After a year of shrinking polio cases worldwide, the crippling disease is now on the cusp of being eradicated, said top health officials at Rotary's second annual World Polio Day event on 24 October. At a special Livestream program -- World Polio Day: Make History Today -- Rotary leaders joined global health experts and celebrity singers to hail the progress of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. After nearly 30 years, the GPEI, which includes Rotary, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is on...

Erin Mills had just finished teaching for the day in Montevideo, Uruguay, when her smartphone buzzed with a message. An impromptu gathering to watch Uruguay's World Cup soccer match was being organized. Through the power of a mobile messaging app, a majority of the Rotary Club of Plaza Matriz had soon assembled at a member's home to munch on baked goods and chips while rooting for their national team. That enthusiasm and ability to draw a crowd has made the club, which just received its charter in July, a success in the country's capital city. Made up almost entirely of young professionals,...

Rotary celebrates World Polio Day on 24 October with a Livestream event featuring expert speakers and celebrity performers. Hosted by Time magazine science and technology editor Jeffrey Kluger, the Chicago event also includes a global status update on the fight to end polio and the challenges that remain, as well as information about joining Rotary's historic campaign. The program, being held before a live audience at 18:30 Chicago time (UTC-5), includes a performance from Tessanne Chin, 2013 winner of the TV show "The Voice," an introductory message and videotaped performance by reggae star...

When asked to describe his future, a refugee child from Iraq draws a picture of himself as a doctor. Another child uses colorful paints to depict happy memories of his former life in Iraq. Both children are among the 200,000 displaced Iraqis who now live in Jordan, a country that has become a safe haven for those fleeing oppression and war in neighboring Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. Alexandra Dawley, a former volunteer with the Collateral Repair Project in Jordan, emphasizes how something as simple as an art project can help young refugees adjust to their new lives in a foreign country. With...

Hunger affects more than 800 million people worldwide, according to the United Nations' World Food Programme, and one-third of all the food grown every year goes to waste. Together, we can change that. On World Food Day, Thursday, 16 October, join a conversation on Twitter from 12:00 to 13:00 Chicago time (UTC-5), using the hashtag #RotaryHunger. During the chat, food experts will talk about ways to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in your community and around the world. Rotary (@Rotary) will moderate the chat, and experts from organizations including Rotary First Harvest (@RFHarvest), the...