals and engage with students.
RYLA (which began in 1994) is an opportunity for approximately 200 high school sophomores sponsored by 50 Rotary Clubs to come together for a weekend of challenging and enriching activities to cultivate fellowship and learn skills.