Rotarians Representing 170 Countries Gather in Hamburg to Put Service Above Self
Where do you find 25,000 people of all ages, from 170 countries, speaking dozens of different languages, all united by one motto of Service Above Self and committed to action to Be the Inspiration? From June 1-5, you would find them in Hamburg, Germany, at the 110th Rotary International Convention.
Rise Against Hunger was one of over 100 guests at the convention, with a vendor booth in the Convention’s House of Friendship. As a first-time member of the Rise Against Hunger convention team, I got to experience the excitement and energy as Rotarians from around the globe engaged with one another, to enhance their skills, make connections and identify service project opportunities for the year ahead.
Over 1,200 Rotarians stopped by the Rise Against Hunger booth to learn about our work to make zero hunger possible. Rise Against Hunger has packaged nearly 500 million meals since 2005; Rotarians have packaged 30 million of those meals.
Rise Against Hunger Experience events offer Rotarians the opportunity to do a hands-on international service project without leaving their hometowns. These are membership-building events that provide public image enhancement for the club and are a great youth service opportunity. When Rotary clubs engage with Rise Against Hunger, they also support Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus (Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution, Disease Prevention & Treatment, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy, Economic & Community Development). Together we transform lives.
A convention highlight was a visit to the House of Friendship by Gerd Müller, German Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, and Rotary International President-Nominee Holger Knaack. They made a special stop at the Rise Against Hunger booth, and each assembled a meal package. During his remarks to the convention attendees, Minister Muller referenced Rise Against Hunger, pointing to Rise Against Hunger as delivering a high impact to our beneficiaries.
Those five days in Hamburg gave Rise Against Hunger the opportunity to showcase our work and explain the impact of our meals to a targeted audience of community leaders from around the world. The end result will be countless nutritious meals packaged by Rotarians globally for people in need.
Are you inspired to get your club involved? Visit our Rotary and Rise Against Hunger page to find out more!