We have active, engaged school and community-based youth clubs!
We have great fundraising projects!
We fight to eradicate polio!
We support ShelterBox, assisting displaced people worldwide!
PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS
Rotary International is a global network of community volunteers with members, known as Rotarians, who work together to create positive change in their communities and around the world. Rotary District 5500 (D5500) is made up of more than 50 Rotary Clubs in Southern Arizona, where our members put service above self. Our 1,500 members are leading and partnering on projects that create lasting local and global community change. Our D5500 members come to Rotary to serve. They stay for the friendships and relationships they build.
Rotary District 5500 has a new club about to go active- the Rainbow Rotary Club of Tucson, an LGBT+ centered club with the same great service, comraderie and networking opportunities of our other clubs! Their website should be up soon!
2024 D5500 Ride to End Polio
Rotary District 5500 is a major supporter of the fight to eradticate polio! Our annual Ride to End Polio is one of, if not THE, greatest fundraising events to help eradicate this deadly disease worldwide, a Rotary project for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. For more info or to register, click HERE!
Rotary Youth
Rotary is not just for older adults! We have Interact Clubs for ages 12-18 in middle schools, high schools and Boys & Girls Clubs. We also have Rotaract Clubs for ages 18 and up in colleges and universities, and community-based, too!
This year’s Rotary theme is “The Magic of Rotary” and the 2024 Rotary D5500 Conference of Clubs promises plenty of magic to elevate your Rotary experience!
At this year’s Conference of Clubs:
You’ll hear from leading Rotary speakers from around Arizona about new initiatives
Gain critical Rotary leadership, marketing and fundraising skills
Learn what is happening in the Mental and Behavioral Health field in Tucson
See what’s happening globally with our International Project Fair
Meet nonprofits and other service organizations in the House of Friendship
Let us help you spread the word about your club’s upcoming events, projects or fundraisers in IMPACT! Complete this IMPACT! Submission Form and return to [email protected] by Friday for the following week’s newsletter. Include your photo or graphic as a separate attachment as a jpg or png file.
WHAT ABOUT PAST PROJECTS & FUNDRAISERS?
We’ll feature them in our Rotary in Action Quarterly. The deadline for the next issue (September) is August 10, 2024. Here’s the Rotary in Action Submission Form to complete and return to [email protected].
About Rotary District 5500
Service Above Self
Rotarians at the 1911 convention embraced an early version of our primary motto, Service Above Self. They also adopted an early version of our secondary motto, One Profits Most Who Serves Best.
NOTE: This website is still in development, so please report any errors, omissions or problems to [email protected]. Thanks!
Rotaract and Rotary Clubs
Number of Members
News & Information
TRF Weekly Message: What is Rotary's Polio Fundraising Challenge?
Rotary is committed to raising US$50 million every year for polio eradication. Through our partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, every $1 of that is matched 2-to-1.
Raising both funds and awareness and mobilizing volunteers are among Rotary’s primary roles as a partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
With our members, we’ve contributed more than $2.6 billion to fight polio, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and Rotary volunteers have dedicated countless hours to protecting children everywhere.
You can take action and raise awareness on World Polio Day, 24 October, and throughout the year.
Help end polio by making a gift to the PolioPlus Fund at endpolio.org.
Microcredit: Building Sustainability
By Sue Archibald
Building sustainability is key to a successful economic development project. Microcredit programs across the world provide the investment into an individual’s ability to do just that.
The objective of a microcredit program is to provide opportunity for individuals to start, sustain, or expand an income generating business venture by offering seed money in the form of a loan --- often called micro-loans or micro-credits.
The microcredit program’s purpose is to empower people to become economically self-reliant. The motivation is to provide “empowerment – not dependency” to individuals who have difficulty getting credit through the normal banking system.
This program is not meant to be a grant, but rather a loan with full expectations of repayment of the principal with modest interest. The loan itself is not meant for personal consumption such as food, rent, medical expenses, education, etc. It is necessary for the recipients of such loans to have other sources of income to sustain themselves for day-to-day living.
Numerous clubs in D5500 and D5495 as well as D4100 in Mexico support the Microcredit Project in Hermosillo, Mexico, which continues to be very successful. The project consistently performs well and exceeds the long-term goal of 97.5 percent collection. Over 85 percent of the borrowers are women, and many are single mothers.
There are trips to Hermosillo annually to visit the project. If you are interested in being a part of one of these and learning more about the project, contact Gary Friedman at [email protected].
YOU'RE INVITED!
