Dear Rotarians,

This Wednesday, February 25th, the world will be celebrating Pink Shirt Day, a day that celebrates Kindness and its ripple effect. Kindness is one of the most powerful antidotes to bullying, maltreatment, discrimination and intimidation. Kindness is the foundational driver of Rotary’s "Service Above Self" motto, transforming “intangible goodwill into tangible, community-changing action.” As 2024-25 Rotary President Stephanie Urchick so beautifully stated “it promotes global peace, reduces stress, and fosters connection…and improves mental health and social bonding.” It is truly amazing what a small act of kindness can do. For Rotarians actionable kindness looks like projects that distribute food, provide clean water and sanitation, build literacy resources, establish sustainable community developments, support healthcare workers, promote peace, vaccinate against polio and help mothers and their newborn children begin life and continue to live it safely. That is just to name a few.

I was inspired by a message that our speaker last week shared with us: “love your neighbor and look after each other.” We do that in our community and this week let’s practice kindness with extra intention. It can be so simple. Smile and say hello to someone or make a point to talk to someone you do not know well or a new member to expand the club's social circle, or give a fellow Rotarian a shout out for an act of kindness or going above and beyond on a project, or offering support.

This week please consider wearing a pink shirt to our Wednesday morning meeting to show your support for those in our community and around the world who have experienced bullying or mistreatment in schools, workplaces, homes, and online. Pink Shirt Day aims to raise awareness of these issues, and foster children’s and adults’ healthy self-esteem.

It all starts with on simple act of kindness that has a profound chain reaction “across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

With Gratitude,

Trudie