A sister club partnership between two Rotary clubs in the United
States and one in Lithuania is expanding the international reach and
service of Rotarians in both countries.
Author and polio survivor Nancy Wright Beasley joined the Rotary
Club of Brandermill (Midlothian), Virginia, USA, shortly after speaking
to the club about her book on Lithuanian families during the Holocaust.
Following visits to Lithuania in 2009 and 2010, she inspired the
Virginia Rotarians to pursue service projects with the Rotary Club of
Kaunas, Lithuania, which she had visited. (click below to read more)
While in Kaunas, Beasley had also been introduced by telephone
to the founding president of the Rotary Club of Chicagoland Lithuanians.
The club’s members, all Lithuanians living in the Chicago area,
expressed an interest in joining with the Brandermill club to carry out
projects in Lithuania. So the clubs turned to Rotary Service Connections to facilitate that partnership.
“Rotary Service Connections helped us with some of the criteria, so
we began discussing a feasible project,” says Don Vaught, president of
the Brandermill club. “Our two boards approved the idea of the
partnership, and the proposal was eventually accepted by the Kaunas club
as well.” The arrangement was made official in November.
“The goal of forming a sister club relationship was to establish a
long-term relationship with other clubs that would lead to ongoing
projects -- both locally and internationally,” Vaught says. “It’s also a
way to further international understanding and foster goodwill.”
Vaught says Beasley’s contacts with the Kaunas club were
instrumental in getting the idea started, and adds that it seemed only
natural to invite the Chicagoland Lithuanians club to participate.
“We see building a relationship through both leisure and business
travel visits by members of each club,” Vaught says. “We will be working
together on joint projects in Lithuania, but also supporting each
other’s projects when possible."
The sister clubs are launching their first project in Lithuania
soon, to help obtain medical equipment for an orphanage in Kaunas.
“This sister club relationship is bringing together three clubs
that were never aware of each other’s existence,” Vaught says. “This
reflects the far-reaching arm of Rotary, and shows how you can expand
relationships around the globe. This project is proof positive that
Rotary truly is international.”
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