Cal Mann has been a member of International Rotary Club La Jolla for 12 years. His friend took him to a meeting back then, and at first, Mann wasn’t really interested. He volunteered in a school’s nonprofit organization, noting it was difficult to find volunteers. He asked for help at a Rotary meeting – and straightaway, he got 10 volunteers. Mann was then overwhelmed at the support and wanted to become a Rotarian. “Everyone who feels that they aren’t as connected to their community as they would want to be can help their area in Rotary club,” Mann says. “Also, you meet new friends.” On the Rotarian meeting of Feb. 2, Bill Burch noted that the club, founded in 1947, wouldn’t be the same if someone left it. Each of the club’s 80 members has his heart in what he does and a special place in the club. Everyone doesn’t have to be interested in everything the club does – volunteers can choose their functions, whether they be in youth, senior or international work and more. One of the many projects in which Rotarians participate is called “Just Ín Time for Foster Youth,” which engages a caring community to help transitioning foster youth achieve self-sufficiency and well-being. Just in Time envisions a future in which every youth leaving the foster care system has a community of caring adults waiting for him or her after age 18. The Rotary Club, for example, is helping support a young man who has recently “aged out” of the foster care system. At 21, he has been helped into his first apartment, but he has no furnishings – his wish-list includes everything from living room furniture to towels to dishes. 2015-16 Rotary president Lora Fisher moved to San Diego and wanted to get know people in a new city. Now, she has lovely friends and has participated in projects she wouldn’t have pursued without the club. Every week, the club has a luncheon and different speakers. “Rotary club is also for those who want to learn more about their community,” Fisher says. “We have speakers from UCSD, medical professionals and a wide selection of other speakers.” Fisher ended the February meeting with the Four-Way Test, the questions all 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide ask themselves in pursuit of club conduct: Is the pursuit the truth; is it fair to all concerned; will it build goodwill and friendships; and will it be beneficial to all concerned? Cal Mann finds the Rotary very rewarding. “We see bad things happening in the news every day,” he says. “In Rotary club, people have good deeds in mind and make better things happen.” For more, please visit rotarycluboflajolla.com.
