Kevin F. Adler

I lucked out with my current room. Mission Dolores. Great housemates. Spacious apartment. Beautiful room. Rooftop deck. Unbeatable price.

But before I found such a good deal, I scanned through hundreds of craigslist ads on rooms for rent. I probably sent about a hundred emails. In each email, I’d express my interest in the room, and tell a little about myself.

Most people didn’t respond (70%). Another 20% said the room had been filled, or they were looking for a female, or something of that sort. The last 10% followed-up, usually with a few questions and times for coming by.

I was in Mexico at the time on a Rotary scholarship, so it was particularly tough to find someone willing to go the extra mile to chat with me on the phone or via Skype. 

One of those people who did respond was Angel. She seemed pretty nice in her quick response, though it was clear she was “overwhelmed” by the many responses to her ad - most people reported at least 70 responses to their ads! - and was looking for a way to narrow down the applicant pool. She asked me about Rotary, and why I had mentioned it:

Can you tell me what exactly the fact of the Rotary scholarship should tell me?  That you’re really smart or conservative or what?  angel 

I think her question reflects a common perception of Rotary, unfortunately. I decided to respond with a few words on my own experience with Rotary. My response is below; I hope it offers readers an insight into the Rotary I know: one of the largest and most important service organizations in the world.

I’ve cut out some of the niceties and house-related comments on both ends, FYI.

Hi Angel,

The below picture is what many people probably think of when they think of Rotary:

As one of the oldest service organizations in the world, Rotary started in a more conservative era, even though it’s motto and work - “Service Above Self” and focus on eliminating polio, poverty, and empowering communities locally and globally - was well ahead of its time.

Today, after meeting hundreds of Rotarians from around the world throughout the US and Mexico, I can attest that Rotary is more like this:

There are 1.2 million members worldwide, with 33,000 clubs dispersed in large cities (Mexico City has at least 7) and small towns (Huajuapan has one).

The scholarship I received is the oldest scholarship offered by the Rotary Foundation. Each year, Rotary invests $16.2 million to send 700 scholars from around the world into other communities to learn languages and cultures, help out and learn from local service projects, and give presentations about their experiences and home communities as a goodwill exchange between countries.

With well-over 1 million Oaxacans in the US and the vast majority in California (statewide, 1 our of every 4 field laborers is from Oaxaca), I decided to serve in Mexico’s second poorest state to better understand the people and cultures of my own community. If you are unfamiliar with the vibrancy of Oaxacan cultures, food, people (70% indigenous), and natural resources, I’d encourage you to visit soon. I’d be happy to connect you to the wonderful Rotarians I know there.

My experiences with Rotary in Mexico include the following:

1. Teaching business classes to women artisans in a small pueblo;
2. Volunteering for a Rotary-backed organization that offers worms to pepinadores (people who make their living by scavenging through trash at waste sites) to compost organic waste materials into fertile soil that can be resold or used to grow plants.
3. Helping out with the first-ever international project festival in Oaxaca, which brought together 100 clubs from southern Mexico and connected them to resources in the US and internationally to help them continue their work with burn victims, children with cleft-lip palettes, clean water projects, clean wood-burning stove projects, women’s health and sexuality clinics, orphanages, and health and nutrition.

Previously, through my participation in Rotary-sponsored events since I was 14, I have gone to New Orleans for a week to gut houses and serve at a volunteer center after Hurricane Katrina, teaching kids the perils of drunk driving through Every 15 Minutes, and helped fund an education nonprofit. Neither my parents nor grandparents were Rotarians: in fact, the scholarship I received is only available for people who would be first-in-their-family to be Rotarian. The organization has done a lot of good in the world.

Regardless of the house situation, I’d invite you to join me at a SF club meeting soon.