Part-way through its 60th anniversary year, the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman (RCGC) is showing that it is never too old to evolve and adapt. In addition to the ‘mother club’ there are now three other Rotary clubs in the Cayman Islands, along with a Rotoract club for community-minded adults under 30.
Former RCGC President Christian Victory says that there is a club to suit anyone, depending on what they are looking for from this international organisation.
Rotary was first established in 1905 in Chicago by lawyer Paul Harris as a fellowship organisation, providing a way for people to meet each other outside the conventional routes of work, sport and family, and gradually grew into a worldwide network of 1.2 million people supporting charitable causes in local communities and overseas.
Most notably, the work of Rotary has helped the near-eradication of polio on a global level and it has spent more than US$4 billion on funding life-changing projects worldwide.
Thanks to Colonel Bruce Pirnie, a retired US army officer and a regular visitor to the Cayman Islands from Boston who proposed starting a Rotary club in Cayman, Rotary Club of Grand Cayman received its charter in November 1965, although the physical charter certificate didn’t arrive on island until early 1966.
From the very start, the group was involved in good causes, supporting the building of Bonaventure Boys Home and Frances Bodden Girls Home, being instrumental in introducing Meals on Wheels to Cayman and providing a kidney dialysis machine and mobile dental units, just to name but a few.
Rotary is also behind some of the most-loved events in Cayman’s annual calendar, such as the Christmas Tree lighting and carol concert in Heroes Square, the Sea Sunday Lunch at the Seafarer’s Association in June and the Boxing Day lunch for seniors, as well as the Batabano carnival.
While Rotary Club of Grand Cayman is the oldest Rotary club in the Cayman Islands, other clubs have since been established. On Grand Cayman itself, there is also Rotary Sunrise, aka ‘the breakfast club’, which meets as you’d expect, in the early morning, while Rotary Central, aka ‘the evening club,’ meets at night.
Rotary Club of Grand Cayman meets every week on Thursday – making it ‘the lunchtime club’. The most recent club to join the Rotary family is Rotary Sunset, which meets every fortnight and is a more informal group with drinks rather than sit-down meals. The Sister Islands are also part of the Rotary family, with the Rotary Club of Cayman Brac being a fixture of the community since it launched in 1981.
Explains Victory, “They are all part of Rotary, but all have a different vibe – although they share the same principles of fellowship and service. Rotary as a group is trying to meet people wherever they are and whatever fits in with them.”
All clubs, says Victory, “are a great way to meet people and build social connections”, which could be particularly useful for people who have recently moved to Cayman and have yet to meet people beyond a working environment.
In its 60th anniversary year, the many Rotary clubs in the Cayman Islands are showing no sign of slowing down, supporting causes as diverse as donating laptops to Ukraine, helping rebuild Jamaica and Haiti after Hurricane Melissa and helping local charitable groups such as Cayman’s Acts of Random Kindness, Cayman Islands Crisis Centre and the YMCA.
“We are not competing with them; we are supporting them,” said Victory. “We’ve had a tremendous year.”
A centrepiece of the celebrations was the prestigious ‘One Million-Dollar Dinner‘ in November where Cayman’s Rotary clubs combined to help the country raise more money for the Rotary Foundatin per capita than any other jurisdiction, receiving US$2.1 million in donations and pledges.
Victory also encourages people to dismiss any preconceived notions about what Rotary clubs are like.
“In places like the UK and Ireland, for example, Rotary clubs have an older demographic and might feel a bit more traditional,” he said. “But Rotary is thriving in the Caribbean and in other parts of the world. You definitely get out what you put in.”
Related Videos
