Fellowship as a force for good

By Betty Bui, President, Rotary Club of South Pasadena

“Peace begins not in grand gestures but in the humble act of showing up for one another.”

As the holiday season begins, the Rotary Clubs of Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, and Alhambra/Monterey Park gathered at the historic Blinn House in Pasadena not for ceremony or strategy, but for fellowship. In a world that feels increasingly divided, the simple act of coming together across communities can feel quietly radical.

Built in 1905 by architect George Washington Maher, the Blinn House has long stood as a gathering place for civic dialogue. Its warm wood and amber light have witnessed generations of Pasadenans working toward a common good. Last week, it hosted Rotarians doing the same - sharing laughter in costume, yes, but also reaffirming a truth at the core of service: connection precedes impact.

Fellowship is often dismissed as the social side of Rotary, pleasant but secondary to projects and fundraising. Yet fellowship is where empathy grows roots. It’s in conversation and camaraderie that we rediscover the humanity behind our collective mission.

For newcomers, these gatherings reveal that Rotary is not an institution but a living network of neighbors. For long-time members, they renew the sense of belonging that sustains commitment.

This season, as Rotarians turn toward service and celebration, may we remember that peace begins with friendship — and that every time we gather in fellowship, we take one small step to unite for good.

MAKE POLIO HISTORY

Bill Gates and Rotary: The Last Mile in the Fight Against Polio

In an age when generosity is often measured in headlines, Bill Gates has set himself a quieter, more radical goal: to give nearly all of his fortune away within twenty years and then close his foundation for good.

As Rotary magazine reported in its October 2025 issue, the Gates Foundation (one of Rotary’s closest partners) has already donated more than $100 billion over the past quarter-century. But before it winds down in 2045, it plans to spend twice that amount tackling humanity’s toughest challenges: child mortality, infectious disease, and poverty.

Polio remains the unfinished chapter. At the Rotary International Convention in Calgary this year, Gates and Rotary renewed their shared promise to finish the job. Together they committed up to $450 million over the next three years to eradicate the virus once and for all. Rotary will raise $50 million annually, and every dollar will be matched two-for-one by the Gates Foundation (a partnership that has already helped immunize nearly three billion children worldwide).

Gates admits the headwinds are real: conflict, shrinking aid budgets, and misinformation threaten to undo decades of progress. Yet he remains optimistic because the movement to end polio is driven not by wealth but by will. “Progress,” he told Rotary magazine, “depends on relentless collaboration.” From frontline health workers in Pakistan and Afghanistan to Rotarians collecting spare change in small towns across America, it’s that shared persistence that keeps the dream alive.

Here in South Pasadena, we see that spirit every second Wednesday of the month when our little polio pig makes its rounds. Members drop in their dollars and quarters, sometimes more, knowing that each coin is tripled by the Gates Foundation and converted into vaccines that protect children halfway around the world. It’s a humble ritual, easy to overlook, but it connects us directly to a global effort that has already reduced polio cases by 99 percent.

Bill Gates says the next 20 years can be even more transformative than the last 25. That future depends not just on billionaires or governments, but on all of us - ordinary people who believe that the smallest acts of giving can still help change the world. And sometimes, it starts with a piggy bank.