A hallmark of Rotary service has always been Rotarians' commitment to doing what needs to be done. Every day, in tens of thousands of communities, we look around us to see how and where we can best help others

The help we provide responds to many situations and takes many forms. On a club level, we might take books to a school, help a disabled person with errands, or volunteer in a jobs program. Together with other clubs, we are capable of projects with greater reach. And the participation of our entire network of clubs, along with the support of The Rotary Foundation, has allowed us to commit to our primary and most ambitious goal: the global eradication of polio.
When choosing our service projects, we do our best to work in ways that will have the most positive, and most lasting, impact. But to ensure a better world for many generations, we must begin by taking care of our youngest generation. This is why, in 2008-09, I will ask Rotarians everywhere to focus on the most precious resource of every community: our children.
Every child deserves the chance at a healthy life. Unfortunately, every day, some 30,000 children under the age of five die from preventable causes. When I first learned this statistic, I thought that surely there had been a mistake, and the number was an error. Unfortunately, it was not. Every day, around the world, children die needlessly of pneumonia, measles, and malaria. Thousands die every day from the lack of a most basic resource: clean water. And many more die.

A hallmark of Rotary service has always been Rotarians' commitment to doing what needs to be done. Every day, in tens of thousands of communities, we look around us to see how and where we can best help others.