To make change,

just get started

For many, the Bahamas is a place to escape colder climes, relax on white-sand ​beaches, and snorkel in clear, turquoise waters. For me, it’s home. I grew up ​sailing on these waters and to this day, anytime I can, I am out on the water with ​family and friends. It’s where my heart is.

The environmental threats my country is facing are real. Our coral reefs, vital for ​biodiversity, are in danger due to warming seas and pollution. Hurricanes and ​tropical storms seem to get more intense with each passing year. Rising sea ​levels pose an existential threat to the Bahamas, eroding our beautiful coastlines ​as saltwater intrudes on our precious and limited freshwater resources.

Late last year, I was fortunate to represent Rotary at COP28, the United Nations ​climate change convention in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The consensus ​coming out of the meeting was that progress on addressing climate change has ​been too slow.

Participants said the world needs to pick up the pace to reduce greenhouse gas ​emissions, help communities become more resilient to climate change, and ​better support countries that are most vulnerable to it.

Rotary can be part of the solution.

As you know, protecting the environment is one of Rotary’s areas of focus. Many ​clubs are active in their communities with projects such as beach and roadside ​cleanups.

With The Rotary Foundation, you can increase your impact by pooling resources ​with clubs and districts around the world. Foundation grants let you put the ​generous contributions of your fellow Rotary members to work to make the ​world better.

Imagine the possibilities. Perhaps Rotary districts in Canada and Australia could ​protect wetlands in New South Wales in Australia. Rotary leaders from Brazil, ​India, and Taiwan could lead grant projects to train farmers in the Indian state of ​Andhra Pradesh in sustainable agriculture.

Rotary and Rotaract clubs from the Bahamas, South Africa, and New York could ​work with their districts to help my country restore its natural resources, one ​reef or mangrove at a time.

The problems our environment faces seem overwhelming until you realize that ​many are fixable. There are so many ways to help through Rotary. Even if we ​don’t lead a grant or volunteer on the project, we can all help protect the ​environment through our giving to the Foundation.

Rotary can’t save the planet all by itself. But as our progress in ending polio ​proves, Rotary’s impact is great when we put our vision for a better world in ​motion, and just get started.