Wednesday, October 23, 6:00 pm on Zoom
Title: Update on Regional Chapters of the Rotarian Action Group for Peace and their role in promoting Rotary's focus on positive peace
Our October speaker is the "one and only” Brigitte Faubert, currently a member of the Rotary Club of Hounslow, in a London borough in West England. Brigitte joins us regularly for our Peacebuilders bimonthly meetings here in southern AZ.
A Rotarian for nearly 25 years, Brigitte retired from a career in international trade, trade facilitation and corporate social responsibility. Her interest in peacebuilding within communities stems from a multicultural family background (French/English) in a multicultural British society.
We will also ask Brigitte to share her very popular Peace Umbrella Project that carries the message of Peace around the world in 183 languages. Rotary International has a longstanding commitment to generating positive peace through its programs. The Peace Umbrella is intended to support this objective by drawing attention to the cultures and languages we work in.
Aryanna spent her Rotary Youth Exchange year in Finland with a short initial time in Estonia. Those countries form a multi-district.
During her year abroad, Ary was able to travel to many countries in Europe with her Rotary Youth Exchange team and made friends from all over the world. Always a passionate student of languages, she also added three new languages to her repertoire.
Ary is a freshman at NAU, continuing her passion for learning, keeping her positive outlook on life and its many opportunities with a smile that shines as brightly as she does.
THE DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR THE LONG-TERM 2025-26 ACADEMIC YEAR IS OCTOBER 29.
Short-term applications for 2025 will still be accepted until January. Please reach out to your local high schools for students who will grow, mature and be the next generation of leaders. There are ideal ambassadors in southern Arizona. Let’s find them and give them an opportunity to “build peace one student at a time.”
Applications for the 2025-26 academic year and summer 2025 short-term exchanges are on the District website here.
Contact Cindy Dooling at [email protected] if you have any questions.
There are still openings available for RYLA 2025, so don't wait.
Reserve your club's spots now.
HOW TO RESERVE A SPOT FOR RYLA
Clubs can reserve spots for the RYLA by emailing [email protected]. Each club can reserve up to 5 spots with additional spots opening up in early fall.
Thirty- second and sixty-second World Polio Day Public Service Announcement videos are once again available for distribution to media outlets on the Zones 26 & 27 Vimeo site:
The buzz has already started for this year's Ride to End Polio during the Tour de Tucson on Saturday, November 23.
It will once again feature new routes aimed to make the ride safer and more enjoyable.
To register for the Ride to End Polio, click here.
You can also register for the Pre-Ride Dinnerhere.
Celebration of Life for District Conference of Clubs
By Leo J. Lawrenson
Have any members of your club passed on since October 2023? Please let us know so that they will be included in the Celebration of Life at this year's D5500 Conference of Clubs October 18-19, 2024. Click HERE for a simple fillable PDF form that should be completed and returned to Leo Lawrenson.
Be a Part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Team
What’s new in the Rotary Youth Exchange?
Do you want to be a part of one of the most exciting and rewarding programs in Rotary? Do you know about the short-term options for students? Do you want to find out why and how youth exchange students impact lives and create worldwide families?
How can you belong to a group of Rotarians that make a most memorable year in the life of an exchange student? Your passion, expertise or great ideas are needed to ensure the program grows and thrives. We can use help with marketing, recruiting and coordinating
Contact Cindy Dooling at [email protected] for details and more information!
Congratulations to RC Tubac, the latest Club to help sponsor our upcoming District Conference.
Of course, thank you to all Clubs and members who have so far helped out and sponsored the District Conference 2024. RC Valle Verde, RC Oro Valley, RC SaddleBrooke, Ron Darrah, Charlotte Gates and Anne Fisher.
We are on our way to achieving our goal thanks to your generosity and support.
If you've ever attended a District Conference, you know how interesting, fun and educational they are.
On October 18, 2024, Casino Del Sol will once again be the location of the Rotary District 5500 Conference of Clubs. Along with dynamic speakers and presentations, a big reason that the conference is so successful is the impressive attendance by so many Rotarians. Thanks to sponsors, our District has been able to keep the entry fee low, allowing many to attend who would not otherwise be able to do so.
The conference gives attendees the opportunity to learn about your District's International Projects, collaborate with Rotarians from neighboring Clubs, generate ideas, hear some inspirational speakers, and share fellowship among other things. There's something for everyone.
This year there are six different levels of sponsorship, each with its own level of special benefits.
• Platinum $5000
• Gold $2500
• Silver $1250
• Copper $500
• Bronze $250
• Friends $100
Would your Club consider helping our District with sponsorship or donation? Contact [email protected]for information on the benefits associated with each level or if you can help us make this year's Conference another roaring success.