When We Unite, Good Follows: Our 2025/2026 Rotary Year in Review
From our 95th Board of Directors Installation on 9 August 2025 through to this year's handover of leadership, we spent the 2025/2026 Rotary year putting "Service Above Self" into practice under Rotary International's theme, Unite for Good. It was a year that stretched from George Town's streets to a children's cardiology ward in Bangladesh, and it closes with our club recognised among a small group of clubs worldwide for its giving — proof that a lot of small, consistent efforts add up.
Public health, out in the open
The year's most visible project landed on 29 May 2026, when hundreds of Penangites turned out from as early as 7am for the End Polio Now Carnival in George Town. Organised jointly with several Rotary clubs and healthcare and community partners, the carnival launched a new "End Polio Now" billboard led by Rotary International District 3300, drew a charity fun walk and bikers' convoy across Penang Island, ran a free medical camp screening for chronic kidney disease, diabetes and hypertension, and raised funds for Penang Crystal Family Home through a charity food fair. Penang Island City Council Mayor Dato' Ir. A. Rajendran, who officiated, called it "more than just a community gathering... a collective commitment to safeguarding public health and strengthening community resilience."
That same commitment to Rotary's foundation work was recognised formally this year: our club received a certificate of appreciation for its financial support of End Polio Now, and was named one of only 4,000 clubs worldwide to attain Every Rotarian, Every Year status and one of only 4,700 clubs worldwide to become a 100% Foundation Giving Club.
Investing in Penang's young people
Youth development ran through the whole year. In August 2025, Gift of Sight 2025 provided 500 pairs of free prescription spectacles to students from low-income families, co-organised with the Rotary Club of Utara Subang Jaya and supported by District 3300's Northern Clubs across 20 schools in Penang and Seberang Perai. In July 2026, 400 students and teachers from 20 secondary schools joined Jejak Itam: A Sun Bear Story, a Penang State Education Department collaboration using the short film Itam to build students' resilience and emotional well-being. And in December 2025, we joined the Rotary Club of Butterworth, Rotary Club of Seberang Jaya, Rotary Club of Bandar Sungai Petani and the Rotaract Club of INTI International College Penang to run the Interact Leadership Training Seminar for 58 Interactors from nine schools. Alongside these, our Bag2School project put 288 school bags into the hands of students at six schools around Penang and Kedah.
Reaching beyond Penang
Our international service work reached further than usual this year. Through the Cambodia-Malaysia Friendship Surgical Mission, volunteer surgeons and healthcare professionals corrected severe facial deformities for 15 children from rural Cambodia over a five-day mission. And in Bangladesh, our support helped three-year-old Nora avoid open-heart surgery altogether — an angiogram found she was eligible for a minimally invasive procedure instead, giving her family what we're simply calling a renewed chance at life.
Fellowship that carried the year
None of this happens without the people who show up for it. We welcomed seven new members over the year — Ryan Khaw, Kalidassen, Marta Ligeti, Dr Laszlo Dobos, Dato Loh Nam Seng, Dato' Dr Ramanujam and Edward TH Khoo — and marked our own 95th anniversary in October 2025. Deepavali, Christmas and Chinese New Year celebrations brought together members from Rotary Club of Butterworth, Rotary Club of Seberang Jaya, Rotary Club of Tanjung Bungah, Rotary Club of Penang Strait, Rotary Club of Georgetown, Rotary Club of Bukit Bendera, Rotary Club of Pandan Valley and the Inner Wheel Club of Penang, and our Deepavali gathering doubled as the signing of a new sister club agreement with Rotary Club of Pandan Valley. In April 2026, close to 200 guests joined "A Night of Hope & Humanity," a charity dinner supporting the JHM–Rotary Haemodialysis Centre, with proceeds going toward subsidised dialysis treatment for low-income patients in Penang.
The handover that closes this Rotary year marks the end of one chapter and the start of the next, but the throughline stays the same: when we unite, good follows. We're carrying that into 2026/2027.
Year at a glance
Rotary year: 2025/2026 (our club's 95th year of service)
New members inducted: 7
Recognition: Every Rotarian, Every Year status; 100% Foundation Giving Club; certificate of appreciation for End Polio Now support
Major projects: End Polio Now Carnival, Gift of Sight 2025 (500 pairs of spectacles), Jejak Itam: A Sun Bear Story (400 students), Bag2School (288 bags, 6 schools), Interact Leadership Training Seminar (58 Interactors, 9 schools), Cambodia-Malaysia Friendship Surgical Mission (15 children), A Night of Hope & Humanity (JHM–Rotary Haemodialysis Centre)
Partner clubs and organisations: Rotary Club of Utara Subang Jaya, Rotary Club of Butterworth, Rotary Club of Seberang Jaya, Rotary Club of Bandar Sungai Petani, Rotary Club of Pandan Valley, Rotary Club of Penang Strait, Rotary Club of Tanjung Bungah, Rotary Club of Georgetown, Rotary Club of Bukit Bendera, Inner Wheel Club of Penang, Rotaract Club of INTI International College Penang, Penang State Education Department, MBPP, and more
Impact: A year of public health outreach, youth development, and international humanitarian service, closing with district-wide recognition for giving and a smooth handover to incoming leadership
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